Book Brew

Whether you're relaxing on the beach or just trying to escape the company picnic, our pick for a stimulating summer read is Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? (Princeton Architectural Press), an illustrated chronicle of Kate Bingaman-Burt's purchases over three years. With her doodly ink drawings divided into groupings such as "From a Shelter Dog to a Black Cardigan," the Portland-based designer makes everything from $8 shoes ("Target rejects, size 10") to a pack of dust masks ($5, "makes sanding totally tolerable") look appealing, while inciting you to wonder why you've never thought to acquire a set of fake mustaches (99 cents) or plastic fangs ("just for wearing around the house"). "I love documenting the mundane," writes Bingaman-Burt in the book's introduction, "and, in turn, putting a personal face on something that is mass-produced."

Break out the crayons and sharpen up the pristine Prismacolors you've been hoarding, because RxArt has published the second volume of Between the Lines, its wildly popular contemporary art coloring book. The nonprofit organization, which places original fine art in hospital rooms and healthcare facilities, has collected 51 original line drawings from contemporary artists -- including Takashi Murakami, Ed Ruscha, Karen Kilimnik, and Andrew Kuo -- for your coloring pleasure. Despite the book's title, personal touches and coloring outside the lines are encouraged. Go for a mixed media approach with the vibrant stickers included with each book and designed by artists Nate Lowman and Mickalene Thomas.

Sick of flat type? Go deep with 3D Typography (Mark Batty Publisher), a new book compiled by Jeanette Abbink and Emily CM Anderson. There's no need for 3-D glasses when paging through this stimulating collection, which showcases the work of more than 100 international designers, typographers, and artists. The works trade pixels, screens, and paper for new materials including human skin, neon, and meticulously trimmed moss. "If you're anything like us, you may never look at letters in quite the same way—and may even be inspired to undertake a project of your own," say Abbink and Anderson. "As we learned, potential letterforms are everywhere, just waiting to be cut, carved, knitted, grown, spun, melted, molded, hammered, flown—and otherwise reclaimed."

Designer Mark Montano is an advocate for the imperfect—the flawed, special, and soulful products of pure creativity. He brings his message home in The Big-Ass Book of Home Décor, out this month from Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Chock full of colorful photos by Auxy Espinoza, the book offers step-by-step instructions for more than 100 crafty projects, from overhauling a boring coffee table and working magic with handpainted slipcovers to transforming plastic office folders into a Moroccan-inspired stained glass window and creating a shimmery "exploding sconce" from bits of broken mirrors (don't forget your safety goggles!). Got IKEA? Montano devotes an entire chapter to putting your own twist on pieces from the megastore. And if you don't like your creation, "Give it to someone who does, or just start over," he advises in the book's introduction. "Better yet, give it to someone you don't like and make them display it!"

We're not sure if the iPad will ever attain the status of design icon, but Phaidon hasn’t wasted any time in transforming its encyclopedic Design Classics collection into an app for Apple’s new tablet device. Originally published as a three-volume set (and tucked inside its own carrying case), Phaidon Design Classics features 999 of the most innovative, beautiful, and influential products created in the last 200 years, from early-1800s Chinese bonsai scissors to the sleek line of brunch equipment (kettle, coffee maker, and toaster) designed by Jasper Morrison for Rowenta. Those who pop for the $19.99 iPad app version should be prepared for a meta moment upon discovering one of the more recent entries: the iPod.

We struggle to stomach the spongey, seasonal confections known as Peeps, but we can't deny their visual appeal. The iconic edibles are the world's top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy, and they've inspired countless online tributes, brand extensions, and yes, a briskly selling DIY book. In Peeps: Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat (Chronicle Books), former pastry chef Charity Ferreira offers step-by-step instructions on transforming the sugary treats into 24 projects, from colorful dishes (Peeps in a Blanket, icy Peeps-icles) to home decor (a holiday Peeps wreath, Peeps chopsticks rests). Die-hard Peeps fans can even include the cheerful chicks on their big day with a Peeps wedding cake topper. Who said love doesn't come cheep?