Here are the two best vegan (no meat or dairy) cookbooks as suggested by many Cool Tool readers. Thanks to readers Charlotte, Scott Carlson, Chris, Jared, Terri Alice, Ryan Freebern and Ian Hall.

Veganomicon is the best vegan cookbook out there. It's reputation is based on the quantity and variety of its recipes, and the complexity and deliciousness of the resulting dishes. There are more than 250 recipes, presented with wit and lighthearted punk-rock irreverence, as well unpretentious and helpful instructions. These vegan dishes don't only try to mimic meat-based meals; they are just good food. Our household doesn't adhere to a vegan diet, yet we've found some of these recipes great eye-openers as to how tasty and accessible homemade vegan food can be.

-- Elon Schoenholz

Simply Vegan is perfect for beginning vegans because it has specific sections on how to be a healthy vegan, as opposed to a "Fritos and Sprite" vegan.

It goes into sources for proteins, minerals, has ready-to-go weekly shopping lists, and daily meal lists, so if you're getting into veganism you can do it safely and intelligently with a minimal amount of work (just buy the stuff on the shopping list and cook it). I went vegan at 14 (and have been vegan 14 years so far) and my parents made me sell them on the idea of being healthy sans animal products. At first the task seemed incredibly daunting, but once I found Simply Vegan I had all the answers. And these days my folks are mostly vegan as well.

I won't say the recipes in this book are the best ever - they certainly can't hold a candle to much of Veganomicon -- but if you know your way around some spices there's no better book that I've found which covers the nutritive bases and really can set a new vegan on the right path to whole health.

-- Ian Hall

There may be slightly better sounding or feature-rich PA systems in this price range, but nothing comes close to the outstanding portability of Fender’s Passport. It’s barely 30 pounds, and when it’s packed up and put together in its slick integral case no moving or delicate parts are exposed to scraping or damage. And since the case tapers at each end, it’s easy to carry without it bumping against my side with every step.

I use it primarily as a sort of keyboard amp for a laptop, also for playing music from an iPod. I play in a band with some friends and plan to use this Fender PA system for small or outdoor shows. There are three of us in the band, and we needed vocal and laptop amplification. The PD-150 has three mic/instrument inputs, so we're all set.

It’s most cool as PA—the mixer is perfunctory but useful and welcome. It is a trade-off in terms of price, portability and integration—like a boom box versus a component system. The advantage of buying the speakers, amplifier and mixer separately is that you can customize the amount of power, mixer features, and speaker quality that you'd like, but it will be more expensive and harder to transport. The portable PA is just so cool in that it does the basics decently and packs itself into a supercompact little suitcase.

I purchased a PD-150 that I found on Craigslist for $150, but the current model is the PD-150 Pro, which supposedly has better sound quality, and adds a second stereo input. It’s also 3 pounds lighter.

These are very sturdy, inexpensive self-laminating folders to make luggage tags, or actually any gear. I wanted to make my own tags from my business cards and these were far and away the best option I found. I’ve now used them for two years of heavy business travel, and they’ve held up really well. We are buying another set, so the kids can make tags for their backpacks and sports bags.

These double-sided clips from Calumet are perfect for controlling light within small-scale or tabletop photography setups. The sprung clips rotate on the steel U that connects them, so they’re easily manipulated to stand on their own, with one clip acting as a foot while the other clasps the reflector. They're sized to hold small homemade reflectors (Mylar glued to cardboard is one of my favorites, see below) in order to bounce light precisely where you need it on your miniature set. They can be used with something like a small piece of black foamcore to block light (flag), as well.

These little clips are among my most valuable tools for food photography; my ideal setup is a single large light source (often a window) and a bunch of 3"x3" reflectors on these clips to redirect the light within the scene (see below).

They’re superb for shooting jewelry, Lego constructions, anything small, putting highlights exactly where you want them or just bouncing bits of light to illuminate your subject.

Open-ended toys are the best. That's why construction sets like Lego, or the previously reviewed Kapla Blocks, or Zomes, are perennial favorites. Their simple, durable, reusable parts build an infinite number of complex creations, providing endless hours of play. The best construction systems will last many lifetimes and are generally worth their modest investment, unlike most toys.

Magna-Tiles are the best open-ended construction set for very small kids I've seen. Magna-Tiles are plastic tiles with tiny super magnets embedded in their edges. Even a very small child can quickly assemble a structure that won't topple, since the magnets snap to form when you get them close to where they want to be. They come in a mix of squares and triangles that tend to "guide" construction towards recognizable building forms, which is okay since there are still many options to explore. But this small boost really aids the youngest toddlers who may have trouble with the go-anywhere blocks of Kapla. Also, the tiles are large, too big to swallow, so safe for wee ones.

We have a set on a our living room coffee table and I notice that adults love to build with them as well since you can erect a cool structure in only a few minutes. Everyone is an architect at heart.

Magna-Tiles aren't cheap. With 8 rare earth magnets per piece, each tile costs about $1. They are pretty unbreakable, so they should outlive you. Get the transparent variety -- they are like stained glass.

The OXO Steel Strainer really qualifies as a cool tool because it takes an everyday tool that everyone knows and makes it so much better. It's the nicest Hawthorne strainer I've ever seen, dispensing with the useless handle, and adding a nice little rubber pad to put your index finger on as you strain. It's a joy to use.

I'll still use a julep strainer for anything with tons of floating herbs or fruit stuff—also for straining canned food instead of the previously reviewed Can Colander.

I used a normal pool brush before, and always had the problem with the brush not sticking to the wall. I would normally have to use a lot of force to successfully brush a vertical section of pool wall. Then the brush finally broke. So I went to a local pool supply to get another brush and came across the Wall Whale brush. It’s unique because in addition to the brush, it has a fin, which creates a powerful force, that basically sticks the brush to the pool wall. It's pretty effortless to use, and successfully cleans the area that I brush.

I have had it for a few months and love it.

Before I start a new painting, I usually draw what I want in Adobe Illustrator, and then transfer a printout of that drawing to canvas or board to paint. I've tried opaque projectors, but the image is faint (at least on the el-cheapo version I use) and I don't really have room to set it up. I've also tried using a piece of paper that I've rubbed pencil or charcoal on, but that produces a blurry line.

Like an idiot, it wasn't until a couple of days ago that I considered the possibility that there might be a transfer paper for artists. Of course, there is one. It's called Saral Wax-Free Transfer Paper, and it works like a dream. It comes in five different colors, but I can get away with blue and white. It leaves a clear, thin line that erases easily and doesn't mess up the color of the paint I use. I'm already hooked on it for life.

If you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Saral, they'll send you free samples in all five colors.