2013’s Notable Maker Books

I spend a lot of my time thinking about books, editing books, and making books. This means I get to read a lot of the books that I help create, but I also have to contend with a constantly-growing list of books I plan to read… when I find the time. With the holidays approaching, I might just find some time to get caught up on my reading. But if not, could you read one of these books for me?

Kevin Kelly
December 2013
Amazon
It’s one of the books I’ve been looking forward most to all year: Kevin Kelly has taken the best of Cool Tools and put it in a form that fits nicely under a Christmas Tree, on a coffee table, or within arm’s reach of your favorite sitting spot.

David Lang
September 2013
Maker Shed
I get to plug some of our books, especially if it’s one that I worked to bring to you. Follow David Lang’s personal journey from unemployed dude to maker pro. It was a pleasure to be David’s editor on this book. Learn it. Know it. Live it.

Breck Baldwin
May 2013
Amazon
Imagine my astonishment when I learned that the Breck Baldwin, master maker of flying things from scrap materials, is a computational linguist by day. That fact has absolutely nothing to do with how much fun you’ll have with the flying things you can make from the instructions in this book.

Carla Diana
December 2013
Maker Shed
Here’s another book I had the pleasure of editing. It’s our first children’s book, and as best I can tell, the first book on 3d printing for kids. Follow Carla’s journey as she meets a robot in New York City who can scan and print 3d objects.

Sylvia Libow Martinez
May 2013
Maker Shed
This book first caught my attention when we couldn’t keep it in stock at the Maker Shed at Maker Faire Bay Area. It’s very high on my to-read list.

Leah Buechley and Kanjun Qiu
Fall 2013
Amazon
I picked this up shortly after it came out, and it’s a solid book on making interactive toys, light-up things you wear, or anything that combines electronics, soft materials, and a little microcontroller called the LilyPad Arduino.

Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman
February 2013
Amazon
My to-read queue is getting pretty deep, and it’s partly to blame on this book. The story of 3d printing is far from done, but this book tells you where it is now, how it got there, and where it’s headed.

My time grows short, so quick, here are some more:

• Make: Analog Synthesizers (May 2013)
• The Maker Movement Manifesto (September 2013)
• Tinkering (September 2013)
• Makers at Work (September 2013)
• Getting Started with BeagleBone (October 2013)
• The Makerspace Workbench (September 2013)

See all  our gift guide here.