Awesome Books

Puzzle master Alex Bellos’ book is filled with 100 perplexing lexical puzzles that are guaranteed to give your brain a workout. Challenges include pattern identification, decoding hieroglyphics, and ciphers not just in English, but in other languages both real and imaginary.

This collection of four books from wilderness expert and author Dave Canterbury includes everything you ever wanted to know about thriving in the wild. The combined reference guides include over 1000 pages of techniques for building shelters, trapping, gathering, and cooking, along with first aid and survival.

This collectible book set offers an in-depth look behind the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Authors Tara Bennett and Paul Terry were given unprecedented access at Marvel Studios, filling two volumes with over 500 production photos, and 200 interviews with the staff, cast, and crew for all 23 movies in The Infinity Saga.

This thick, but still pocketable reference book has more than 700 pages chock full of useful charts, tables, and information for carpenters, engineers, handymen, and anyone else who builds, makes, or maintains things. It’s not an instructional book, but it’s great for looking up figures, equations, and conversions.

It’s time to overdecorate with pumpkins, autumn leaves, and manic cursing. Based on a McSweeney’s essay by Colin Nissan, It’s Decorative Gourd Season, MFers features stock photos illustrating the narrator’s descent into depression as his “perfect f**ing seasonal masterpiece” becomes a “perfect f**ing vermin condo.”

Nathan Myhrvold and his team expand their fantastic Modernist Cuisine series with a 3-volume encyclopedia all about pizza. The books break down the history of pizza, ingredients and techniques, and include more than 1000 recipes and 3700 photos of creative and delicious pizzas inspired by pizzerias around the globe.

Every comic book fan should have Marvel Greatest Comics: 100 Comics that Built a Universe on their bookshelf. The 256-page retrospective looks back at some of the most important and influential comics ever created, from the premiere of the Human Torch to forming the Avengers to modern characters like Squirrel Girl.

Thomas Pavitte’s clever illustrations offer a unique spin on adult coloring books. Each image is hidden within a pair of concentric spirals, which only reveals itself as you fill in the lines. Use two colors to create a duotone. Choose from music icons, cities, or animals.

Maze expert Sean C. Jackson created 30 intricate mazes for fellow Star Wars fans to enjoy. Locations include the forests of Endor, Jabba’s Palace, the rocky cliffs of Ahch-To, and the corridors of the Death Star. In addition to winding your way through the mazes, each illustration contains a Where’s Waldo-style challenge.

Chronicle’s coffee table art book celebrates the past, present, and future of Polaroid instant photography. In addition to more than 200 creative images captured by contemporary artists, the book revisits the origins and evolution of the format, along with an index of Polaroid cameras which still can be found today.

Three centuries before Pantone colors, artist A. Boogert meticulously cataloged hundreds of paint pigments. The Galobart Books is offering a limited run of this fascinating piece of design history. Each book comes in a slipcase with a numbered certificate, 10 frameable prints, and a study guide. View the original book here.

You’ve seen the memes, now see the whole collection of Steven Rhodes’ parody children’s book covers. My Little Occult Book Club features the funniest of his paranormal fakes – including Caring for Your Hell Hound and Necromancy for Beginners – characterized by deviously cheerful illustrations with a 1970s vibe.

Did you know that killer whales have been known to eat deer, or that fluffy white clouds can weigh a million pounds? Author Shane Carley’s offbeat trivia book is filled with 500 strange things that sound like they were totally made up, but are factually correct.

Created for lovers of contemporary art and cocktails, Art Boozel is sure to please with more than 50 mixed drinks, each inspired by a famous artist. Drinks include the Frida Kahlo with tequila and watermelon, the Salvador Dalí with Spanish sherry and sesame, and the Yayoi Kusama, a sweet-tart mix of gin, pumpkin, lime, and ginger.

If you or someone you know is into difficult puzzles, The Master Theorem – A Book of Puzzles, Intrigue and Wit is sure to offer a challenge. It’s filled with more than 40 perplexing puzzles include ciphers, logic games, and visual puzzles, each of which requires smarts and creativity even to figure out where to start each one.

Designers and artists looking for a source of inspiration would do well to add Vault Editions‘ idea books to their library. This two-volume series features nearly 1000 engravings, etchings, and woodblock prints from the 17th through 19th centuries. It’s loaded with skulls, animals, and vintage objects and includes high-res downloads.

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.

Founded by Tim Schafer, Double Fine Productions is the game studio behind adventures like Grim Fandango, Brütal Legend, Psychonauts, and Broken Age. This 280-page art book chronicles the studio’s history through concept art, stories, and interviews. The Legend Edition of the book gets a cloth cover with gold foil details.

Award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido (of NYC’s Katana Kitten) shares his knowledge of Japanese spirits and cocktails with 80 recipes that exemplify Japan’s contribution to the cocktail scene, both from his own bar and from Japanese mixologists. Urushido analyses the Japanese approach and demystifies ages-old techniques.

Here’s a fun alternative to traditional puzzle books. This two-volume book series is filled with challenging riddles that will exercise your grey matter. They’re enjoyable to solve on your own, but can be even more fun to figure out with friends. Grab the Kindle 3-pack and get Riddles for Smart Families too.

This book helps inquisitive minds of all ages understand all 118 elements of the periodic table and their place in the universe. It features lots of colorful charts and illustrations and explains the relationships between elements with similar attributes.

Books written by the dead, the insane, and the Devil himself. Books made from knots. Books written in blood and bound in skin. Edible books, wearable books, books written in ciphers. Filled with fascinating discoveries on every page, The Madman’s Library reveals the obscure histories of the strangest books ever made.

We always wondered what kind of cocktails Bruce Wayne and his guests were sipping at all those fancy parties. Now we know, thanks to Gotham City Cocktails, a book filled with adult beverages and tasty bar bites inspired by Batman, Joker, Poison Ivy, and other characters from the popular DC Comics series.