The Why & How of Woodworking by Michael Pekovich without a doubt changed my life as a woodworker. This book is not only full of tips, techniques, and projects, but it gives a deep insight into Mike’s philosophy on woodworking, literally the why and how or what he does, and it gets me fired up to get back in the shop each and every time I pick it up. Must have!
I never would have thought I could learn so much from someone documenting their journey of creating 52 Boxes in 52 Weeks, but Matt Kenney proved me wrong. Matt does a wonderful job giving a deep dive view into his design process for each box all while dropping little nuggets of invaluable tips and tricks.
To me, Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction by Gary Rogowski read as a mix between a woodworker’s philosophy book, and an autobiography, but regardless it was a great read. Gary paints beautiful pictures of the PNW with his words while he leads you through his life as a woodworker.
BUSINESS
If you’re hobby is also a side-hustle or full-fledged business, you 1000% need to read this book. Much like Mike Pekovich’s book was a game changer for me, Profit First by Mike Michalowicz opened up a whole new world of business finance for me. He shows how the standard accounting system is flawed and leads to small businesses shutting down before giving and in-depth guide to getting your business finances right and in order.
The Pumpkin Plan is another great book by Mike M.
Ever get tired of hearing how you have to ultra-specialize in something to be successful? In Range, David Epstein goes into great detail about his, and others’, research into how generalists tend to perform better that specialists. Roger Federer vs Tiger Woods is a great example.
LIFE
Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time. It turns out, most of us makers, suffer from the same problem: wanting to do, explore, and make everything. To the point that it can hold us back. This book not only opened my eyes to how I operate but it gave me the tools to harness my multipotentiality and direct it!
I’m a massive football fan (Go Hawks!) and when Will Dissly said The Slight Edge was the secret to him successfully recovering from two back-to-back season ending injuries, I knew I had to read it. Holy hell am I glad I did. The philosophies in this book are so simple yet so profound I’m shocked they aren’t taught as a standard in our society. A must read in my opinion.
This isn’t a sports book. It’s a guide to succeeding in life book.
There are a TON of great online dog training information resources these days, but the one thing I find lacking is a clear-cut, step-by-step guide, showing what to work on with your dog and in what order. 21 Days To Train Your Dog fills that gap with a beautifully laid out and extremely detailed training program.
Highly recommended.
I’m a Starship Troopers nerd. Well, to be fair, I’m a nerd for the first film, the others were pretty terrible. So you can imagine my shock when I discovered the movie was based off of a novel….and in typical fashion, turns out the novel is even better than the movie! (and pretty drastically different as well)
If you’re a fan of sci-fi mixed with extremely interesting political climates and policy, Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein is for you.
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