HackMake

I decided to start 2013 with a bit of an experiment. I would do something I’ve never done but have wanted to do. I’d do something I didn’t think I was qualified for. I’d do something that was going to turn out crappier than I wanted. I’d do something that scared me.

I’d break the convention of how things are usually done. I’d not only break the rules but break them by not even learning what the rules of the game were in the first place.

I published a book that you can buy on Amazon and in the iBookstore.

Coffee Shop Contemplations is a collection of essays about simplicity and design, tools, writing, mindfulness, and meditations on being better. These essays are all posts from here, hackmake.org.

Who is this for? It’s for makers, explorers, planners, writers, designers, GTDers, and geeks alike.

Buy Coffee Shop Contemplations Now

I’ve posted the Introduction I wrote and some frequently asked questions that you should read here. I go into a little detail about why I put it together for you. (Note: The questions were neither asked, nor asked frequently. I mostly wrote the FAQ to prove a few points because I’m very opinionated.)

Supporting Hack/Make

A big reason why I put this together was so that you, dear attractive, witty, and adventurous reader, had a reason to chip some of your hard-earned dollars towards supporting what I write at Hack/Make. I hope that you’ve found my writings helpful. Some blogs have a membership option, some sell ads, and some ask for donations. I wanted to make something that you could buy. I think that’s a fair deal. Maybe you’ve followed this site for a while and have read most of the essays here, so why buy this book? Thank you so much. I’ve learned so much by exploring these ideas and sharing them with you. The conversations and people I’ve met have been amazing. I really appreciate you sticking around. I think you should buy this anyway to support me and Hack/Make. You can read more about why in the FAQ.

About The Experiment

I’m calling this whole thing an experiment because I’m not really sure how it’s going to go. I was scared to publish the book and I’m kind of sweating and nervous as I write this. But I knew I had to do both. I knew that the essays were at least half decent. I knew there would be a few people who would buy this and it wouldn’t be totally dead on arrival.

I had to put this out there as a way to fire first, then aim, and be ready. It would be pretty lame if I wrote a blog post to kick of the new year all about doing things even when you’re afraid, all the while I was just writing that post to procrastinate from doing this thing I was afraid of.

So I set myself a deadline. I worked hard to pull this all together. I learned what I needed to to get it published but decided not to worry about some things. I didn’t really learn the rules about publishing. That was just something extra in my way. This book doesn’t have a foreword or dedication, or table of contents, or copyright or references or most things normal books have. I didn’t have it edited or proofread. I could have spent more time organizing the order of the essays.

But if I did all of those things, I probably could have found a hundred reasons why I shouldn’t ship this too. Is my first book as good as I would have hoped? Not really. But ask anyone who has made anything if their first was great. I figured I would ease the long-term pain and just get this one over with.

All of that said about this being unconventional, I think reading through it is worth your time and I hope you buy it. I’ll write more about this in the future if you’re curious about how the experiment turns out.