Here in the United States, March is National Craft Month. Now, the purpose of this month is to get you to more involved in a hobby, generally creating something. As a knitter, a writer, and a librarian, I love the many meanings behind the word “craft”. Want to learn a new craft? Check out a book on it from your local library. Read a biography of a master craftsman, say John Barrymore and Katharine Hepburn in acting, Frank Lloyd Wright in architecture, Henry Kissinger or Madeline Albright in diplomacy, Arthur Miller in playwriting, Alphonse Mucha in the Art Nouveau movement, Martha Stewart in all-around crafting, or even Tony Hawk in skateboarding. Maybe a master is writing about their craft. If you love a good novel, you’d be surprised at how often crafts come up in fiction. Think about crafty characters, both fictional and real. History turns your crank? Craft guilds have had enormous impact on cultures throughout the world. Why not read a book you think is an excellent example of the craft of writing? “Craft” has so many connotations, you can go wild with all the books you can read!

  • Fiction featuring crafts
    • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
    • Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
    • The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
    • Folly by Laurie King
    • Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
    • How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto
    • Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
    • Larceny and Old Lace by Tamar Myers
    • Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris
    • Fiction with Crafts, Hobbies, etc. Booklist from Fiction_L
  • Biographies
    • John Barrymore, Shakespearean Actor by Michael A. Morrison
    • Madame Secretary by Madeline Albright
    • Kate: the Woman Who was Hepburn by William J. Mann
    • Tony Hawk: Professional Skateboarder by Tony Hawk and Sean Mortimer (YA)
    • The White House Years by Henry Kissinger
    • Being Martha by Lloyd Allen
    • The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship by Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman
    • Arthur Miller: A Playwright’s Life and Works by Enoch Brater
    • Alphonse Mucha by Sarah Mucha
  • Master crafters writing about what they do
    • Yarn Harlot: the Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
    • Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
    • Spinning the Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee, Dieter Fensel, James A. Hendler, and Henry Lieberman
    • Chanel by François Baudot and Coco Chanel
    • On Writing by Stephen King
  • Craft guilds in history
    • Craft Guilds in the Early Modern Low Countries: Work, Power And Representation by Maarten Roy Prak, Catharina Lis, Jan Lucassen, and Hugo Soly
    • The Striking Cabbies of Cairo and Other Stories: Crafts and Guilds in Egypt, 1863-1914 by John T. Chalcraft
    • The Weaver’s Craft: Cloth, Commerce, and Industry in Early Pennsylvania (Early American Studies) by Adrienne D. Hood
    • The Guild State: Its Principles and Possibilities by G. R. S. Taylor, Dr. Roger McCain, and Anthony Cooney
    • Guilds, Trade And Agriculture by Arthur J. Penty