I am a recently hired intern at MAKE and I work in MAKE Labs. My first build was this “Audiobook,” one of the projects for an upcoming issue of MAKE. It turned out to be fun to build and a good introductory project for me. The build wasn’t too difficult and the end result turned out really cool. In the process, I learned a lot about building circuits, soldering, and the basic knowledge of how a device like this works.

The Audiobook is a plug-in speaker system that’s disguised as a stack of old hardback books. This device can plug into an iPod, MP3 player, laptop, or any other audio source with a 3.5mm jack. The Audiobook completely conceals the player and the speaker within it, leaving power as the single visible cable.

The hardest part of the project was making the small soldering joints on the circuit board. A fine soldering tip made this job much easier.

This project is great for anyone who’s just learned soldering and wanting to have something cool at the end of their training. Or if you’d like to do a project with a kid interested in electronics, this would be a fun and unusual build. Look for the project in Volume 34 of MAKE and build one for yourself!

Since this project was finished, I’ve also worked on a bamboo hors d’oeuvre serving tray and a coffee can robot. I’m looking forward to seeing what the MAKE staff has up their sleeves for my next builds.