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

⚙️ Neo-Luddite Reading Group: 'Who Owns This Sentence? A History of Copyrights and Wrongs' by David Bellos and Alexandre Montagu
2025-07-09 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
➡️ Virtual Meetup Link
Discord: Email neoluddite@victorgom.es for an invite!
Full schedule: victorgom.es/neoluddite
If you’re joining for the first time, I’d suggest you read this before anything else for brief context: What the Luddites Really Fought Against by Richard Conniff.The only expectation is that you read the chapter(s) of the book that’s listed for that meeting. You’re still welcome to participate if you haven’t done the readings as long as you are mindful. For each chapter, I’ve also noted some optional readings for context, so I’d suggest checking those out rather than reading ahead in the book. And remember, if you ever find yourself struggling with any of the readings or concepts, reach out! Either directly to me over email or to the entire group over discord.

🚫 USB Data Blocker Soldering Class
2025-07-10 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-07-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Charging your phone in a public place can be stressful. What if someone is collecting your metadata for marketing purposes? What if they’re copying your files or installing malware? A USB data blocker can help! It’s a little adapter with the data terminals left disconnected, so you can charge your phone anywhere without fear.
This is a relatively quick soldering project, perfect for total beginners. We’ll have soldering irons and supplies to share.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

⚙️ DIY Macro Keyboard Workshop
2025-07-10 11:15 - 12:30, 2025-07-24 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
For this workshop you’ll use a Pi Pico board and CircuitPython to create a programmable mechanical keyboard with two keys. No soldering experience necessary!
To complete this project you’ll need to buy a kit for $14. Here’s what’s included:
• RP2040/Pi Pico board
• 2 mechanical keyboard switches
• 2 key caps
• oak base with pilot holes
• 4 stripped wires (2″)
• 1 mm heat shrink tubing (3″)
• 4 M2 screws
• 4 M2 spacer rings
• sandpaper square
➡️ Instructions & links
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

📻 FM Transmitter Soldering Class
2025-07-10 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Come out and get some soldering practice! This time we’re assembling a short-range FM transmitter kit with a built-in mic and a 1/8″ audio input jack.
This project is recommended for folks who have soldered at least once or twice before. If you’re brand new to soldering, we recommend taking a beginner class first.
Register:

• Transmission Distance: 5-50m
• Transmission Frequency: 88-108MHz
• Audio Input: -15dB (max)
• Operating Voltage: DC 2.7V-3.3V
• Operating Current: 5-15mA

👻 Wi-Fi Tricks with Ghost ESP
2025-07-11 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
If you’re interested in learning about wi-fi and Bluetooth networking but can’t justify buying a Flipper Zero, this workshop is for you! Ghost ESP is a network analysis/testing tool that can run on a low-cost ESP32 microcontroller, as well as variants including the ESP32-C3. Ghost ESP offers wi-fi scanning, custom SSID beacons, captive portal mode, BLE scanning, and even deauth attacks (for demo/testing purposes).
It’s super easy to get started! In this workshop we’ll install Ghost ESP on our ESP32 & ESP32-C3 devices using the ESPressoFlash web flasher. Then we’ll interact with Ghost ESP using the Ghost ESP web serial console or the Arduino IDE.
➡️ Link to the how-to zine (still a work in progress)
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

🏠 Host a Website at Home
2025-07-11 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for the workshop Host a Website at Home! You’ll learn to run a web server using nginx on a single-board computer, letting you host a website from your home internet connection.
We’ll have home server kits available for $51.99. Here’s what’s included:
• Orange Pi Zero 3 single-board computer
• Micro HDMI adapter cable
• 20W power supply w/ USB-C port
• 60W USB-C to USB-C power cable (6″)
• 2 rubber bands
• zip tie (4″)
Here’s what you’ll need at home:
• Monitor or TV w/ HDMI input
• micro SD card (16GB or larger)
• Ethernet cable • HDMI cable
• USB keyboard with USB-A plug
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

📶 LoRa Mods: Header Pins & Vibration Motors
2025-07-11 16:00 - 17:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Stay tuned for details!

💻 Philly 2600 Meetup
2025-07-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
This month we’re meeting on Friday, July 11th from 6–8 p.m. Hope to see you!
> The Philly 2600 meeting is a monthly gathering of local hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals, and other interesting people.

🚂 Model Internet Club
2025-07-12 10:30 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The Model Internet Club is back! Join us every third Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an informal meetup focused on building small-scale computer networks.
No registration needed for this event! If we run out of space we can expand into our back yard area.

