The Origami Forum

Hey guys,

I got 20 U.S. dollars (€14.56), and I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for a book I can get. I would say I'm mid-intermediate, so any books under $20 that are at an intermediate level that you guys would recomend. If you could get 1 intermediate book, what is under $20, what would it be? Thanks for your help.

origami masters bugs. I think its price is 15 dollars. The book has some super complex as well as intermediate models.

It depends a lot on what you like to fold but one of my all time favourite books is "Origami to Astonish and Amuse" by Jeremy Shafer that is packed with fun Action models and useful hints on how to alter the models.
The Master's Bugs book is only suitable if you love to fold insects, but even then I'd rather go for another book. John Montroll has many great mid-intermediate books that are really cheap. You might even get more than one for your 20 Dollars.
Also very recommendable are Fernando Gilgado's "Papirolandia" books that feature cartoon like models with nice colour changes.

You can find good book reviews at Gilad Aharoni's homepage http://www.giladorigami.com/
The mentioned books can either be bought at http://amazon.com or http://www.origami-shop.com

Genuine origami by Jun Maekawa is pretty great. Fun to fold models and great diagrams.

I absolutely love Origami To Astonish and Amuse, and I'm not a huge fan of bugs. I have looked at John Montolls books, and have one, Origami For the Enthusiast, and I really like his stuff. I'll look at the other recommendations. Thanks guys.

I checked out Papiroflexia, and it is unfortunately in Spanish. Which John Montroll book would you recommend?

Origami Sea Life and African Animals in Origami are my favorites of his.
I also enjoyed "Mythological Creatures and the Chinese Zodiac Origami"

It doesn't matter that the books are in Spanish, the diagrams are very clear and use the standard Origami notations. On Origami books usually the language doesn't matter at all except from a few books that have some more theory inside like Origami Design Secrets by Robert Lang or Origami Polyhedra Design by John Montroll (both great books by the way but a little bit on the more expensive side).

Regarding my favourite Montroll books, apart from the aforementioned more expensive Origami Polyhedra Design, I second kareshi's suggestions, especially African Animals in Origami.

OK, I four 4 different Papiroflexias. I narrowed it down to two as two of them are very complex. Which would you choose? Thanks for your help guys.

animal origami for the enthusiast is another montroll book. the nice thing with this one (along with origami for the enthusiast), is, since it still uses classic bases, the models have a nice "complex classic" look. i got my start on complex origami with montroll, so he'll always have a special place in my heart, and though i do like some of the aforementioned books, they do fall into his "same base for everything" phase.

Cool, I haven't seen that one yet, weird. I looked it up, and the models sound interesting. I also like it when traditional bases are used, they give the models a clean look. Thanks for the info.

I'm sorry guys, but I think I may have wasted your time. I just heard that Jeremy Shafers new book came out, and he is my favorite origami-ist (I know I spelled that wrong). I will still try to get another book when I have enough money. Thanks guys.