Long live the letter The dirge for the demise of letter writing in the age of e-mail usually has an undertone of nostalgia for a certain literary mode the piercing love note, the minutely detailed, sunburnt vacation letter. Typically, published collections of letters play to this tune, reprinting the letters in uniform type, editing them for clarity and to literary effect. But what we really miss about letters is showcased beautifully in Illustrated Letters: Artists and Writers Correspond, which presents letters as visual and tactile artifacts. Reprinting facsimiles of letters from scores of French artists and writers, the book demonstrates that what makes letters wonderful is the expressiveness of all their elements the stationery, the handwriting, the ink. Each of the letters comes with an English translation and contextual notes, but even readers who don’t know French will want to linger over the reproductions of letters from Delacroix, Picasso, Baudelaire, and others.
Long live the letter The dirge for the demise of letter writing in the age of e-mail usually has an undertone of nostalgia for a certain literary mode the piercing love note, the minutely detailed, sunburnt vacation letter. Typically, published collections of letters play to…
Art, like music and literature, is valuable to humankind because it portrays life’s pathos as well as life’s joy and tells us that we are all connected, facing life together, not alone. In Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces: Sister Wendy Beckett’s Selection of the Greatest Paintings in Western Art, this well-known art historian offers us a magnificent collection of Western Art. From the stark religious subject matter of the 15th century to the free, flowing brushstrokes of the impressionists, Sister Wendy manages to capture in one paragraph the essence of each painting. She offers both their historical significance and her own unique interpretations and insights. Most importantly, Sister Wendy understands that basic human need to feel a part of something greater, and she encourages us to experience that sentiment through art.
Art, like music and literature, is valuable to humankind because it portrays life's pathos as well as life's joy and tells us that we are all connected, facing life together, not alone. In Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces: Sister Wendy Beckett's Selection of the Greatest Paintings…
Debbie Millman couldn’t have predicted that when she debuted her “Design Matters” podcast in 2005, it would so deeply satisfy her soul. Podcasts were brand-new in the early 2000s, so the show was a let’s-try-this-and-see endeavor, a creative experiment that she felt primed to conduct. “I had achieved a great deal,” she writes in the introduction to Why Design Matters: Conversations With the World’s Most Creative People, “but there was an echoing vacuum of meaning and purpose in my life.”
Certainly, Millman has an impressive resume as a design leader, serving clients like 7UP, Burger King and Star Wars during her 20 years at the helm of Sterling Brands; co-founding the graduate program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City; writing six previous books; placing her art in museums as well as in the New York Times and Fast Company; and much more.
In its early years, the podcast was “very much a show about graphic design, graphic designers talking to graphic designers, very inside baseball,” Millman says during a phone call to the Manhattan brownstone she shares with her wife, author Roxane Gay. But as Millman shifted her focus from looking at human behavior through the lens of branding to instead connecting with individuals, people responded. They wanted in, both as listeners and interviewees, and her interviews quickly became a central element of her life and a pursuit that has been endlessly fascinating and rewarding.
“The show evolved in two ways,” she reflects. “First, my courage in reaching out to people increased. And then I also started getting publicists reaching out to me about their clients being on the show, or fans I didn’t know were fans wanting to be on the show.”
These interviewee-fans, more than 450 of them (and counting) over the course of 16 years (and counting), run the creative gamut. They’re standouts in the fields of design, writing, fine art, street art, acting, music, marketing, cooking—and the list goes on. Each guest is smart, thoughtful and, most importantly, game to join Millman on a conversational journey from childhood to adulthood, from past to present. They’re open to plumbing the sometimes painful events, decisions and emotions that have shaped what they do and who they’ve become.
“They’ve lived their lives so differently, and the ways they’ve coped with obstacles have been so varied.”
For Why Design Matters, characterized in its introduction as “a love letter to creativity, a testament to the power of curiosity,” Millman distills that library of interviews into 50-plus Q&A conversations in five categories: Legends, Truth Tellers, Culture Makers, Trendsetters and Visionaries.
Choosing 50 interviews from more than 450 was a challenge for Millman. “I ended up going through all of them in one way or another, whether it be listening or transcribing and reading,” she says. “I wanted there to be a timelessness to what they were talking about . . . [and] an evergreen quality to the interviews, so they could be relevant whenever they were being read and experienced.”
