We love books! How much? So much that they couldn’t be contained in one guide! (Yesterday’s collection can be found here.) This second part of our holiday book guide includes selections from Erik Wecks (EW), Jonathan Liu (JL), Corrina Lawson (CL), Jenny Williams (JW), Ken Denmead (KD), John Baichtal (JWB), James Floyd Kelly (JFK), and me (DB). If you missed earlier gift guides, you can find them here.
Geek Mom: Projects, Tips and Adventures for 21st Century Families
The four editors of the GeekMom Blog wrote the book of fun geeky projects and activities for parents that range from cool superhero costumes and creations, creating sparks in a microwave to exploring the sense of smell with loose tea, to geekiness in the kitchen. Projects run the gamut from spur of the moment to the more complicated but awesome, like making a lava lamp. Buy it at Amazon. (CL)
GeekDad:Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, The GeekDad Guide to Weekend Fun, and The GeekDad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists
The books that will help every geeky family find just the right bit of science madness and home-hacking to enjoys together on the weekends. There’s kites and balloons, radios and lasers, and plenty of fire. Find them all on Amazon. (KD)
Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey and Glamour in Glass
Think Jane Austen with magic, and you’re fairly close to these wonderful books. Adventure, war, romance, and propriety permeate Ms. Kowal’s well-researched novels. Read the GeekDad review here, or buy it at Amazon. (JW)
How to Tell if Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
The Oatmeal continuously pumps out some of the best, funniest, most insightful comic commentary on the Web. How to Tell if Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You turns the Oatmeal’s eye from Sriracha sauce and Web design to kitty cats. The result will leave you alternately nodding your head and laughing out loud … even if you’re a dog person. Read the interview or buy it at Amazon. (DB)
A Hero for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
The second novel in Tony DiTerlizzi’s epic sci-fi adventure takes Eva Nine to New Attica, where she finally meets other humans for the first time. But as she explores this walled city, she starts to wonder about her own identity and where she fits. Haven’t read the first book yet? Now’s a perfect time to get caught up. Here are full reviews of The Search for WondLa and A Hero for WondLa. Both books are available from Amazon. (JL)
Going Shogun
Going Shogun is just a great read. It has a fantastic breakneck pace, excellent writing with a generous dose of jabberwockey thrown in, and a fabulous comic adventure. Follow hapless waiter Chris and his uber-geek pal Forklift as they try to climb up from the bottom of the social ladder in a caste driven society that has no intentions of letting them off the bottom. Let’s just say that Forklift’s plan includes on major episode of hacking and the theft of their bosses secret recipes. What could go wrong? Going Shogun is available on Amazon. You can find the full GeekDad review here. (EW)
Phoenix Rising
Since birth, Alec Farley has been trained to be a living weapon. His firestarter and telekinetic abilities have been honed to deadly perfection by the Resource, a shadowy anti-terrorist organization—the only family he has ever known. What the Resource didn’t teach him, though, is how to play well with others.
In the style of the X-Men with a side of romance, this story of a superhero’s coming of age from GeekMom Editor Corrina Lawson features a literally explosive climax. Buy it at Amazon. (CL)
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue
Explore the city that was too hard for legendary dark elf Drizzt! This D&D sourcebook is all about the famous (to those familiar with D&D!) drow city Menzoberranzan. It’s a wicked underground city packed full of scheming dark elves and their henchmen and slaves. The illustrations of the noble families are particularly excellent, and you really get a sense of the personalities of these houses. Of course, there’s the obligatory poster map of the city, but you also learn about the environs of Menzoberranzan. This book is just the resource you need to run a campaign in the city or to inspire you to create your own evil city. Buy it from Amazon. [JWB]
Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
What happens when a middle schooler puts on an incredibly realistic fake mustache? Well, pretty soon he’s on his way to ruling the planet. This book for middle-grade readers (from the author of the Origami Yoda series) had my kids — and me — laughing from beginning to end. Check out the full review here, or order from Amazon. (JL)
No Other Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup
The third and final book in the series, this one is just as silly and hilarious as the first two. Meant for kids to read, it is no less fun for parents or other grown-ups. Go along for the ride as the Cheeseman family travels through time to rescue the mother of the family. Hilarity ensues. Dinosaurs and Neanderthals also make an appearance. Read the GeekDad review here, or buy it at Amazon. (JW)
The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life)
