THE BEST Books

The consistently hilarious Jeff Wysaski of Obvious Plant and Pleated Jeans fame has released Wrestle Your Mailman and Other Small Ways to Feel Happy, a short and sweet book filled with amusing (though often unlawful) ideas to brighten your day.

Japan has over 5.5 million vending machines. While typically associated with urban life, many of these machines end up serving remote areas. Photographer Eiji Ohashi shares portraits of these lonely automatons in his photo book, Roadside Lights.

The second version of Amazon’s high-end e-book reader is now waterproof and has a larger 7″ screen. The new Kindle Oasis also has Audible built-in, but you need Bluetooth headphones because it doesn’t have a 3.5mm output.

Kelli Anderson’s This Book Is a Planetarium, features six usable pop-up constructions, including a tiny planetarium, a Spirograph-like drawing machine, a secret decoder ring, and an acoustic amplifier. Each object is accompanied by an explanation of the science behind it.

Rick and Morty fans will grin ear to ear over never before seen concept art and a fun glow in the dark cover in this pleasing art book. It drills deeper into character creations and also offers intimate commentary from the show’s creators. If you aren’t already a fan, you soon will be.

(PG-13: Language) Lo Life was an ’80s New York City gang obsessed with Polo clothing. Pop culture caught on and spread the craze worldwide. This retrospective from Lo Lifes’ Thirstin Howl and photographer Tom Gould is a teaser for their eponymous book.

Most of us use our Swiss Army knives for emergencies and impromptu needs. But Chris Lubkemann’s book is packed with fun ways you can use your knife to start a new hobby – whittling wood. It’s packed with easy to make projects, from desktop sculptures to utensils.

Join Abbi, Ilana, and their pals for a series of ribald New York City misadventures in this most definitely adult coloring book, illustrated by Mike Perry, who also created the show’s hypnotic title sequences. Four and Three and Two and Buy!

Prima Games’ follow up to its NES book. Playing with Super Power is a nostalgic guide book. Not only does it contain tips for SNES games, it also has a history of Nintendo’s console and its classics, as well as associated art and music. Also available as an online book.

Just in time for Sonic Mania, Cook and Becker’s Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book has posters, covers, concept art and more from Sega’s archives. It also has a $125 Collector’s Edition that comes with a inner sleeve/book stand and a signed print.

Chef, rapper, and TV host Action Bronson’s book is part memoir, part cookbook, and all awesome. The 224-page book features photos and stories from Bronson’s travels, along with dozens of deliciously decadent recipes. Here’s some chicken parm to whet your appetite.

(PG-13, SPOILERS) “See, Wade comes from the ‘hood. So he straight obsessed with getting Halliday’s cash money.” Sparky Sweets – the teacher who puts the lit in literature – sums up the story, themes and questions presented by Ernest Cline’s hit young adult novel.

From veteran translator Clyde Mandelin (Mother 3, Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan) comes This Be Book Bad Translation, Video Games!, a funny and insightful book about how errors in video game localizations occur, with 99 screenshots of bad translations as examples.

Simon Stålenhag is back with more retro sci-fi paintings. Set in an alternate ’90s US and centered on a young girl traveling with her robot, The Electric State is a 120-page art book with a supplementary narrative written by Simon as well. More on his site.

A spectacularly fun book for any Star Wars fan, graphic designer Tim Leong’s lighthearted paperback is packed with infographics, facts, and figures from what each lightsaber color means, to the heights of popular characters, to the Jedi High Council seating chart.

Illustrator Sean C. Jackson’s nifty book is packed with dozens of fun and challenging maze designs of tiny isometric villages, dotted with buildings, trees, staircases, fountains, bridges, monuments, and more.

Emil Ferris’ critically-acclaimed graphic novel is drawn and written as the diary and sketchbook of Karen Reyes, a monster-obsessed 10-year old living in 1960’s Chicago who tries to solve the murder of her upstairs neighbor.

Author Brett McKay and illustrator Ted Slampyak present a how-to guide packed with over 100 practical skills for real men. You’ll learn everything from how to fire a gun, to how to shine your shoes, to how to be a good uncle, to how to escape a bear attack.

A simple, yet ingenious accessory for any avid book reader, simply clip the magnetic SUJI-IN bookmark into the back of your book, set its thumb-shaped holder over the page you’re currently reading, and it automatically keeps track of your place as you flip pages.

Authors Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris present a series of hilarious “educational” manuals which poke fun at kitschy 1960s Easy Reader books. The audiobook version is narrated by none other than Andy Richter.

A coloring book for adult humans with a sense of humor and no sense of decorum. It’s packed with cheeky calligraphic images to fill in and frame. Our favorite? “F*ck a Doodle Doo.” We only wish they sold F*cking Brilliant coloring pencils instead of just No. 2s.

Knock Knock’s hilarious book is filled with 45 decision making flowcharts to help you figure out the right plan of action when it comes to some of life’s more basic quandaries. It’s much better than flipping a coin. A companion book covers things that matter slightly more.

A wonderful book for anyone who loves video games. Author Dustin Hansen explores the origins of arcade, console and PC games dating back to Pong, all the way up to modern games like Overwatch, with an eye towards the creators and their sources of inspiration.

As you wish… This coloring book for kids of all ages pays tribute to Rob Reiner’s 1986 classic The Princess Bride. It features 70-pages for you to color, as Wesley, Fezzik and Inigo Montoya take on Prince Humperdink and the six-fingered man to rescue Princess Buttercup.