The book’s veritable parade of fascinating, accomplished people begins with late design legend Milton Glaser (best known for his “I Heart NY” logo) and ends with Eve Ensler (who now goes by “V”) of The Vagina Monologues fame, with the likes of Alison Bechdel, Chanel Miller, Malcolm Gladwell, Amanda Palmer, Saeed Jones, Marina Abramović and David Byrne occupying the pages in between. Millman points to how each interviewee has shaped their career, life and body of work with fierce individuality. “They’ve lived their lives so differently,” she says, “and the ways they’ve coped with obstacles have been so varied.”
For example, James Beard Award-winning chef and author Gabrielle Hamilton (Blood, Bones & Butter) reveals that in opening her restaurant, Prune, she set aside her long-held dream of writing fiction. Shepard Fairey, known for his OBEY street art, talks politics and explains why he won’t call himself an artist. And in discussing her short stories, Carmen Maria Machado quips that “a novel is like being beat up over the course of a day, and a short story is like one punch to the nose.”
There are full-page portraits and illustrations, playful type treatments and blocks of text that don’t always go in a straight line, just like in any good conversation. Millman has previously compared a successful interview to a game of pool, but through the design of this book, a new metaphor comes forward: the scribble. Striking hand-drawn scribbles scrawled by Millman herself appear on the cover and throughout the book, hinting toward the notion of interplay, of thoughts and conversational paths that ricochet off and tumble toward one another. “For me, [the scribble] really portrays conceptually the arc of a conversation,” she says. “You know it could go anywhere; it could be an infinite loop. It is an infinite loop!”
Another infinite pursuit, of course, is creativity itself. But where does creative success come from? What pushes a person into the stratosphere of, per the book’s subtitle, the “World’s Most Creative People”? Millman believes it’s “faith in their own work, self-awareness of what they’re capable of and a relentless sort of restlessness, a real restlessness about constantly evolving and growing and uncovering new ground.”
That restlessness is something Millman also possesses, whether she’s learning from her compassionate exploration of the human condition in her “Design Matters” interviews, working with students at the School of Visual Arts or pursuing her ever-percolating new projects.
“There are so many things I want to do,” Millman says, “including two more books I have in mind. Stirrings of a lot of different new things I want to try.” But she demurs at the thought of including herself on a “Most Creative” list: “I think I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn that title.”
Photo of Debbie Millman by John Madere
In Why Design Matters, Debbie Millman dives deep into revelatory conversations from her groundbreaking podcast.
Forever the kooky uncle of New York City Museums, the Whitney Museum of American Art has undertaken to present, in two installments, an exhibit entitled The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-2000. Fortunately for us, there’s also The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-1950, a book that provides a fantastic vicarious experience of the first part of this wide-ranging exhibition. The curtain opens with an array of elegant women immortalized in the dashing society portraits of John Singer Sargent and the gleaming bronzes of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The final section begins with Norman Rockwell’s legendary Freedom from Want depicting mom delivering the turkey to a field of light-filled grins. Curator Barbara Haskell’s expansive running discourse on the cultural context of these works is augmented by critical examinations of important paintings and books, creating the effect of a guided tour through this ambitious and luscious survey.
Forever the kooky uncle of New York City Museums, the Whitney Museum of American Art has undertaken to present, in two installments, an exhibit entitled The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-2000. Fortunately for us, there's also The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-1950, a…
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske ‘Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven decades and continues to generate breathless guessing games. But if the Academy Awards are at the heart of the movie industry’s biggest, most anticipated night of the year which this year comes on March 21 they are not the driving force behind movie making. Money is.
In The Gross: The Hits, the Flops The Summer That Ate Hollywood (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95, 0312198949), Peter Bart explores the hows, the whys, and the surprises of the summer 1998 box office derby. As the editor-in-chief for Variety and Daily Variety, Bart had access to the executives and filmmakers behind a disparate slate, including the effects extravaganzas Godzilla and Armageddon, the paranoid character study The Truman Show, and that goofy exercise in raunchy, There’s Something About Mary. From the genesis of the various films (inspiration for the Bruce Willis character in Armageddon was real-life firefighting legend, Red Adair), to their development (too many were written by committee ), to the final product (following a test screening, The Avengers went through a major reworking), and on through their journey at the box office, The Gross looks at the way big business has impacted the industry, which has itself become a big business.
