Awesome Books

Sneakers is a 320-page coffee table book about the culture, the craft and the commerce of sneakers. Aside from its amazing case and photos, it’s filled with interviews with insiders such as Nike’s Tinker Hatfield, Patta’s Edson Sabajo, Serena Williams and more.

The Future is Now: Neon Rising is the second edition of the second book in Josan Gonzalez’s cyberpunk series. Almost all of its 212 pages has full-page illustrations, which tie into each other to create a “silent graphic novel.” It comes with three postcards.

Marc Hagan-Guirey specializes in kirigami – silhouetted sculptures made by cutting and folding a single sheet of paper. He worked with the guys behind Star Wars to create a book that lets you make 15 of the series’ vehicles using his technique. Accent lighting not included.

You’ll roar with laughter while perusing Your Sh*tty Family, a book with actual texts between family members, based on the popular Instagram account. It makes us yearn for a kinder, gentler time when teaching our parents how to text wasn’t even on the radar.

The consistently hilarious Jeff Wysaski of Obvious Plant and Pleated Jeans fame has released Wrestle Your Mailman and Other Small Ways to Feel Happy, a short and sweet book filled with amusing (though often unlawful) ideas to brighten your day.

The second version of Amazon’s high-end e-book reader is now waterproof and has a larger 7″ screen. The new Kindle Oasis also has Audible built-in, but you need Bluetooth headphones because it doesn’t have a 3.5mm output.

Kelli Anderson’s This Book Is a Planetarium, features six usable pop-up constructions, including a tiny planetarium, a Spirograph-like drawing machine, a secret decoder ring, and an acoustic amplifier. Each object is accompanied by an explanation of the science behind it.

Rick and Morty fans will grin ear to ear over never before seen concept art and a fun glow in the dark cover in this pleasing art book. It drills deeper into character creations and also offers intimate commentary from the show’s creators. If you aren’t already a fan, you soon will be.

Most of us use our Swiss Army knives for emergencies and impromptu needs. But Chris Lubkemann’s book is packed with fun ways you can use your knife to start a new hobby – whittling wood. It’s packed with easy to make projects, from desktop sculptures to utensils.

Join Abbi, Ilana, and their pals for a series of ribald New York City misadventures in this most definitely adult coloring book, illustrated by Mike Perry, who also created the show’s hypnotic title sequences. Four and Three and Two and Buy!

Prima Games’ follow up to its NES book. Playing with Super Power is a nostalgic guide book. Not only does it contain tips for SNES games, it also has a history of Nintendo’s console and its classics, as well as associated art and music. Also available as an online book.

Just in time for Sonic Mania, Cook and Becker’s Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book has posters, covers, concept art and more from Sega’s archives. It also has a $125 Collector’s Edition that comes with a inner sleeve/book stand and a signed print.

Chef, rapper, and TV host Action Bronson’s book is part memoir, part cookbook, and all awesome. The 224-page book features photos and stories from Bronson’s travels, along with dozens of deliciously decadent recipes. Here’s some chicken parm to whet your appetite.

(PG-13, SPOILERS) “See, Wade comes from the ‘hood. So he straight obsessed with getting Halliday’s cash money.” Sparky Sweets – the teacher who puts the lit in literature – sums up the story, themes and questions presented by Ernest Cline’s hit young adult novel.

Mondo’s upcoming art book is a back catalog of its highly sought-after movie posters. The book includes prints of Olly Moss’ posters for the Star Wars trilogy, Francesco Francavilla’s Clash of the Titans piece, Laurent Durieux’s subtle Jaws poster and many more.

From veteran translator Clyde Mandelin (Mother 3, Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan) comes This Be Book Bad Translation, Video Games!, a funny and insightful book about how errors in video game localizations occur, with 99 screenshots of bad translations as examples.

Simon Stålenhag is back with more retro sci-fi paintings. Set in an alternate ’90s US and centered on a young girl traveling with her robot, The Electric State is a 120-page art book with a supplementary narrative written by Simon as well. More on his site.

A spectacularly fun book for any Star Wars fan, graphic designer Tim Leong’s lighthearted paperback is packed with infographics, facts, and figures from what each lightsaber color means, to the heights of popular characters, to the Jedi High Council seating chart.

Illustrator Sean C. Jackson’s nifty book is packed with dozens of fun and challenging maze designs of tiny isometric villages, dotted with buildings, trees, staircases, fountains, bridges, monuments, and more.

Emil Ferris’ critically-acclaimed graphic novel is drawn and written as the diary and sketchbook of Karen Reyes, a monster-obsessed 10-year old living in 1960’s Chicago who tries to solve the murder of her upstairs neighbor.

Author Brett McKay and illustrator Ted Slampyak present a how-to guide packed with over 100 practical skills for real men. You’ll learn everything from how to fire a gun, to how to shine your shoes, to how to be a good uncle, to how to escape a bear attack.

A simple, yet ingenious accessory for any avid book reader, simply clip the magnetic SUJI-IN bookmark into the back of your book, set its thumb-shaped holder over the page you’re currently reading, and it automatically keeps track of your place as you flip pages.

Authors Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris present a series of hilarious “educational” manuals which poke fun at kitschy 1960s Easy Reader books. The audiobook version is narrated by none other than Andy Richter.