6 Books to Read for Adventurous Crafters and Artisans
Let's talk nerdy with book suggestions for makers
Welcome to the Offbeat Update published by Souls Like Wheels: a newsletter featuring all things creative, adventurous, and quirky. 🤓
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This week’s newsletter comes a day late because I was consumed in mushroom yarn dyeing all weekend. Here’s a sneak peek of my progress to make up for my tardiness :)
Read, Learn, Make:
Last week I spent some time reorganizing my living room and reading shelf. I realized that the vast majority of my book collection is geared toward crafting: woodworking, knitting, dyeing, and more. It’s funny — we gravitate more and more to video as a primary medium (who doesn’t love a YouTube video to see how a project is made or learn a new technique?), but it hasn’t replaced my book collection just yet. Why is that?
Maybe it’s because books add dimension and deeper connections to the crafts we love. Or maybe I just need to physically turn pages once in a while.
I’m still figuring out the answer, but in the meantime, I can’t help but share with you my favorite books from my shelf:
The Manly Art of Knitting
Intended to encourage men to take up knitting, The Manly Art of Knitting is a short and sweet pattern book made for beginners.
This book was published in 1972 by Dave Fougner and has been out of print for decades but you can still easily find copies online. I purchased this on Amazon for less than $10.
This book reads exactly how you’d expect from a rancher and horse exhibitor who low-key loves to knit. My favorite patterns are the dog blanket and the hammock knitted out of rope instead of yarn and shovel handles instead of knitting needles.
I’ll be honest – I purchased this book solely for the cover photo. The patterns are as brief as they can be and you can read the book cover to cover in less than 10 minutes. Still, it’s a fun read that will make you smile and would make a fun gift!
Buy the book HERE
Bears Don’t Care About Your Problems: More Funny Shit in the Woods from Semi-Rad.com
This book is a collection of 80 essays originally published on author Brendan Leonard’s website: semi-rad.com
The essays are short enough to be inviting for even the laziest of readers (talking to me here 😳). Yet once you read one essay, I can almost guarantee you’ll read four more in one sitting. The writing is hilarious yet introspective and way too relatable for the adventurous dirtbags at heart.
Even if you don’t want to read the entire book, at least check out his collection of essays, especially I Hate Running and Out Of Office Autoreply: I’m In Nature
You can order the book here.
By Hand & Eye
This one is a must-read for woodworkers trying to branch out into furniture design. If you’ve been racking your brain and burning up your erasers trying to decide how thick your tabletop should be or where to start tapering the legs of your dream barstool, you need this book.
It will teach you how artisans of the past relied on simple proportions to design visually appealing furniture and architecture. The book includes visual exercises to better understand how to “see” furniture in proportions and ratios plus it contains a handful of projects that were designed using these same principles.
You can buy the book HERE and read a section of the book for free HERE
Suggestions from the Community
As you can tell, I’m not a heavy reader. Luckily, you fine folks have me covered. The following maker-centric books have been recommended by readers of this newsletter and followers on social media.
The Forgotten Arts and Crafts
I’m a sucker for American history and the cultural traditions that shaped us. This is a collection of traditional crafts and skills from Colonial America, many of which are likely all but forgotten at this point.
Here’s a summary from GoodReads:
“Taking the reader on an evocative journey through the worlds of traditional craftspeople -- from blacksmith to bee-keeper, wainwright to housewife -- Seymour celebrates their honest skills, many of which have disappeared beneath the tread of progress. With characteristic passion, Seymour demonstrates that these country arts and household crafts need never be forgotten.”
I’m particularly excited to browse this book and maybe find another craft to try out. If you feel the same, you can buy the book HERE
Knitstrips: The World’s First Comic-Strip Knitting Book
As the title very clearly explains, this is the world’s first comic book dedicated to knitting. It includes 22 patterns which are presented in a simplified way that’s very unlike most pattern books.
Here’s a promising review from a very happy reader:
“Talk about thinking outside the box! This book is so incredibly creative. The illustrations are fantastic, the patterns are unique, and the layout is very easy to follow. Honestly, there's really nothing I've seen quite like it. Definitely a fun purchase for knitters, but also a really great gift idea because it's so one-of-a-kind.”
I’ve never actually purchased a comic book (clearly, I’m not much of a Marvel or DC fan), but when I do, it’ll be this one.
Buy the knitting comic book HERE
Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns and the Future of Chasing
This one is for the diehard skiers and it’s also the book I’m most skeptical about.
As a ski addict and former Vail Resorts employee, I have a very personal take on ski culture. I’m keen to learn the author’s perspective on the ski bum lifestyle and the culture surrounding towns like Vail. I hope her account mentions pocket bacon (the best ski snack), chairlift beers for breakfast, and a healthy dose of criticism for the giant corporations working against their hardworking employees.
Learn more about this book and ski bum culture HERE
Action Steps:
📖 Are you a book connoisseur? Let me know your thoughts on this list of books. Whether you love them or hate them, I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
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Thanks for introducing Bernard Leonard to me. Read his I Hate Running piece, and it reminded me of this comic strip - https://theoatmeal.com/comics/running.