Books

A coffee table book featuring beatmaker Ross Schwartzman aka DJ Ross One’s extensive collection of hip hop t-shirts, sweaters and other merchandise, including bootlegs and one-offs. LL Cool J should bring back the Troops while he can. More at NYT.

Automotive author Jason Fogelson has spent years traveling America experiencing some of its greatest roads, auto shows, factory tours, off-road trails, tracks, driving lessons and more. He shares the best in 100 Things for Every Gearhead to Do Before They Die.

Walking with her distracted father, a young girl notices wildflowers growing all over the city. She collects and shares them with others along the way. This wordless illustrated book may be aimed at kids, but its reminder applies to everyone in this age of multitasking.

Author Matthew Rowley was given a old book of poetry. The book contained a secret manuscript with hundreds of recipes for compounding ingredients to create imitations of banned liquors. Learn which ones are worth replicating and which are downright dangerous.

Author and illustrator Austin Light decided to improve upon the titles of movies by just removing a single letter from their titles. Our cringeworthy favorites include and The Silence of the Labs and Finding Emo. Based on his ridiculously popular imgur gallery.

Tom Roston’s book I Lost it at the Video Store is a collection of interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, David O. Russell, and other great filmmakers whose love for film were cultivated by video rental stores. Excerpt here. Tom’s list of video stores here.

This year’s edition is packed with over 350 pages of work from established and up-and-coming writers and artists. There’s something for everyone from cheerful romance, to dark tales of woe. We rather enjoyed the chapter intros, drawn by editor Jonathan Lethem.

Create 20 awesomely creepy kirigami scenes from Paper Dandy’s book of horror-themed dioramas. The perfect decoration for your Halloween party, each intricate design requires a good deal of cutting, so they’re more for adults than unsupervised kids, though.

Award-winning artist Jim Kay brings Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to life in this illustrated edition, creating 115 illustrations in different media. The other Harry Potter books will get illustrated editions as well. More here.

Kat Su’s book of f–d up taxidermy is at once hilarious and disturbing, filled with the strange creations we get when we let crazy people try to do “art” with deceased animals. Buy the book or check out the website.

In his biography slash reference book, Robert Schnakenberg provides a comprehensive look at one of acting’s greats, a man who can go from the most serious to madcap roles in the same year, and has a special place in the hearts of millions.

On first sight we thought this quirky little book would be great for the guest room or gag gift, but it carries a larger, significant message, encouraging its readers to break routine and always stay curious about life. Gotta go read now.

Mix tape aficionados and children of the ’80s can keep the dream alive with a pair of Fred & Friends little magnetic bookmarks. Enjoy using the excess ribbon to mark your page, instead of attempting any more messy manual rewinds with a pencil.

Author Tim Ferriss teaches the concept of “meta-learning” to help you not only become a better cook, and to hunt and forage, but the essential techniques to learn more quickly. Download the audiobook for free from the Technabob Shop.

Learn this ancient art of paper folding while putting your dirty mind to use with this book, which offers up step-by-step directions for crafting a variety of rude, crude and lascivious shapes you can leave lying around your desk.

Amazon’s backlit e-book reader now has a high-resolution 300 ppi 6″ screen. It has a new font made for e-books, and better typography and page layouts to preserve the original format even when you increase the font size.

Oyster is a read-all-you-can ebook subscription for mobile devices. The latest version of its app filters out blue light to reduce eye strain when reading at night or in the dark. If you love f.lux, you’ll love this reader.

(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.