Along the way, Bart delivers some enticing cameo appearances. In fact, given its roster of names stars, filmmakers, power-brokers and more it is curious that this book does not have an index, for some of its liveliest material concerns the names behind the titles. In recalling a meeting with Steven Spielberg, a sceenwriter is quoted as saying, He’s like a Mafia boss in that he subtly flaunts his power. Indeed, while talking about a script particular, Spielberg said, We should ask the President that question. He’s my house guest next weekend. Even the rich and famous can’t resist name-dropping.
The rich and famous, as well as the artistes, have figured prominently in the saga of the Oscars. The predictably unpredictable awards race has honored both the obscure performer and the superstar, art house titles, and epics. In that respect, the lavish 70 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (Abbeville Press, $65, 0789204843) reflects society, as well as the various film years.
Written by Robert Osborne, longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, this newly revised and expanded edition has as much appeal to the movie buff as to the scholar. The tone may be ultra-respectful after all, this is the authorized account of Oscar but the detailed year-by-year summations are rife with facts and juicy trivia. Just in time for this year’s Oscar night parties, Dining with the Stars (Pocket, $22, 0671017497) serves up all kinds of tasty possibilities. Here’s one possible menu: Halle Berry’s Almond-Berry Brie Appetizer, Shirley MacLaine’s Favorite Chicken Soup, Joanne Woodward’s Sole Cabernet, and, for dessert, Dolly Parton’s, uh, Stack Pie. More than one hundred celebrities share their favorite recipes, knowing that a portion of the book’s net proceeds will benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. Whether they earn awards/money, many movies contain special gags or references some obvious, many not. Bill Givens, who has chronicled blunders via a series of books about film flubs, now goes after Reel Gags: Jokes, Sight Gags, and Directors’ Tricks from Your Favorite Films. Did you know that the first one to be eaten by a T-Rex in Jurassic Park was one of the movie’s screenwriters? Now you do.
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske 'Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven…
The latest in Phaidon’s series of gorgeous oversized books is The American Art Book. In alphabetical order from Berenice Abbott’s 1930s gelatin silver print of Manhattan at night to William Zorach’s primitive-looking 1951 stone sculpture of a sleeping woman, there are 500 artists and works in this book. The breadth permits an impressive panorama of the artistic urge in America, from the continental days to the end of the millennium. Every time you turn a page, you find something wonderful photorealistic painters Ralph Goings and Richard Estes, photographers Nan Goldin and Cindy Sherman, landscape painters Frederick Church and Thomas Cole. The book is worth the price just for Horace Pippin’s classic 1946 oil Man on a Bench. You’ll also find a helpful glossary and a directory of museums and galleries.
The latest in Phaidon's series of gorgeous oversized books is The American Art Book. In alphabetical order from Berenice Abbott's 1930s gelatin silver print of Manhattan at night to William Zorach's primitive-looking 1951 stone sculpture of a sleeping woman, there are 500 artists and works…
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske ‘Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven decades and continues to generate breathless guessing games. But if the Academy Awards are at the heart of the movie industry’s biggest, most anticipated night of the year which this year comes on March 21 they are not the driving force behind movie making. Money is.
In The Gross: The Hits, the Flops The Summer That Ate Hollywood (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95, 0312198949), Peter Bart explores the hows, the whys, and the surprises of the summer 1998 box office derby. As the editor-in-chief for Variety and Daily Variety, Bart had access to the executives and filmmakers behind a disparate slate, including the effects extravaganzas Godzilla and Armageddon, the paranoid character study The Truman Show, and that goofy exercise in raunchy, There’s Something About Mary. From the genesis of the various films (inspiration for the Bruce Willis character in Armageddon was real-life firefighting legend, Red Adair), to their development (too many were written by committee ), to the final product (following a test screening, The Avengers went through a major reworking), and on through their journey at the box office, The Gross looks at the way big business has impacted the industry, which has itself become a big business.
Along the way, Bart delivers some enticing cameo appearances. In fact, given its roster of names stars, filmmakers, power-brokers and more it is curious that this book does not have an index, for some of its liveliest material concerns the names behind the titles. In recalling a meeting with Steven Spielberg, a sceenwriter is quoted as saying, He’s like a Mafia boss in that he subtly flaunts his power. Indeed, while talking about a script particular, Spielberg said, We should ask the President that question. He’s my house guest next weekend. Even the rich and famous can’t resist name-dropping.