📗 'Fresh, Green Life' book launch at Neon Clown Dream Lounge
2025-07-12 19:00 - 21:30 | Neon Clown Dream Lounge, 1248 N. Front St., Philadelphia, PA, United States
This Saturday at Neon Clown Dream Lounge we’re throwing a book launch for the novel ‘Fresh, Green Life’ by Philly author Sebastian Castillo (Soft Skull Press). Come out and get a signed copy!
🗓️ Saturday, July 12th
🕖 Doors at 7 PM, show at 7:30
📌 Neon Clown Dream Lounge, 1248 N. Front St., PHL
➡️ opening readings by Josef Kaplan & John Paetsch
➡️ debut performance of the one-act play “Why Even Read It?” by Sebastian Castillo, starring Matt Zarenkiewicz, Molly Gorelick & David Sexton
Sebastian Castillo is a writer and teacher living in Philadelphia. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and grew up in New York. His work has appeared in New York Tyrant, Peach Mag, Electric Literature, Joyland, Epoch, BOMB, and elsewhere. He is the author of 49 Venezuelan Novels, Not I, SALMON, and The Zoo of Thinking.
> After experiencing a mysterious heart-related health scare, our narrator, Sebastian Castillo, who shares his name with this book’s author, resolves to spend a year alone in self-imposed exile, passing the time by exercising each day and watching self-improvement videos.
> But come New Year’s Eve, Sebastian will break his expulsion from everyday life by accepting an invitation to the home of a former philosophy professor for a reunion with his cohort, one decade after graduating. This invitation surely would have been ignored if not for the promised attendance of Maria, Sebastian’s former classmate and love interest. What follows is an inexplicable series of fascinating events charting the erosion of young, bookish hope.
> Fresh, Green Life is a meditation on literature, education, and philosophy, a trek through the past that forecasts a mediocre future, and a compact miracle of the fake-real.

✏️ The Writing Room
2025-07-15 17:00 - 19:30, 2025-07-22 17:00 - 19:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Come co-work with other writers in three 40-minute units of silent writing. Writers and projects of any type welcome. 10-minute breaks and accountability check-ins between units. BYO coffee, water, computer chargers, notepads, etc.

🔁 Cassette Tape Loop Workshop
2025-07-16 10:00 - 11:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Learn to make physical audio loops with used cassette tapes! No experience needed.
For the workshop we’ll be using cassettes with screws in the corners, which are easier to take apart but less common than the ones fastened with glue. We’ll have regular cassette tapes for $1 each if you want to keep experimenting at home.
Register:

Step 1: Choose a used cassette tape.
Step 2: Rewind the tape and record a minute or two of music, your voice, and/or percussion sounds. Then eject it.
Step 3: At the bottom of the cassette there’s a small area where the magnetic tape is exposed. Use a paperclip or pencil to pull the tape out an inch or so, then cut the tape with scissors. The recording you just made is now on the smaller spool, while the bigger spool contains whatever was originally on the tape.
Step 4: If you’re using a glued-together cassette (no screws), carefully separate the plastic shells using a pry tool. Ask the instructor for help. If you have a cassette with screws, use a tiny screwdriver to unscrew all four corners.
Step 5: Print and assemble tape loop template.
Step 6: Cut several 9″–10″ lengths of cassette tape.
Step 7: Wrap a length of tape around your template tube and attach the ends with a tiny drop of superglue. To avoid using too much glue, you may want to apply it using the tip of a needle.
Step 8: Put your loop into a cassette shell and screw the corners together.
Step 9: Load the tape into a tape player and press play!

🎸 Thrash Bot Workshop
2025-07-16 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
We’re making guitar-playing robots with Pi Pico microcontrollers and 360° servo motors! We’ll provide soldering irons and supplies.
To complete this workshop you’ll need to buy a kit for $10. Here’s what’s included:
• RP2040/Pi Pico board
• 360° servo motor w/ attachments & screws
• tiny screwdriver
• micro USB cable w/data
• 6 header pins
• guitar string (11″)
• twist tie wire (5″)
• pattern for cardboard stand
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

🎤 Audio Editing with Reaper
2025-07-16 11:15 - 12:30, 2025-07-23 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Bring a laptop and learn the basics of audio editing! We’ll start by making a recording of a poem as a group, passing the mic after each line. Then you’ll learn to remove pauses and mic handling noises using Reaper, a free-to-use digital audio workstation (DAW) that works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
No registration needed for this one. See you there!

