THE BEST Books

Between 1888 and 1913, Romeyn Beck Hough collected specimens of wood to create what would become the de facto standard for studying trees and wood. Taschen got their hands on a pristine copy of the 14 volume set, and photographed each sample for this 768 page book. A fantastic gift for any artist or woodworker.

Looking for another relaxing activity to pass some time at home? This book is filled with dot-to-dot illustrations of famous locations around the globe. Like the other books in in Thomas Pavitte’s dot-to-dot series, each image is made from exactly 1,000 dots, and comes printed on a tear-out page, suitable for framing.

In his latest book, author Cody Cassidy (And Then You’re Dead) offers up the origin stories of everyday stuff. From the first time anyone ever used soap, to the first time someone drank beer, it’s packed with fascinating stories about ubiquitous things, told in a fun and illuminating way.

Before Snoop Dogg cooked on Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, nobody would have guessed the perennially-baked Doggfather could, well, bake. According to this book, he’s a crook-turned-cook with his recipes for 50 munchie-satisfying foods like baked mac & cheese, fried bologna sandwiches, and chicken ‘n’ waffles.

Packed with over 400 pages of artwork and historical artifacts from the Transformers franchise, author Jim Sorenson’s coffee table compendium is sure to delight any Transformers fan. The deluxe edition includes a collector’s box and five ready-to-frame prints.

Motion artist Henning M. Lederer is back with another cool animated clip. This time, he didn’t just use book covers, but he included some eye-catching designs from vintage record sleeves as well. The electronic music track by Tilman Grundig fits the structured, geometric imagery perfectly.

Artist Andrew DeGraff’s cinematic atlas is filled with intricate isometric maps which guide us through the locations in popular movies. The hardcover book features 11″ x 14″ reproductions of his hand-painted maps from 35 movies including King Kong, Fargo, The Princess Bride, The Shining, and many more.

Humble teamed up with publisher Morgan & Claypool for this bundle of e-books which dive deep into the science, math, and technology of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Pay what you want, and the more you spend, the more e-books you get. A portion of every purchase goes to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

Ten Speed Press presents a fantastic collection of artwork and history from the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The hardcover book includes over 700 pieces of art from the game’s core books, supplements, modules, concepts, and merch. A deluxe special edition includes posters and other bonuses.

Looking for a fun and challenging activity to do at home? Artist Byriah Loper’s book is filled with designs and techniques for making some incredible folded polyhedral paper sculptures. You’ll need a variety of different types of paper, a bone folder, and a few other supplies to complete your own paper art. Definitely not for beginners.

A fun book for kids and adults who love bugs. Author Kate Messner and illustrator Jillian Nickell turn 18 real life insects into superheroes and supervillains, as they explore some amazing abilities of real life creatures in comic book style.

Blending the appeal of a coloring book and a paint by numbers set, but without the mess, Paint by Sticker books are offered for both adults and kids, with images inspired by classic works of art, famous musicians, travel posters, animals, and more.

Created in collboration between filmmaker Jacco Kliesch and Erlangen City, Germany’s public library, this short film offers a cinematic take on the playful “bookface” art trend, in which people line up real-life scenes with photographic images on book covers.

A fun book for science geeks and anyone who enjoys biology, Believe It or Snot: The Definitive Field Guide to Earth’s Slimy Creatures catalogs snails, bugs, lizards, mammals, and other critters, and explores just how much goo, slime, and mucus they leave in their wake. From the authors of Does It Fart? and True or Poo?

Matt Parker’s book Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World tells tales of the catastrophic consequences of mathematical errors in everything from architecture, to sweepstakes, to air traffic control systems. Perhaps it’ll be the kick in the pants you need to actually pay attention in math class.

Webcomic Name author Alex Norris’ darkly comedic book about life’s many little disappointments is filled with dozens of hilariously cynical 3-panel comic strips, each of which ends with the same “oh no” punchline. The 128-page paperback includes many previously unreleased comics.

A very special gift for sneaker fanatics, Taschen’s 644-page coffee table book tells the storied history of famed footwear brand adidas through images. It features more than 350 pairs of shoes, including rare prototypes, one-of-a-kind originals, and iconic designs throughout the years.

Young geeks will love to complete the challenges in this DIY book, filled with 20 different science experiments and craft projects inspired by the Star Wars universe. Using household objects, kids from 8-12+ will build their own mouse droid, a Tatooine sand globe, tabletop gliding landspeeders, and more.

Ready to hit the road this year and explore North America? National Geographic and author Joe Yogerst’s travel guide offers up page after page of great ideas of places to see and things to do at national, state, and city parks throughout the U.S. and Canada.

This playful pair of books from Flipboku is packed with fun drawing activities. The first book, Dots, has dot-to-dot puzzles which form six professionally-illustrated cartoon animations when complete. The second book, Lines, offers up six brain-bending animated optical illusions.

Written by retired Navy SEAL Clint Emerson, this book is packed with illustrated tips and solutions for taking control in dangerous situations, including self defense, escape, and evasion techniques. The tips include low-tech/no-tech methods to help you improvise when things go South. Be sure to check out the Survival Edition as well.

The perfect gift for brick fanatics, LEGO: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know features 240 pages packed with facts, figures, and other trivia about the history of LEGO, listings of bricks by category and color, LEGO easter eggs, and much more.

Legendary Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes has unexpectedly become a kickass book author for teens. Gibby’s debut novel is as brash, twisted, fearless, and darkly hilarious as he is. The chapter titles alone deserve a Newbery Medal.

DC Comics‘ illustrated reference details theories on the physiology and abilities of the publisher’s most famous super-powered characters. As if that wasn’t interesting enough, it’s presented as a sketchbook created by Batman.

Ever wonder how Starfleet crews keep in such good shape during when they’re not fighting Gorn? Robb Pearlman’s amusing workout book offers up exercises like Vulcan side planks, Tribble twists, and those dreaded Wesley crunchers. The perfect gift for Star Trek fans.