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Make: Technology on Your Own Time is not a book… exactly. It’s between a magazine and a book. Mook? Magook? Boozine? Actually, it’s a mook, which is a hybrid of a magazine and a book. When I received it and quickly looked through it to see what it was about, I wasn’t too impressed. Still, I’m a reviewer and as such give everything a chance. It’s a magazine from O’Reilly, but not a typical one.

In my initial perusal, I think I wasn’t keen on it because I’m not into home projects partly due to the usual time constraints. When I was a kid, I enjoyed making things like model cars (yes, I am a girl) and a magnet out of a battery. I liked those science books where you do a project to make something happen. But the projects in the mook were not the simple projects I did as a kid.

Then, I sat down and carefully read it like I do when reading a book I review. Shortly, I became engaged and enjoyed reading the articles. Though I don’t plan to make anything (like I’m going to put a monorail in my backyard—yes, this is a real project), the stories and the writing drew me in.

I like geeky things, but I’m not a geek in terms of building computers from scratch and hacking gadgets. These are the kinds of projects covered in the mook. The premiere issue includes the following projects:

• magnetic stripe card reader

• kite aerial photography (camera on a kite—cooool!)

• $14 video camera stabilizer or buy one

• 5-in-1 network cable

The quarterly mook has a Web site with things not covered in the print edition as well as a blog. Its design is clever with color codes on the cover and side for the major projects. The initial issue has 192 pages of quality paper and color printing to justify $8.74 an issue.

The mook has a homemade yet professional feel and has “home improvement” style fonts to add to its DIY (do-it-yourself) theme. The photos give the impression they’re taken by average people and not photographers. They’re good quality and complement the articles.

People who don’t have time to build (like me) and like technology will find it an engrossing read thanks to the personable writing and instructions that don’t make eyes glaze.

Few new magazines make it past the first year or so. Make should thrive for years to come.

Title: Make: Technology on Your Time
Author: Various
Publisher: O’Reilly Media
ISBN: B0007RNI5K
Publishing frequency: Four issues a year
Format: Paperback
Cover Price: USD: $34.95 for one year’s subscription