THE BEST Books

Master doodle artist Lei Melendres‘ creative coloring book sends you on a mission to explore weird and creepy scenes filled with hundreds of wacky characters and hard to find objects. Once you find your objectives, simply color them in, then move on to the next challenge.

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.

Ease the wait for Rick and Morty‘s fourth season with Adult Swim’s The Art of Rick and Morty book. It contains never before seen sketches and designs for the show’s characters, details of the writer’s room and more. It’s also available as an eBook.

A series of classic board games, each presented in vintage style, and packed inside a box designed to look like a hardcover book. Each one packs its board, pieces, dice, etc. inside. Choose from Monopoly, Clue, Yahtzee, Scrabble, Scattergories, or LIFE.

Author J.W. Rinzler’s 336-page hardcover book takes us inside the production of Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon’s 1979 science fiction/horror classic Alien. The book includes interviews with the original crew, and photographs, artworks, and storyboards from the production.

Hide small items in plain sight with this fake book storage box. Designed to look like the parts manual from an old piece of industrial equipment, it’ll look great sitting alongside other mechanics’ books. It measures 7″ x 5.5″ x 1.8″ and is made from canvas, wrapped around MDF plywood, with a velvet-lined interior.

If you grew up in the ’70s or ’80s, there’s not much more iconic than the box art from classic Atari games. Authors Robert V. Conte and Tim Lapetino explore the history of videogaming’s great forefather, and the artists and creative process behind these now classic works.

A fun coffee table book or bathroom reader filled with random and strange bits of trivia, each accompanied by a silly illustration. Learn how Napoleon was attacked by rabbits, how dancing goats are the reason we have coffee, and how it’s illegal for a mortician to swear in front of the dead in Georgia.

Best known for their iconic, in-depth auto repair manuals, Haynes also offers a series of books which delve into the design, construction, and operation of famous military planes like the F/A-18 Hornet, Grumman F-14 Tomcat, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

Authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith take a lighthearted, but informative look at “Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything.” The book looks at everything from fusion power, to brain-computer interfaces, to 3D-printed organs, and how they could dramatically improve lives, or end up being the end of us.

xkcd creator Randall Munroe’s latest book offers solutions to real-world problems. But don’t expect to get advice you can actually use. Instead, you’ll receive overly-complicated and impractical methods, in what he calls “world’s least useful self-help book.” Drops 9/3/19.

Expert LEGO designer and builder Jeff Friesen presents an amazing book for LEGO fanatics, architecture fanatics, and anyone who enjoys building things. It includes plans for building 50 different models as part of 8 fantastic LEGO micro cities.

Illustrator Andrew Morgan’s thick-paged kids book is perfect for teaching toddlers their ABCs. But instead of animals and everyday objects, each letter of the alphabet is illustrated with a rock and roll god or goddess. He also makes a version for budding rap stars.

Is your kid good at spelling? Throw ’em a curve ball with P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever, an A to Z guide to a few of the many quirks of the English language, with its silent consonants and other rule-breaking pronunciations. (Thanks Nathan!)

Author Devon Fredericksen presents a comprehensive guide to spending time in the great outdoors. This 304-page hardcover book is packed with useful tips, techniques, and illustrated advice for camping safely and successfully – from choosing your gear, to packing, to setting up and enjoying your campsite.

The Folio Society presents a fantastic new hardcover edition of Ray Bradbury’s classic, as the denizens of Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show are brought to life through creepy, intricate illustrations by artist Tim McDonagh. A great gift for any fan of dark fantasy.

Serial Box offers compelling original content in eBook and audio formats. Each episode runs about 40 minutes , with each series running 10 to 16 weeks. Choose from sci-fi/fantasy, drama, or murder/mystery bundles, each including five series. Save 51% in The Awesomer Shop.

If you’re not in da couch, perhaps your brain is running a thousand miles an hour and needs a creative outlet. This book should do the trick. It’s basically a blank journal loaded with ideas of things to doodle, from a giraffe riding a rainbow to a dog on a surfboard.

Emma Stokes’ book of cocktail recipes organizes the drinks by their chemical composition – or at least what their primary liquor component is. Perfect for science geeks who like their booze, there’s also a version for oenophiles by wine expert Sara Rowlands.

Alex Bellos and Edmund Harris’ wonderful coloring book is designed for kids and adults who are fascinated with patterns, geometry, or mathematics. It’s packed with dozens of intricate and soothing designs to help keep your mind distracted from the day’s woes.

These books are the perfect gift for any Star Wars fan. Each one comes with a laser-cut and engraved 3D wood model of an iconic vehicle, spaceship, or droid. Display them as-is, or paint them to your liking. The accompanying books provide background details.

Previously available only in a now sold out limited run, Taschen is re-releasing Roy Thomas’ biographical art book about the late Stan Lee. The Stan Lee Story XXL contains lots of photographs, comic book art and facsimiles and features a foreword by the man himself.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the Mini. Voted the most second influential car of the 20th century (behind only the Ford Model T), the original Mini was in production from 1959 until 2000. Learn about its origins and more in this retrospective book by Giles Chapman.

“From what age can babies… fight to the death?” Justin Hook gathered a collection of more than 200 of the most amusing search engine autocomplete suggestions he could find. While you wait for the book to arrive this May, try a round or two of his Google Feud.