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Iffy Books | 404 S. 20th St., PHL

hacking, free culture, gardening, zines

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December 13, 2025
  • Update

✌️🤚 25 Iffy Books Projects in 2025

Graphic with the Iffy Books logo in purple at the bottom right, and rainbow-colored '25s arranged diagonally across the background

December is a time to get cozy, sip a warm drink, and scroll through long lists about the previous year. So make yourself a cup of tea and settle in […]
July 10, 2025
  • Podcast
  • Uncategorized

Q&A with Jathan Sadowski, author of ‘The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism’ | June 18, 2025

Flyer image with a book cover bearing a crossed wrench and hammer inside a gear, with the following text: NEO-LUDDITE REading group Q&A with Jathan Sadowski, author of 'The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism'

A few weeks ago we hosted a virtual Q&A with Jathan Sadowski, author of The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism and host of the […]
June 26, 2025
  • Announcement

♥️ You saved Iffy Books!

Exterior photo of Iffy Books, a small storefront painted white with books in the shop window. Large pink text says "Thank you! ❤️"

Well! Our situation has turned around since last week, thanks to an outpouring of support from the community around Iffy Books. We now have a few months’ rent on hand […]
June 17, 2025
  • Uncategorized

A letter from Steve at Iffy Books | June 13, 2025

Hand-drawn logo for Iffy Books

In 2021 we were pushing anti-blockchain arguments. In 2022 we were pushing solar-powered music and encrypted mesh chat. We’ve been against LLMs since before ChatGPT came along, and we hope […]
September 10, 2023
  • Zine

🛡 Make a Faraday shield for your phone

Photo of a zine with a photo of aluminum foil on the cover and the following text: "Make a Faraday shield for your phone at Iffy Books / presented with PRACTICE." Inside the zine is orange construction paper and several pieces of aluminum foil.

On September 9th, 2023 we hosted a workshop on how to make a one-time-use Faraday shield for your phone to block radio communication via the cell network, wi-fi, and Bluetooth. […]
August 27, 2023
  • Zine

🐢 Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python

Closeup photo of a zine with the title "Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python." There's a turtle icon on the middle of the cover with a zig-zagging line coming out of its tail, and several lines of code on the left, such as "left(90)" and "forward(10)." Text on the right says "free zine!" The Iffy Books logo and address (319 N. 11th St. 2I, PHL) are at the bottom right corner.

On Saturday, August 26th we hosted a self-guided Python Turtle workshop to coincide with the Philly Bookstore Crawl. It went really well! Here’s the zine we used, which you’re free […]
June 23, 2023
  • Event
  • How-To

Notes for Router Hack Day 2 at Iffy Books

Flyer image with firmware code in the background, a photo of a router in a box labeled "$8 Challenge Router", and the following text in yellow: Router Hack Day / Sat, June 24th 1-6 p.m. / Iffy Books

Saturday, June 24th, 20231:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.  You can find this document at the following URLs: For the past few months, a handful of people in the Iffy Books […]
April 12, 2023
  • How-To

☀️ Circuit diagram for a solar-powered LoRa node

A circuit diagram for a solar-powered LoRa radio node, including a solar panel and battery. The text reads as follows: Iffy Books / Let’s Make a Solar-Powered Chat Network / 5V 6W monocrystalline solar panel / 100 nF ceramic capacitor / 100 uF electrolytic capacitor / MCP1700-3302E LDO regulator (flat side facing forward) / TP4056 battery charger w/ protection circuit / USB-C cable / 18650 lithium-ion battery / Heltec LoRa32 V3 w/ antenna

We’ve been hard at work running tests and writing documentation for on our upcoming workshop Let’s make a solar-powered chat network, in which we’ll build weatherproof LoRa nodes running Meshtastic to support a […]
April 10, 2023
  • How-To

🐎 Make a Solar Zoetrope

Template for cutting out shapes to make a zoetrope, with the following text: Iffy Books Solar Zoetrope ⓵ Print this template at 100% scale. Use black cardstock for best results, or color in the shapes with black crayon/marker. ⓶ Make a strip of white paper, 16 in. (41 cm) by 1.25 in. (3.2 cm). Line it up with the template and draw 11 evenly spaced frames, one for each vertical notch. Use thick, dark lines. ⓷ Cut out the zoetrope shapes with scissors and connect with tape/glue to make a single loop. ⓸ Make a cardboard circle with radius 2.5 in. (6.35 cm) and attach to the bottom of your zoetrope loop with small strips of tape. ⓹ Mount your animation strip inside the zoetrope, with a frame under each vertical notch. ⓺ Attach a gear to the shaft of an electric motor, then glue your zoetrope to the gear. Give it a spin and look through the notches at a downard angle to see your animation! iffybooks.net/solar-zoetrope / Public Domain

This past weekend we hosted a workshop called Make a Solar Zoetrope, as part of the DVAA Everyday Futures Fest. It was super fun! If you didn’t make it, we’re […]
March 24, 2023
  • How-To

Challenge Router Progress Report

Photo of a shrinkwrapped router box that reads "Atlas Media Wireless AC1200 Dual-band Router." There's a green piece of paper taped to the box with the following text: "$8 Challenge Router / Can you install OpenWRT on this router? We'll give $100 to the first person who can show us how. / You can also use it as a regular router! / Proceeds benefit Philly Community Wireless & Iffy Books"

The following is transcribed from a conversation with Jim from Trashpanda Village, with a few edits for clarity. You can buy your own Atlas Media challenge router here. What we […]

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