Books of the Week: Steampunk!

Cover of The Court of the Air

Okay, I got a little bored and began browsing through some of my favorite steampunk websites and forums until I was able to assemble a modest list of highly recommended novels. I have peeked at a few myself (though unfortunately I do not have the time to commit to reading them right now), and I must say I can't wait to read more!

The Difference Engine – by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Airborne – by Kenneth Oppel

The Court of the Air – by Stephen Hunt

Annubis Gate – by Tim Powers

Dr. Eckner’s Dream Machine – by Douglas Botting

Nomads of the Time Stream – by Michael Moorcock

Perdido Street Station – by China Miéville

For some more ideas on Steampunk fiction and authors Extraordinary Engines is a book filled with those.

Unfortunately, none of my usual sources seem to have these books as a free download, so you're on your own if you wish to find a copy to read. For a preview of the first few pages though, you can try Amazon.

Steampunk

Ah! The gloriously vintage futuristic steampunk style! It's been popular for a while now, and I have fallen in love! I've spent a lot of time researching this style lately, hoping to convert a few of my accessories to steampunk, but completely unsure how. But now, thanks to this Instructables how-to, I can make my steampucnk MP3 player, or as the how-to calls it, an Ambience Enhancer.{Photo from Instructables}

I have the exact same MP3 player seen in the picture, but I also have a newer one, and since the instuctions say you can make it for anything including cell phone or PDA, I might try it out. But there are other projects I'd like to try. For instance, I might try to convince my dad to let me make my laptop steampunk using metalic paint, leather (?), and old typwriter keys.

I now have a whole list of things I want to make, and helping and giving me tips along the way is this article on HowStuffWorks, where I've found a lot of info on the general style and how to go about making it.

Maybe I could refurbish one of my guitars, probably the one that has a weird fret bar, and plays funny....
Yeah, give it an antiqued wood finish, a brass or copper pick guard and cradle, use metal leaf or something similar to create a vintage clock face and cogs on the body. That would look so cool!

And for some inspiration I've found this site, which has a lot of really cool ideas.

Well, that's about it for now. I've been really busy lately thanks to school, but it's spring break now, so I'll probably be posting a bit more now.