Awesome Books

(PG-13 Language) Thug Notes sums up and breaks down George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, which is the basis for the TV show’s first season. Those were the good ol’ days, when you could still keep track of the characters. LATA’!

Simon Stålenhag’s retro futuristic digital paintings somehow combine dread and nostalgia. He’s currently raising funds for English language versions of two art books annotated with short stories about the world he created.

Illustrator Steve McDonald’s intricate coloring book lets you fill in nearly 60 urban locales packed with the architecture of of real and imaginary cities. Packed with countless nooks and crannies for you to get lost in.

Shuri Bakaseru (The Fascinating Repairmen) shows Nobuo Okano at work. Okano has been restoring books by hand for over 30 years. The video is in Japanese, but you’ll clearly understand his meticulous process. More here.

A photoblog that highlights Kindle ebooks with hilariously awful titles and even worse covers, from the world’s most unscientific scifi cover to the best title and art combo that we’ve ever seen. We can die now.

While some of us get our inspiration while in the shower, in bed, or even on the toilet, some of the best ideas come when your mind is unfettered by reality. These notebooks are for those times. A classic from The Awesomer Shop.

From Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics) comes a humorous choose-your-own-adventure game based on Hamlet. To Be or Not To Be features art by Kate Beaton, Mike Krahulik, Zac Gorman and more. Also available as a book.

Saturday Night Live: The Complete History contains over 2,300 photos from SNL’s archives, an illustrated breakdown of the cast and crew’s 6-day work week, a comprehensive season reference guide and more.

Enter to win one of five copies of Roger Ma’s The Zombie Combat Field Guide. The new book provides valuable tips for surviving the inevitable zombiepocalypse, while busying your mind with coloring and other activities. (Ends 1/15/15).

Hans Eijkelboom’s massive collection of street photos taken all over the world in the past 20 years. The “anti-sartorial” presentation shows people wearing similar clothes in the same city on the same day. More here and here.

A hilariously dark twist on the daily journal, including demotivational affirmations, reminders of notable deaths, a contacts section for people who never call, and places to jot down pointless doodles and ideas you’ll never follow up on.

This beloved parody not only apes the infamous adult novel Fifty Shades of Grey – telling the story of a chef seducing… a chicken – it’s also a legitimate cookbook. It also has 50 chicken recipes and lots of beautiful images.

A group of artists that turns your message into a whimsical handwritten letter and then sends it for free. Just leave your message and the recipient’s address on its website on or before 11/16/14. Also check out the book of sent letters.

Trivia maven Dan Lewis has a new paperback collection. Now I Know More: The Revealing Stories Behind Even More of the World’s Most Interesting Facts contains 101 interesting stories in Dan’s trademark engaging prose.

Thomas Olivri compiled this amazing book featuring over 750 images of pop culture inspired artworks from talented creators around the globe. It also includes website and contact info for each artist, so you can buy their works.

Kasper Hauser’s latest parody of the infamous SkyMall inflight magazine, which advertises quirky items. SkyMaul 2 ups the weirdness with ideas like a karaoke set that contains only history’s greatest speeches. SkyMaul 1 here.

Alex Gross’ Future Tense series consists of paintings with a shallow and saccharine beauty, expanding upon “themes of consumerism, industrialization and the omnipresent media” and “our inability to exist in the present moment.”

Nope, it’s not The Winds of Winter, but this prologue still contains lots of new material for A Song of Ice and Fire fans, including the full family trees of the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens. Sample chapter here.

Scott McCloud selects works from established and up-and-coming artists around the country. Whether you want a laugh, intrigue, romance, or just plain weird, there’s something for everyone in this hardcover book. (Contains adult content.)

New York’s Death & Co. is regarded as one of the greatest premium cocktail bars in the world. Now you can create nearly 500 drink recipes, designed and curated by the bar, with incredible cocktails like the Shruff’s End and the Hostage Situation.

(NSFW: Language) “You woke me and asked for breakfast, so why the f*** won’t you eat?” Adam Mansbach follows up Go the F*** to Sleep with another faux children’s book about getting kids to eat. Illustrated by Owen Brozman.

The Kindle Voyage is lighter and smaller than the Kindle Paperwhite. It has a 300ppi touchscreen, an adaptive backlight as well as forward and back page turning haptic sensors on each edge for one-handed use.

xkcd creator Randall Munroe ponders ridiculous hypothetical questions and answers them with scientific responses. Ever wanted to know what would happen if everyone on the planet jumped at the same time? This is the book for you.

Bottle openers can be found on all sorts of gadgets these days, but you still never have one when you need one. Brett Stern’s guidebook offers numerous ways to pop open a cold one without an officially-sanctioned opener.

A new graphic novel from the creator of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Seconds is about a successful young chef who suddenly comes upon magical mushrooms, which let her go back in time to correct her mistakes. Preview here (pdf).

Like Scribd and Oyster, Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited subscription service aims to be the Netflix of books. Access over 600,000 books and thousands of audiobooks on your Kindle device or through Kindle apps.