More of a fun collection of things than a useful one. In most cases, the recommendations are in the top few products in a given category, but in some, the recommendations are much less compelling. ( )

A massive compendium of tool reviews. Great for DIY or craft people. A grea book to just sit and browse through. QR codes provide manufacturer links for each tool reviewed. ( )

A great book for finding tools and ideas for doing nearly anything you may want to do. Camping, buying a car, identifying birds, fixing your bike, making presentations, finding fonts, personal finance, making hobby rockets, philanthropy, even how to run for local office. This huge book has it all, and in full color, too. ( )

The Whole Earth Catalog is back. Kelly worked on Whole Earth projects in the eighties and nineties, notably the Signals catalog. Cool Tools is based on his blog of the same name. Some of the tools from the WEC have survived into the 21st century, but most everything is new. (There are a few new reviews by Stewart Brand and J. Baldwin.)
Cool Tools is huge physically, and contains 1500 tools. Just like the old Whole Earth Catalogs. What kind of tools?. Hand tools, books, software, electronics, apps, and everything else. What’s new? The whole book is in color – no more yellowing newsprint. Each item has a QR code. (Most of these lead to Amazon, and Cool Tools does receive a referral fee from Amazon.)
So, if you ever found something useful in a Whole Earth Catalog, you want this. If you ever browse through your old WECs, wondering what a 21st century version would be like, you want this.
If you’re young, and wonder what the old hippy is blathering about, check out the Cool Tools blog. Synergy is an WEC meme, and the digital and print versions work well together.
As always, suggestions and reviews for new tools are solicited on the blog. ( )