The rich and famous, as well as the artistes, have figured prominently in the saga of the Oscars. The predictably unpredictable awards race has honored both the obscure performer and the superstar, art house titles, and epics. In that respect, the lavish 70 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards reflects society, as well as the various film years.
Written by Robert Osborne, longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, this newly revised and expanded edition has as much appeal to the movie buff as to the scholar. The tone may be ultra-respectful after all, this is the authorized account of Oscar but the detailed year-by-year summations are rife with facts and juicy trivia. Just in time for this year’s Oscar night parties, Dining with the Stars (Pocket, $22, 0671017497) serves up all kinds of tasty possibilities. Here’s one possible menu: Halle Berry’s Almond-Berry Brie Appetizer, Shirley MacLaine’s Favorite Chicken Soup, Joanne Woodward’s Sole Cabernet, and, for dessert, Dolly Parton’s, uh, Stack Pie. More than one hundred celebrities share their favorite recipes, knowing that a portion of the book’s net proceeds will benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. Whether they earn awards/money, many movies contain special gags or references some obvious, many not. Bill Givens, who has chronicled blunders via a series of books about film flubs, now goes after Reel Gags: Jokes, Sight Gags, and Directors’ Tricks from Your Favorite Films (Renaissance Books, $9.95, 1580630421). Did you know that the first one to be eaten by a T-Rex in Jurassic Park was one of the movie’s screenwriters? Now you do.
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske 'Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven…
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske ‘Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven decades and continues to generate breathless guessing games. But if the Academy Awards are at the heart of the movie industry’s biggest, most anticipated night of the year which this year comes on March 21 they are not the driving force behind movie making. Money is.
In The Gross: The Hits, the Flops The Summer That Ate Hollywood, Peter Bart explores the hows, the whys, and the surprises of the summer 1998 box office derby. As the editor-in-chief for Variety and Daily Variety, Bart had access to the executives and filmmakers behind a disparate slate, including the effects extravaganzas Godzilla and Armageddon, the paranoid character study The Truman Show, and that goofy exercise in raunchy, There’s Something About Mary. From the genesis of the various films (inspiration for the Bruce Willis character in Armageddon was real-life firefighting legend, Red Adair), to their development (too many were written by committee ), to the final product (following a test screening, The Avengers went through a major reworking), and on through their journey at the box office, The Gross looks at the way big business has impacted the industry, which has itself become a big business.
Along the way, Bart delivers some enticing cameo appearances. In fact, given its roster of names stars, filmmakers, power-brokers and more it is curious that this book does not have an index, for some of its liveliest material concerns the names behind the titles. In recalling a meeting with Steven Spielberg, a sceenwriter is quoted as saying, He’s like a Mafia boss in that he subtly flaunts his power. Indeed, while talking about a script particular, Spielberg said, We should ask the President that question. He’s my house guest next weekend. Even the rich and famous can’t resist name-dropping.
The rich and famous, as well as the artistes, have figured prominently in the saga of the Oscars. The predictably unpredictable awards race has honored both the obscure performer and the superstar, art house titles, and epics. In that respect, the lavish 70 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (Abbeville Press, $65, 0789204843) reflects society, as well as the various film years.
Written by Robert Osborne, longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, this newly revised and expanded edition has as much appeal to the movie buff as to the scholar. The tone may be ultra-respectful after all, this is the authorized account of Oscar but the detailed year-by-year summations are rife with facts and juicy trivia. Just in time for this year’s Oscar night parties, Dining with the Stars (Pocket, $22, 0671017497) serves up all kinds of tasty possibilities. Here’s one possible menu: Halle Berry’s Almond-Berry Brie Appetizer, Shirley MacLaine’s Favorite Chicken Soup, Joanne Woodward’s Sole Cabernet, and, for dessert, Dolly Parton’s, uh, Stack Pie. More than one hundred celebrities share their favorite recipes, knowing that a portion of the book’s net proceeds will benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. Whether they earn awards/money, many movies contain special gags or references some obvious, many not. Bill Givens, who has chronicled blunders via a series of books about film flubs, now goes after Reel Gags: Jokes, Sight Gags, and Directors’ Tricks from Your Favorite Films (Renaissance Books, $9.95, 1580630421). Did you know that the first one to be eaten by a T-Rex in Jurassic Park was one of the movie’s screenwriters? Now you do.
