Ian Fieggen has run Ian's Shoelace Site since 2003. Now, the Australian has a book: Laces: 100s of Ways to Pimp Your Kicks. Shoelace purists—and you know who you are—will be pleased to know that all the flyest methods, from the Double Helix to the Checkerboard to the Spider Web, left, (plus 100s more), are included, with illustrations. So how'd all this get started? "One morning back in 1982, I broke a shoelace," says Fieggen, who was 19 at the time. "The scientific part of me just had to delve further." The quest has led to a current favorite, the Over Under. Because they "don't rub together or rub past the shoe's edges, the laces last longer," Fieggen explains. Sounds like practical advice.

$14.95, available next week from Amazon.com.