More Than One Story by Sepi Alavi

Berlin-based designer Sepi Alavi has a novel idea for saving paper and printing. With this poetic poster, she inspires us to read old books instead of new ones and uncover the mysterious messages left by their previous owners.

“I like to buy second-hand books. Not only is it better for the environment (same book + multiple owners = less printing), but also with a second-hand book, every reader adds a new story. If we’re lucky, the unofficial story will have left a trace. I found this book in a used English language bookstore in Berlin, and as my literary hero would say, it gives such ‘scope for the imagination.’ Who was David? What on earth did he do? Did Meg stick with him? You can finish the story for them.”

Why?

Reading second-hand books puts the environment first and offers you a lifetimes worth of knowledge, humour and joy without needlessly using up more resources.

How?

Sadly, used bookstores are an endangered species. However, with their demise came the rise of Amazon, which has made cheap and cheerful pre-loved books more easily available than ever before.