Newbe asks, “What Is Steampunk to You?” I know that steampunk is “a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction” and I have read one such novel, The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I didn’t much care for it and haven’t gotten around to reading any others. When I think of steampunk I think of everyday things dressed up in brass, wood and leather. I am attracted to these things because they are not simple, plain, boring, strictly functional plastic boxes.

From all the stuff I keep seeing on the Web it is apparent that I am not the only one who longs for things that have a more substantial look and feel. Brass Goggles is a group blog devoted to all things steampunk. The Steampunk Workshop is another blog with lots of images and the occasional brief book review. The Steampunk Librarian‘s tag line is “all hail Verne and Tesla” which sounds very promising. Lots of links on this one. Voyages Extraordinaires is not strictly steampunk but a general retro-futures blog with a lot of Japanese art. Sara at The Steampunk Home believes that “Steampunk is more than just brass and watchparts” and her philosophy makes for a very interesting blog.

Those were the blogs. Here a few more sites and individual items that I found. Anyone who’s interested in steampunk has probably come across Datamancer already. Phil Masters has a few links and images. How about some steampunk Nerf guns. A lot of steampunk gadgets at Gizmodo. Here’s a steampunk gift guide. Steampunk Lab has a lot of stuff, organized by category. And here is How to Draw Steampunk Machines, with several photos too. And of course there’s a steampunk pool at Flickr.