“Yo dawg,” the Pimp My Ride meme would start, “I heard you like Macs and books, so we put your MacBook inside a fake book so you can look like you’re carrying a crazy big book around!” That’s the pitch, essentially, behind TwelveSouth’s $80 BookBook, which uses a deliberately aged leather hardbound book as a facade for a zippered carrying case.

The spine says “Book Book,” and “Vol. XII,” a cute little reference to TwelveSouth itself, and you can choose between “Classic Black” (actually brown) or “Vibrant Red” versions, each in either 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook-ready sizes. Inside is a soft, velvety lining, with enough padding to keep your MacBook safe while it’s being carried around. Twin zippers have leather pulls that match the case.

Is BookBook going to keep someone from stealing your MacBook? Maybe, maybe not. Is it worth $80? Ditto. But as with the other TwelveSouth products released thus far, we have to say that we dig the idea and most of the execution. Little streaks of gold ink on the book and other small texture and stitching touches speak nicely to the distressed theme, and it’s really not hard to imagine giving one of these as a gift to someone who loves books. Both kinds. It’s a cute idea.

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I don’t know how well these are padded, but I will soon buy a black one!

By Brian McKay on 05.03.10 at 06:31 PM

Bought one for my new MacBook Pro, was so excited when I saw this cute idea in a mag on a Southwest flight.

When it arrived, however, it was completely underwhelming and cheap feeling. I expected it to have a soft, supple leather touch and it felt like a too-large cardboard mess, and difficult to carry.

I’m returning it today. (i hope!)

By Laura Arbios on 05.24.10 at 10:55 AM

Any issues with heat buildup/dissipation with the laptop inside the BookBook?

By Dan Butcher on 06.16.10 at 10:28 AM

Hi Jeremy!

Just a question, that fourth photo seem to show the Macbook Pro’s back dangerously close to the Book Book’s (sounds like a really bad Hawaiian slur) zippers. Does it come in contact? If so, that could really scuff the back of your portable.

By Salaryman Ryan on 05.02.11 at 06:00 AM

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