Starry, starry night by Pat H. Broeske 'Tis the season for show business awards shows, which, collectively, seem to honor every possible subject and category. But try as everyone might, there is no topping the granddaddy of awards shows the one that has spanned seven…
For Star Trek fans Attention all Trekkies and those who know and love them: The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future has landed. If you have a Star Trek fan on your list, this is the book. This edition, compiled by some enterprising folk, boasts 128 new pages to reflect the ever- expanding Star Trek universe and includes almost as many entries and illustrations as the Milky Way has stars. It is the most comprehensive Star Trek reference available, a mothership of a guide that no hard-core fan will want to be without.
For Star Trek fans Attention all Trekkies and those who know and love them: The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future has landed. If you have a Star Trek fan on your list, this is the book. This edition, compiled by some…
For new moms and dads It would take a very cold heart indeed to not at some time have been touched, amused, or fascinated by the precious, highly creative baby portraits of famed photographer Anne Geddes. Her unique art can be seen on greeting cards and novelty items everywhere, and is beloved the world over.
To the delight of her many fans and admirers, Geddes has hand-selected a sizable new collection of some of her favorite shots from 1991 to 1997 and compiled them into a large volume entitled Until Now . In addition to over 100 enchanting color and black-and-white photographs, Geddes includes short explanations on how each photo was taken, the circumstances surrounding the photo session, and, in some cases, how the children have grown up since the shoot.
Until Now is guaranteed to bring a sentimental tear to the eye of even the most teenager-jaded parent.
For new moms and dads It would take a very cold heart indeed to not at some time have been touched, amused, or fascinated by the precious, highly creative baby portraits of famed photographer Anne Geddes. Her unique art can be seen on greeting cards…
Give ’til it hurts You’ve made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the month of July. Sigh . . . Guess where you’ll be spending your summer vacation? You need a little pick-me-up gift for yourself, under the circumstances. What gift doesn’t require a security deposit, seven-day advance purchase, or a Saturday night stay? Why, books, of course! Photographer Jeffrey Kraft’s exquisite photographs of Parisian cubbyholes and artifacts are not intended to entice one to visit the city; rather, his Literary Paris is meant for those who have already been. The images are meant to inspire a memory from a time that has passed; this is not a fancy collection of tourists’ snapshots. Kraft has arranged his remembrances alongside excerpts from literary works by authors who stayed in Paris for extended periods of time. Kraft has captured the glimpse, the detail, the moment, rather than structures and sites. He offers an idea of what remains in the mind and heart, even years after the visit itself has ended. A wonderful gift for the Francophile in your life.
Ben Jonson said, He was not of an age, but for all time. He was, of course, speaking of his friend William Shakespeare. Children’s book author Aliki has written and illustrated William Shakespeare and the Globe (HarperCollins, $15.95, 006027820X), which describes not only Shakespeare’s life, work, and times, but even acknowledges visionary Sam Wannamaker, who spent years resurrecting the Globe. The book is designed much like a script, with acts and scenes and characters. An interesting add-on is the list of words and expressions, complete with illustrations, credited to Shakespeare; for example, sweets to the sweet and hush were apparently invented by the Bard himself. Seems we’ve been quoting Shakespeare without realizing it! Cities like Paris and London must make use of every tidbit of soil that can be found; as acreage diminishes in our growing world, green thumbs everywhere are striving to be more and more creative with their craft. Artisan has published Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ($27.50, 1579651240) with this in mind. Authors James Cramer and Dean Johnson offer fragrant, beautiful, and useful options for the, uh, land-challenged. Cramer and Johnson offer optional locations (who says a window-box is limited to being wooden, square, and outside?) and year-round planting options (a thriving garden in January?) With this book, the decision is no longer how to create a miniature garden, but rather how many miniature gardens you can create. Soil sold separately! Of course, if we’re talking land for land’s sake, Antarctica has land to spare. It’s been 85 years since Ernest Shackleton and the 27-member crew of the Endurance set out to cross the Antarctic on foot. Less than 100 miles from its destination, the Endurance was caught in an ice pack and was badly damaged. For over 20 months, the crew (along with 69 sled dogs) was marooned, but no lives were lost. Two books commemorate this remarkable true story of adventure and perseverance. First, there’s Knopf’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition ($29.95, 0375404031), a sophisticated account of the expedition. There’s also Ice Story: Shackleton’s Lost Expedition (Clarion, $18, 0395915244), which may be better-suited to younger explorers. Both books feature expedition photographer Frank Hurley’s photographs and offer a chronological summary of this death-defying journey. Hurley started the expedition with professional equipment, but his final shots were taken with a pocket camera. Endurance author Caroline Alexander, in association with the American Museum of Natural History, carefully researched this volume, complete with some of Hurley’s photographs that had not been published previously. Ice Story author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel presents the journey in storybook format, but the information is accurate and anecdotal. Both books would make great gifts for anyone who has a taste for adventure and hopeful endings.
