Diogenesister asked,"Nathan N Is that the way to compost books?( am ignorant and interested)"
YES, absolutely! Books are made of paper and cardboard. Both paper and cardboard are made from wood pulp and is almost entirely cellulose (a complex carbohydrate). Fungi LOVE carbohydrates, and simple, water-soluble carbs are really the 'shroom's "meow." That's how grape juice becomes wine - yeast are fungi. After wine is made, bacteria digest the wine to make vinegar. And so on and so forth...
You could allow a mass of damp but not sopping wet books to innoculate by simply allowing them to be exposed to the air for a day - like making sourdough starter! Or you could order ONE OUNCE of Myco-Grow from http://www.fungi.com/product-detail/product/mycogrow-soluble-1-oz.html. A pound will treat most of your estate. You only need like 1/4 teaspoon for this project... Add the myco-grow to the dampening liquid...
Then close the system and move it somewhere dark - a crypt, cave, or dungeon will do. Be sure that your dampening fluid contains one can of sugary soda and a bit - just a dropperful - of indoor plant food - to supply some nitrogen and potassium and phosphorus (N, K, P) to make the smörgåsbord seem even more appealing.
In a couple of weeks the books will look HIDEOUS, with thin tendrils of ghostly white fungal mycellium running through the mass. At this point the "thing that was once books" can be mixed into your compost -- at the bottom of the pile where it is darkest. Earthworms will then move into the 'shroomsgåsbord and voila!
Have fun! let us know how it goes!
Recipe for dampening liquid - two gallons of water, one 12 can of cheap sugary soda if you have it or 1/4 cup of table sugar if you prefer, one dropperful of cheap indoor plant food, 1/4 teaspoon of Myco-Grow or exposure to your local air for a day after the collection of condemned books are dampened.
Don't drink this - it is not dangerous, but it will be either boring or unpleasant.
Any left-over solution can be poured on your garden or on your neighbor's weeds.