🔊 DIY Audio Meter Soldering Class
2025-07-16 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for another beginner-friendly soldering project at Iffy Books! You’ll assemble a DIY audio meter kit, which you can use to visualize an audio signal’s amplitude.
To complete this project you’ll need to buy a kit for $7.95. We’re suggesting a $5–$20 donation for the class, no one turned away for lack of funds. We’ll provide soldering irons and solder.

Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

👁️ Intelligence History Reading Group: 'Agents of Subversion' by John P. Delury
2025-07-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
For the first installment of the Intelligence History Reading Group, we’re reading Agents of Subversion: The Fate of the CIA’s Covert War in China by John P. Delury (2022). We’ll discuss parts 1 & 2 on Weds, June 18th and parts 3 & 4 on Weds, July 16th. We’ll meet in person at Iffy Books (404 S. 20th St., PHL) from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Thanks to Jack Poulson for starting the group!

—————–
Agents of Subversion reconstructs the remarkable story of a botched mission into Manchuria, showing how it fit into a wider CIA campaign against Communist China and highlighting the intensity―and futility―of clandestine operations to overthrow Mao.
In the winter of 1952, at the height of the Korean War, the CIA flew a covert mission into China to pick up an agent. Trained on a remote Pacific island, the agent belonged to an obscure anti-communist group known as the Third Force based out of Hong Kong. The exfiltration would fail disastrously, and one of the Americans on the mission, a recent Yale graduate named John T. Downey, ended up a prisoner of Mao Zedong’s government for the next twenty years.
Unraveling the truth behind decades of Cold War intrigue, John Delury documents the damage that this hidden foreign policy did to American political life. The US government kept the public in the dark about decades of covert activity directed against China, while Downey languished in a Beijing prison and his mother lobbied desperately for his release.
Mining little-known Chinese sources, Delury sheds new light on Mao’s campaigns to eliminate counterrevolutionaries and how the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party used captive spies in diplomacy with the West. Agents of Subversion is an innovative work of transnational history, and it demonstrates both how the Chinese Communist regime used the fear of special agents to tighten its grip on society and why intellectuals in Cold War America presciently worried that subversion abroad could lead to repression at home.

🎧 Get the audiobook on Libro.fm

🎵 Guitar Cable Soldering Class
2025-07-17 10:00 - 11:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for a relatively quick and easy soldering workshop, suitable for total beginners! You’ll strip some wires and solder 1/4-inch plugs to the ends, creating your own guitar cable.
You can get a kit with 6 inches of cable for $4.25, or 4 feet for $13.50. We’re suggesting a $5–$15 donation for the class, notaflof.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

🎲 Pico Game Timer & Dice Workshop
2025-07-17 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Learn to make a programmable game timer and dice with a Pi Pico microcontroller! First you’ll solder six LEDs, two switches, and a vibration motor to the board’s GPIO pins. Then you’ll install and customize the CircuitPython code that makes it work. No experience needed!
You’ll need to buy a kit for $9 to complete this project. Here’s what’s included:
• RP2040/Pi Pico Board
• 6 LED lights
• vibration motor
• 2 push button switches
• 4 screws
• 4 spacers
• wood base
Register:

❤️ LED Heart Soldering Class
2025-07-17 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Come out and get some soldering practice! This time we’re making a heart-shaped board with 22 LEDs, using an oscillator circuit to dim and brighten them at the speed you choose.
This project is ideal for folks who have soldered at least once before. Beginners are welcome to join us, but it may take you more than one session to finish. Working with a friend is encouraged!
The kit you’ll need to complete this project costs $5.50. We’re suggesting a $10–$25 donation for the class, no one turned away for lack of funds.
➡️ Link to instructions
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

💻 M̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶F̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶W̶e̶b̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ (postponed, sorry!)
2025-07-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Tonight’s workshop is canceled because the instructor isn’t feeling well. We’re sorry for the inconvenience! We’ll reschedule and announce a new date soon.
̶M̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶1̶9̶9̶9̶!̶ ̶J̶o̶i̶n̶ ̶u̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶f̶f̶y̶ ̶B̶o̶o̶k̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶s̶h̶o̶p̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶M̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶F̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶W̶e̶b̶s̶i̶t̶e̶,̶ ̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶R̶a̶g̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶.̶k̶.̶a̶.̶ ̶R̶i̶c̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶G̶r̶e̶e̶n̶.̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶’̶l̶l̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶r̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶s̶i̶c̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶H̶T̶M̶L̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶N̶e̶o̶c̶i̶t̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶a̶r̶y̶!̶
̶
̶Y̶o̶u̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶a̶p̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶u̶t̶e̶r̶s̶.̶ ̶W̶e̶’̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶g̶g̶e̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶$̶1̶0̶–̶$̶2̶5̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶s̶h̶o̶p̶,̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶d̶s̶.̶

🛜 E̶S̶P̶3̶2̶ ̶C̶a̶p̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶P̶o̶r̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶k̶s̶h̶o̶p̶
2025-07-18 11:15 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
We’re back to the drawing board on this project. Sorry about that. We’ll run it again sometime soon!