Agnes and Curtis decide that the grown-ups need to take the children to the waterpark which happens to be 50 miles away for the day. Fifty miles can seem like 500 without Fun on the Run: Travel Games and Songs (Morrow Junior Books, $17, 0688146600). Brimming with silly stories, limericks, brain teasers, and songs, this book helps to fill travel time without batteries or messy cleanup. Familiar songs and games such as The Ants Go Marching and Hangman are included, but Fun on the Run contains nearly 125 pages of other games and songs that can be a part of any trip. If you still confuse Darth Vader with Darth Maul, fear not; Dorling Kindersley has published two books that will help you keep the prequel and the original trilogy straight: Star Wars Episode I: the Visual Dictionary ($19.95, 0789447010) and Star Wars Episode I: Incredible Cross Sections ($19.95, 078943962X). Like their predecessors (or would it be their descendants?), these books are designed to keep facts, characters, and plots straight. Archaeologist David West Reynolds, an obvious choice for the author, approaches this much like he did his previous Star Wars works. One feels as if he is on an archaeological dig or scientific study of another world. May the source be with you!
Give 'til it hurts You've made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the…
Give ’til it hurts You’ve made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the month of July. Sigh . . . Guess where you’ll be spending your summer vacation? You need a little pick-me-up gift for yourself, under the circumstances. What gift doesn’t require a security deposit, seven-day advance purchase, or a Saturday night stay? Why, books, of course! Photographer Jeffrey Kraft’s exquisite photographs of Parisian cubbyholes and artifacts are not intended to entice one to visit the city; rather, his Literary Paris (Watson-Guptill, $18.95, 0823028305) is meant for those who have already been. The images are meant to inspire a memory from a time that has passed; this is not a fancy collection of tourists’ snapshots. Kraft has arranged his remembrances alongside excerpts from literary works by authors who stayed in Paris for extended periods of time. Kraft has captured the glimpse, the detail, the moment, rather than structures and sites. He offers an idea of what remains in the mind and heart, even years after the visit itself has ended. A wonderful gift for the Francophile in your life.
Ben Jonson said, He was not of an age, but for all time. He was, of course, speaking of his friend William Shakespeare. Children’s book author Aliki has written and illustrated William Shakespeare and the Globe, which describes not only Shakespeare’s life, work, and times, but even acknowledges visionary Sam Wannamaker, who spent years resurrecting the Globe. The book is designed much like a script, with acts and scenes and characters. An interesting add-on is the list of words and expressions, complete with illustrations, credited to Shakespeare; for example, sweets to the sweet and hush were apparently invented by the Bard himself. Seems we’ve been quoting Shakespeare without realizing it! Cities like Paris and London must make use of every tidbit of soil that can be found; as acreage diminishes in our growing world, green thumbs everywhere are striving to be more and more creative with their craft. Artisan has published Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ($27.50, 1579651240) with this in mind. Authors James Cramer and Dean Johnson offer fragrant, beautiful, and useful options for the, uh, land-challenged. Cramer and Johnson offer optional locations (who says a window-box is limited to being wooden, square, and outside?) and year-round planting options (a thriving garden in January?) With this book, the decision is no longer how to create a miniature garden, but rather how many miniature gardens you can create. Soil sold separately! Of course, if we’re talking land for land’s sake, Antarctica has land to spare. It’s been 85 years since Ernest Shackleton and the 27-member crew of the Endurance set out to cross the Antarctic on foot. Less than 100 miles from its destination, the Endurance was caught in an ice pack and was badly damaged. For over 20 months, the crew (along with 69 sled dogs) was marooned, but no lives were lost. Two books commemorate this remarkable true story of adventure and perseverance. First, there’s Knopf’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition ($29.95, 0375404031), a sophisticated account of the expedition. There’s also Ice Story: Shackleton’s Lost Expedition (Clarion, $18, 0395915244), which may be better-suited to younger explorers. Both books feature expedition photographer Frank Hurley’s photographs and offer a chronological summary of this death-defying journey. Hurley started the expedition with professional equipment, but his final shots were taken with a pocket camera. Endurance author Caroline Alexander, in association with the American Museum of Natural History, carefully researched this volume, complete with some of Hurley’s photographs that had not been published previously. Ice Story author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel presents the journey in storybook format, but the information is accurate and anecdotal. Both books would make great gifts for anyone who has a taste for adventure and hopeful endings.
