The other day I was going through a bunch of the books I’ve accumulated and realized that I’ve got a fair amount of geekish books. I don’t mean solely books you’d expect a geek to read like Asimov, Douglas Adams, or those of the comic variety, but even a few that I can say with confidence that you wouldn’t definitively find laying around in your dentist’s waiting area. Listed below are just some such books with Amazon links where you can grab them if you feel so inclined.
Now, normally I’d like for you, the reader to use us as your guide to geek culture, but in truth GeekChic: The Ultimate Guide to Geek Culture is far more comprehensive than GeeksPodcast at the moment. It covers nearly every conceivable face of geekdom from cyberpunk’s roots and the invention of the Rubik’s Cube to the rise of Kraftwerk aaaand Teledildonic Sex toys? Huh… oddly enough I have this book right in front of me and I swear to you that last one was just what I happened to first read under ‘Geek Miscellaneous’ in the table of contents. It’s also a full-color book packed with 157 pages of illustrations (minus the dildonic sex toys so you’re safe…for now.)
My buddy, Jake got me this one year for either my Birthday or Christmas I can’t remember. It’s great fun to flip through and does an awesome job of chronicling some of geekdom’s high (see: Pong) and low points (see: Nokia N-Gage)
Because Maddox is unarguably the king of the known universe, it’d be
downright stupid and dangerous not to include his publication on this list lest we incur his wrath. If you’ve never learned your ABC’s and especially of you have small children in your house, The Alphabet of Manliness is a must have if you want them to develop properly into ball-smashingly awesome lumberjack pirates.
Aside from being simply educational, it’s also packed with awesome illustrations in case your dumbass doesn’t know how to read. In fact the latest edition has even more content than the first making it almost as much of an honor as having Maddox himself punch you in the face! If you’re still uncertain as to the far-reaching and undeniable power of Maddox’s balls, I implore you to follow this link from his book tour as proof of the amount of ass-kickery he’s capable of displaying.
It’s no secret that Nicole and I are huge fans of Penny arcade so this had to make the list considering the awesome addition to your PA collection it will make. Originally planned as a 10 year anniversary book, Jerry and Mike just Got busy and so we were left with the Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade. It’s strange to think about them having written Penny Arcade for over 10 years. I remember reading them right before I went off to college, but it’s strange to think that I’ve been enjoying their comic for such a long time. The artwork has only gotten better through the years and it’s awesome taking a look back at just how far they’ve come from a couple of guys writing webcomics about videogames to the geek icons they are today. Bonus points are awarded on account of the sweet unicorn ride depicted on the cover!
Straight from one of the most influential security experts in history, The Art of Intrusion is a collection of horrific cyber security tales gathered and verified by Kevin 
Mitnick. While he’s also written The Art of Deception, The Art of Intrusion is less technical and focuses less on the mechanics of the attacks and more on illustrating glaring security holes that sysadmins should be on the lookout for. Even if you’re not tech savvy it’s a great read and made better considering all of the stories are true. Books like this should be required reading for anyone in the network administration business or anyone who has an interest in taking better steps to secure their (or their organization’s) data. While it’s true there isn’t a lock on this planet that can’t be opened with something other than its key, The Art of Intrusion illustrates just how many alternatives to a lock’s key there really are.
Alright, my bias in the area of personal computing is starting to show a bit I realize, but if any of you out there consider yourselves Apple fanboys (or girls) you should enjoy this immensely. Written by Leander Kahney, The Cult of Mac focuses almost exclusively on the Mac community as opposed to a history of Apple’s various products. Odds are if you have an Apple logo on your car (or shaved into your head) you’ve already picked this one up. But if you’re new to Apple and want a good comprehensive look at the impact it’s had on our society as a whole and some fiercely dedicated individuals, it’s a great read.
What other geek books are sitting on your shelf?
When I was hanging out with my friend in a manga section at bookstore last year, he strongly recommended Bakuman to me. I was very skeptical because I grew tired of clichés of manga that tends to feel very formulaic but when I began to read it, I was hooked.
