Unlike The Maze and other classic puzzle books, the Codex Silenda brooks no cheating, forcing readers to solve elaborate puzzles on each page before proceeding to the next.

Somewhere between a choose-your-own-adventure novel, a Chinese puzzle box and a blacksmith puzzle, this five-page volume features dizzyingly complex mechanical puzzles that can only be completed in sequence. In each pair of facing pages, a short story unfolds on one side while a related new puzzle is revealed on the other.

Designed by Brady Whitney, the wooden book is laser-cut and ornately detailed, full of hidden mechanisms worthy of Leonardo Da Vinci – indeed, the story itself is about an apprentice stumbling into the master’s workshop and becoming trapped inside the tome. The laser-burnt edges give the work a hand-crafted but careworn look, like something you might find in a mysterious antique shop, covered in dust.

From the makers: “Codex Silenda is a five page book that features five intricate puzzles. Each page features a unique puzzle that requires the user/reader to unlock the corresponding bolts in order to progress to the next page.” More about its maker: “Brady Whitney is the designer of the operation, the mastermind of the Codex. He originally came up with the idea for his senior thesis research project during his final semester at Iowa State University. Having grown up with a childhood filled with imagination, his passion for design has always been focused on the realm of toys and games, creating the products and ideas he always wished he had as a kid.”

Designed to dispel fears surrounding Muslim culture, practices and traditions, a new wide-open skyscraper design for New York City invites people of all faiths to enter, through both programmatic functions and a clear facade.

The schematic proposal by local firm Buro Koray Duman was commissioned by the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), aiming to promote progressive change and social justice. The Society hopes to show another side of Islam to the city and the world.

The idea is, in part, to highlight cultural aspects of Islam as apart from the strictly religious (and particularly: radicalized) associations, distinguishing between peoples and religions.

The building is structured to be as welcoming and open as possible, consisting of horizontal floors stacked to fit a vertical urban landscape.

From Dezeen: “His studio’s schematic design for the centre features a 100,000-square-foot (9,290 square metres) building that takes its cue from historic Islamic cultural complexes, called kulliyes.”

“In these complexes, which are laid out horizontally, low-slung buildings with varying functions are organised around a centrally placed mosque.”

A central volume contains an auditorium, library, prayer room, restaurant and offices, connected by walkways that span public and private spaces around the perimeter.

This design may or may not be realized; the idea of building Islam-centered architecture near the site of the 9/11 attacks has been contentious for well over a decade.

Supporters hope, however, that structure (conceptual or actual) can show another dimension to even the wariest members of the public, at least opening the door to interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

It takes a powerful book to survive decades or even centuries and stay prominently in the public eye. This pair of classics are a rarity in that respect, but like any books, one thing does change over time: their covers.

First, Fahrenheit 451, re-covered here by designer Elizabeth Perez. In her words, it is “a novel about a dystopian future where books are outlawed and firemen burn any house that contains them. The story is about suppressing ideas, and about how television destroys interest in reading literature.”

And what would be more apt than a book cover and binding that reflects that horrific world? The one becomes a match, and the spine becomes a striking surface, powerfully reinforcing the core message of the novel. Ray Bradbury first titled this seminal work “The Fireman” but felt it lacked inspiration. He first tried universities, then, when that failed, called a local fire station to ask what temperature it would take to auto-ignite the paper in books. The responding firemen placed him on hold, heated up and burnt a book, then reported that the heat required was “Fahrenheit 451”.

Then we have 1984,  part of a series of re-releases from Penguin designed by David Pearson – again, the message of censorship becomes boldly emblazoned right on the cover of the volume.

But with physical books being, perhaps an endangered species, maybe you would like something new to swap into your collection but that also breaks traditional boundaries. Introducing: Paper Passion, a scent from Stiedl. It is a fragrance based on the smell of books – a powerful scent familiar with anyone who has revisited their childhood favorites.