As a lover of collage art, I've become fascinated with the idea of painting, editing, tearing up, and in general altering books. It's taken me a while to get used to the idea, as I have treated books as sacred. I still feel that they are sacred, but have come to see that that sancitity has can take a different shape.
New Directions in Altered Books was really inspiring, so much so that I bought some cheep used books from the library book sale for the purpose of making art. There are some fabulous examples shown, along with some sample projects and ideas for collaborative projects. It's a really great book for anyone interested in launching into this kind of art form.
My favorite and the most useful (for my purposes) of the books on this subject that I've read. Isn't too focused on precious moments scrapbooking. I'd like to buy this one to keep on my craft shelf.
I've always admired altered books and any art using found objects and found this book inspirational. I have a new project in my head and this was what I need to give it form.
A good place to start making altered books. Interviews with artists in multiple different fields and a section explaining how to make "functional" altered books really help to enhance the exploration of the book form.