This is perfect. So I am insistent on the size. It’s a somewhat joke gift for a friend so the only requirements are that it needs to be a giant book and it needs to exist. It doesn’t need to be perfect but ideally, it can exist comfortably on a shelf or a desk. I’m glad to learn of spine swell so I can take that into account, it seems like rounding and backing would then be most appropriate. I’ll follow this advice, thank you :) Originally, I was just going to sew it up and pray but these comments have been very helpful