General Craft & DIY discussion

Tell us about the books you're reading. We're especially interested in those that intersect with the group's theme, but any are welcome.

I wrote up reviews for a couple of nonfiction books this morning.

Ruler and Compass: Practical Geometric Constructions has been a real boon & I've been pouring over it for more than a month. Very dense with tiny text, but a really great shop reference. Here's my 5 star review.

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris was really good, but it is preaching to the choir, so is only a 4/5 star read. My review is here.

I just listened to The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman & gave it a 5 star review. Absolutely fantastic & highly recommended, especially for anyone who makes anything. Even if you don't, you'll feel a lot better about yourself when you find out that you're not an idiot because you can't use a common item, it was probably poorly designed! Great, real world examples. I wish manufacturers would read this.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yes, should be required reading for designers.

Further reading:
* How Things Don't Work old but still valid
* The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations - More industrial than consumer (less)

Thanks, James. I put the 2 book links into a comment in my review. Unfortunately, the last one has no description or review in GR.

The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations by The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations

How Things Don't Work by Victor Papanek

The last was a comment, you have both that I recommended.

Cræft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts was a really interesting look into them from a UK perspective. The author is both an archeologist & something of a crafter. That allowed somewhat dry histories to take on a life of their own. Unfortunately, his idealism got idiotic at times which really hurt the overall message. Still, I gave it a 4 star review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That's a great review, I've put it on my to read list. Plus my local library has a copy.

Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap Into Radical Curiosity, and Solve Any Problem by Bill Nye the Science Guy was my third book by him & my least favorite so far. It was a little too long, strident, & superficial to really blow any wind up my skirt. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fighting Misinformation: Digital Media Literacy is a short Great Course that everyone should listen to. It's geared toward those who use Facebook & Twitter without understanding the dangers. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...