This woman makes incredible art from discarded books.
Books can tell stories in many different ways.
Malena Valcarcel loves books and has been an avid reader all her life. But that's not the only reason books inspire her.
As a paper artist, Valcarcel tells her own stories using books as her canvases.
All images by Malena Valcarcel/Malena Valcarcel Art, used with permission.
Seriously, how cool is that?
Valcarcel says she creates these sculptures from books that have been thrown away for one reason or another. Sometimes she rescues them from refuse bins, secondhand shops that can't move them, and even libraries that incinerate unwanted or damaged books to make room for new ones. In fact, she's developed such a reputation for repurposing books that friends bring her books they no longer want or need.
And the best part is that she gives them new lives as beautiful, incredibly unique works of art.
She often incorporates elements from the books she's repurposing to pay homage to the source from which she draws her creativity. It might be a tree (the source of all books) or a character from a story that once moved her.
"I can be inspired by a book I read, or maybe a specific passage of that book can inspire me to create a Book Sculpture," she wrote in a Facebook message.
The dreamlike dioramas she creates can make you feel like you're getting a secret glimpse into the world of a fantasy novel.
Here are 12 of Valcarcel's book sculptures that prove there's more than one way to love a book.
1. Like this magical castle in the woods.
2. Or this tree-gnome with a peacock for a hat.
3. Who doesn't want a cozy reading nook like this one?
4. Here's a fitting tribute to "Alice in Wonderland."
5. And another miniature one (watch out for that cat, Alice).
6. She's also not afraid to get fantastically creepy.
7. These three witches conspiring are a bit spooky.
8. And what witch tableau is complete without owls?
9. Books can take you on so many journeys, even in alternative forms.
10. Like sailing past a magical city at dusk.
11. Or stumbling upon a wishing well while getting lost in an enchanted forest.
12. Books have a transformative power. Even when they themselves have been transformed.
Valcarcel's art allows us to look at books in an entirely new light and may even inspire more visually-inclined people to start reading again.
Of course it would be wonderful if more books stayed on people's shelves rather than landing in refuse bins. But for the ones that do, it's comforting to know some may end up in Valcarcel's hands.
Thanks to her creativity, they'll have the chance to tell a new story in a way that's sure to make people stop and appreciate, if just for a moment, the magic of books.
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.