Hanging Book Shelf! 2026

Hanging Book Shelf, this could be a great magic trick, but I decided to stick with its real purpose of displaying the cover of the books.

I have tons and tons of bound books with very artistic covers that are kept in boxes, hidden on bookshelves or on shelves, or covered by other books or magazines.

Finding free space on a shelf or table to lift a book so that both sides can be seen is a challenge, but not so much when walls and doors are recruited to make display covers possible.

Here is a guide on how to display artistic book covers when space on a table or shelf is not available for display, using a door or wall to display book covers instead.

Step 1: Get Familiar with the Parts of a Bound Book

Locate the passage between the box and the liner. Find the signatures and the signature limits.

Step 2: Take Action

• Width of the book (how much space it takes up on a shelf), excluding covers, from the first page to the last page. (for page binding)
• Page height. (for suspension rod)
• Page depth. (for suspension rod and loop)
• Book Weight (for hook and line size)

Step 3: Make the suspension bracket

Cut a sheet of aluminum about three-quarters the width of the book and 1″ longer than the height of the page.

Place a small slit at each end, about halfway down each side.

Step 4: Fold the ends and insert the strip

Bend the ends of the aluminum strip at 90 degrees. Angle it 1/2″ from each end and carefully insert the strip into the passage between the backing and the lining.

You may need to unscrew the strip slightly, but at least start bending before inserting it into the spine.

Step 5: Find the last page

• Open the back cover of the book and scroll through the last pages until you find the last numbered page.
• Divide this page number by 2. If, for example, the last numbered page is 3052, divide by 2. Let's see... I have 1521.
• Open the book to the page number you calculate. In this example, the calculated page number is 1521.
• Determine whether the two adjacent pages have the same signature. Otherwise, reopen the book to a page that is a little higher or lower.
• The left or right half signature would be good if it is not too far from the center.

Step 6: Link the pages

• I used fishing line. Cut a couple of lengths long enough to run the book from head to tail, back cover to cover, and a little extra to tie a slipknot.
• Open the book to the middle pages found in the last step.
• Place half the length of the thread on the page about two or three centimeters from the edge of the page running from head to tail and close the pages over it.
• With the book cover still open, place the other half of the thread between the open cover and the page that the cover will touch when closed.
• Place the unknotted end of thread through the slipknot and pull the thread tightly. Make sure the pages stay flat. This can be done by closing the lid and putting a little pressure on the book while tightening the slipknot. When tightened, the slipknot should grab the thread and prevent it from slipping.
• Open the tapa and tie a fisherman's knot on top of the tight slipknot to prevent it from unraveling.
• Do the other half of the book in the same way.

This step will make assembling the book much easier, especially if you are assembling a large, heavy book.

Step 7: Make the suspension bar

• Cut a length of aluminum fence wire twice the height of the page. (Most other types of cable will work, but aluminum cables are easier to work with.)
• At each end, make a small loop around a pencil and then twist the short end around and under the loop to end up with a sort of hangman's noose. 5 to 10 turns should be enough depending on the weight of your book.
• Cut off the excess and use pliers to press the cut end closer to the wire.
• Open the book and insert the suspension rod between the back and the aluminum backrest. Stop when 1/3 of the extended suspension rod protrudes from the head and 2/3 protrudes from the tail.
• Bend the rod over the slit you made earlier in the aluminum backing, towards the center of the book so that the hanger rod is trapped in the slit.

Step 8: Make the suspension loop

• Now use two to five threads to make the hanger.
• Make a loop with the line or rope to go through both loops of the suspension bar.
• Tie the hanger loop securely so that when one side of the loop is pulled it does not extend beyond the margin of the page with the book closed.

You may need to adjust the length of the suspension loop in the next step.

Sometimes a slip knot can make the adjustment a little faster.

Step 9: Mount a hook on a wall or door

The size and type of hook depend on the characteristics of the book.

For a heavy and large book, a larger hook is needed.

In this example, a smaller hook is used but a hole is drilled up to the bolt to get the support point closer and to ensure that all of the screw threads can enter the bolt.

If you plan to make more than one book, a good trick is to mount a 1″ strip of hardwood embedded in the wall as a backing for the hooks (This is explained in the Video, how to make more than 1 book)

Step 10: Assemble the book

Re-adjust the hanger rod ends to create a 1/20 and 19/20 tail extension as shown in the photo and hang the hanger loop on the hook.

Start sliding the book down the wall while closing the book.

Take up any slack in the hanger rod and rotate while coaxing the hanger rod to slide back to its original 1/3 head and 2/3 tail split.

This can be very, very complicated and may require a lot of patience and time, which may require you to consider using fishing line for the entire support.

For heavy books, you can double or triple the strands and compensate for the elimination of wire resistance.

Allow the book covers, hanging rod, and loop to slowly take the weight of the book as the book is closed.

Once the book is closed, raise and lower the book slightly to more securely "seat" it on the hook and take up the final slack from relocating the hanger.

When the book can be closed and the hook hidden, use a rope or a small elastic cord to keep the book closed temporarily.

Step 11: Secure Covers

Now replace the bungee cords or twine, which is used to temporarily keep the covers closed, with fishing line.

Step 12: Method to hold more than 1 book

I have had several books attached to a wall and a door for the last 8 months using this mounting technique.

With all the abuse that a busy bedroom door can cause, all it took was a slight tilt adjustment. Greetings to all!

Get more information at perfectionidea.com and on our Facebook for more Hanging Book Shelves.

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