Now is the season to think about improving your life and, if you’re a geek, who better to listen to than the knowledgable nerd, Chris Hardiwck? In this self-help book, Hardwick describes how he nearly ruined his life and how he was able to sort things out and come back stronger than ever. The book’s packed with tons of tips to kick you in the seat of your pants and help you level up in real life. Above all else, it’s riotously funny and maybe just the spark you need to make a change in your life. Buy it at Amazon. (DB)
Bad Water
Bad Water by Toni Dwiggins is a mystery thriller comparable to the best of Tony Hillerman’s work. Dwiggens’ heroine Cassie Oldfield works as a forensic geologist analyzing mud on cars, bodies, and clothing for the FBI. In the middle of the night she and her partner and mentor, Walter Shaws, are flown by helicopter to a location in the middle of the Nevada desert where they are left to inspect a truck which carried highly radioactive waste. Apparently a high-jacking which went bad, it quickly becomes apparent that at least one barrel of waste is missing. From that point forward the chase is on. Dwiggens never lets her characters get out of harms way and the conclusion is taught and satisfying. Here is a link to Bad Water on Amazon. The full GeekDad review can be found here. (EW)
Shadow Show by various authors
Editors Sam Weller and Mort Castle assembled a stellar group of authors for this short story anthology celebrating Ray Bradbury. The stories, like Bradbury’s, run the gamut from contemporary literary fiction to science fiction, and are sure to please anyone who loves Bradbury’s work. Click here to read the full review, or order it from Amazon. (JL)
A Feast of Ice & Fire
Winter is coming. In fact, it’s nearly here. This book is full of recipes inspired by the Game of Thrones novels and, given the way George R.R. Martin can go on and on and on and on about food in his books, there’s a good chance that this 240 page cookbook is shorter than his descriptions in the Song of Ice and Fire series. So, before you head for the Wall (or grandmother’s house) find a recipe for trout wrapped in bacon or, if feeling more adventurous, honey-spiced locusts. Don’t be afraid, nearly all the recipes look very tasty. And the best part is you won’t have to watch your back while eating them. Buy it at Think Geek. (DB)
Avogadro Corp.
Everyone knows what happens when the Singularity comes into existence, we fight a war with it. But very little of the fiction surrounding that event deals with the development of the singularity itself. Avogadro Corp. fills in that gap. Will Hertling provides a credible tale of the Sigularity’s awakening from already existing computer technologies. Set in a corporation which looks suspiciously like Google a computer engineer makes a couple of changes to specific computer codes on some R&D work which is about to lose its funding. The results are unexpected and dangerous. Avogadro Corp. is available on Amazon. You can read the full GeekDad review here. (EW)
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway
If you want a book that has a rollicking plot and beautifully crafted language, Nick Harkaway’s your man. His second novel, Angelmaker, is full of unexpected twists and turns, a mash-up of steampunk and gangster noir that will enthrall you to the end. Read the full review here, or click here to order a copy. (JL)
Disney Pixar Character Encyclopedia
Howdy Pardner!Through 13 films, Pixar has introduced us to more than 200 characters, almost too many to keep straight. With the Disney Pixar Character Encyclopedia, they’re all at your fingertips, including roles, trivia, and lots of stills from the movies. Buy it at Amazon. (DB)
Make: Electronics
Make: Electronics: In the 3+ years since this book was released, I’ve personally recommended it to hundreds of kids, parents, teachers, and adults (not to mention the thousands and thousands who probably read my original review). What I tell everyone is the same: this is THE book if you’ve been wanting to learn electronics. You’ll learn to solder, you’ll learn how to read schematics (and build circuits from them), and you’ll learn about ICs (integrated circuits), relays, motors, LCDs, and dozens more components. Author Charles Platt knows how to explain concepts without a lot of mumbo-jumbo techno babble. It’s a full-color hands-on tutorial that will surprise you when you’re done with the 30+ experiments. It’s also a great parent-child project that offers hours of hands-on activities to learn together. If you want even more info, read the year-long blog I wrote where I documented my training via videos and writeups about each experiment. Buy it at Amazon. (JFK)
Game of Thrones and Portal Bookends
What better way to end the book gift guide with some bookends? (Maybe we should have started it that way too?) These two geekily awesome sets celebrate the Starks from Game of Thrones and everyone’s favorite means of travel from Portal. The huge direwolves bookends are eight inches tall and each weigh a whopping six pounds each – it’s almost like having Hodor holding up your books for you. Almost. The Portal bookends feature a test subject moving from one end of your books to the other and you should certainly pick up a pair … unless you want to go on being a horrible person. (But don’t let it bother you, it’s just another data point.) Buy the direwolves and the Portal bookends at Think Geek. (DB)