🏠 H̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶W̶e̶b̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶H̶o̶m̶e̶ (canceled, sorry!)
2025-07-18 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
We had to cancel this workshop because a family obligation came up. Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll offer it again soon!
̶J̶o̶i̶n̶ ̶u̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶s̶h̶o̶p̶ ̶H̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶W̶e̶b̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶H̶o̶m̶e̶!̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶’̶l̶l̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶r̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶b̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶g̶i̶n̶x̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶g̶l̶e̶-̶b̶o̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶u̶t̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶b̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶h̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶n̶e̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶n̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶
We’ll have home server kits available for $51.99. Here’s what’s included:
• Orange Pi Zero 3 single-board computer
• Micro HDMI adapter cable
• 20W power supply w/ USB-C port
• 60W USB-C to USB-C power cable (6″)
• 2 rubber bands
• zip tie (4″)
Here’s what you’ll need at home:
• Monitor or TV w/ HDMI input
• micro SD card (16GB or larger)
• Ethernet cable • HDMI cable
• USB keyboard with USB-A plug

📡 Meshtastic 101
2025-07-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for an introduction to Meshtastic, an application that lets you send private text messages over the air using pocket-sized LoRa radio transceivers. We’ll show you how to flash the latest Meshtastic firmware to the device, customize the settings, and start chatting with your friends.
Here’s a link to our zine on LoRa + Meshtastic.
Register:
(coming soon!)

☀️ Solar Music Synth Workshop
2025-07-23 10:00 - 11:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us and build a tiny solar-powered square wave generator on a breadboard. No soldering required! The workshop is free to attend, but you’ll need to purchase a kit for $12.50 to complete the project.
Here’s a link to the how-to zine we’ll use.
And here’s a diagram of the oscillator circuit we’ll build:

Register:

🎶 Pico MP3 Sampler Workshop
2025-07-23 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Create your own digital audio sampler using a Pi Pico clone board! This project requires some soldering. It’s recommended for folks who have soldered once or twice before, but beginners are welcome too. For the programming portion, you can bring a laptop or use one of our lab computers.
You’ll need to buy a kit for $16.95 to complete this project. We’re suggesting a $10–25 donation for the workshop.
➡️ Instructions & example code
Here’s what’s included in the kit:
• RP2040/Pi Pico board
• wood block w/ pilot holes
• 3.5mm stereo jack w/ screw terminals
• 2×4 push button keypad
• 2 push button switches
• 10 screws
• tiny screwdriver
• 20 header pins
• 4.7 uF capacitor
• 9 port to port jumper wires
• 2 port to stripped jumper wires
• 1″ stripped wire
• 3″ tie wire
• 8 plastic spacer rings
• micro USB cable w/ data
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

💾☀️ Permacomputing + Solarpunk Meetup
2025-07-23 18:30 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The Permacomputing + Solarpunk meetup is every other third Wednesday at Iffy Books! You can join us in person (404 S. 20th St., PHL) or remotely via Jitsi Meet.
➡️ Virtual meetup link
From Permacomputing.net: Permacomputing is a more sustainable approach to computer and network technology inspired by permaculture. Permacomputing is both a concept and a community of practice oriented around issues of resilience and regenerativity in digital technology. In a time where computing epitomizes industrial waste, permacomputing encourages a more sustainable approach, maximizing hardware lifespans, minimizing energy use and focussing on the use of already available computational resources. We do this because humans are part of nature and technology is an extension of humans, and we acknowledge that technology has been used to harm nature. We want to find out how we can practice good relations with the Earth by learning from ecological systems to leverage and re-center existing technologies and practices. We are also interested in investigating what a permacomputing way of life could be, and what sort of transformative computational culture and aesthetics it could bring forward. If you want to know more, please start reading about what is permacomputing in essence, and then dive into its principles.
Permacomputing Aesthetics: Potential and Limits of Design Constraints in Computational Culture by Mansoux, Howell, Barok, and Heikkilä (2023)