Agnes and Curtis decide that the grown-ups need to take the children to the waterpark which happens to be 50 miles away for the day. Fifty miles can seem like 500 without Fun on the Run: Travel Games and Songs (Morrow Junior Books, $17, 0688146600). Brimming with silly stories, limericks, brain teasers, and songs, this book helps to fill travel time without batteries or messy cleanup. Familiar songs and games such as The Ants Go Marching and Hangman are included, but Fun on the Run contains nearly 125 pages of other games and songs that can be a part of any trip. If you still confuse Darth Vader with Darth Maul, fear not; Dorling Kindersley has published two books that will help you keep the prequel and the original trilogy straight: Star Wars Episode I: the Visual Dictionary ($19.95, 0789447010) and Star Wars Episode I: Incredible Cross Sections ($19.95, 078943962X). Like their predecessors (or would it be their descendants?), these books are designed to keep facts, characters, and plots straight. Archaeologist David West Reynolds, an obvious choice for the author, approaches this much like he did his previous Star Wars works. One feels as if he is on an archaeological dig or scientific study of another world. May the source be with you!
Give 'til it hurts You've made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the…
Give ’til it hurts You’ve made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the month of July. Sigh . . . Guess where you’ll be spending your summer vacation? You need a little pick-me-up gift for yourself, under the circumstances. What gift doesn’t require a security deposit, seven-day advance purchase, or a Saturday night stay? Why, books, of course! Photographer Jeffrey Kraft’s exquisite photographs of Parisian cubbyholes and artifacts are not intended to entice one to visit the city; rather, his Literary Paris (Watson-Guptill, $18.95, 0823028305) is meant for those who have already been. The images are meant to inspire a memory from a time that has passed; this is not a fancy collection of tourists’ snapshots. Kraft has arranged his remembrances alongside excerpts from literary works by authors who stayed in Paris for extended periods of time. Kraft has captured the glimpse, the detail, the moment, rather than structures and sites. He offers an idea of what remains in the mind and heart, even years after the visit itself has ended. A wonderful gift for the Francophile in your life.
Ben Jonson said, He was not of an age, but for all time. He was, of course, speaking of his friend William Shakespeare. Children’s book author Aliki has written and illustrated William Shakespeare and the Globe (HarperCollins, $15.95, 006027820X), which describes not only Shakespeare’s life, work, and times, but even acknowledges visionary Sam Wannamaker, who spent years resurrecting the Globe. The book is designed much like a script, with acts and scenes and characters. An interesting add-on is the list of words and expressions, complete with illustrations, credited to Shakespeare; for example, sweets to the sweet and hush were apparently invented by the Bard himself. Seems we’ve been quoting Shakespeare without realizing it! Cities like Paris and London must make use of every tidbit of soil that can be found; as acreage diminishes in our growing world, green thumbs everywhere are striving to be more and more creative with their craft. Artisan has published Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ($27.50, 1579651240) with this in mind. Authors James Cramer and Dean Johnson offer fragrant, beautiful, and useful options for the, uh, land-challenged. Cramer and Johnson offer optional locations (who says a window-box is limited to being wooden, square, and outside?) and year-round planting options (a thriving garden in January?) With this book, the decision is no longer how to create a miniature garden, but rather how many miniature gardens you can create. Soil sold separately! Of course, if we’re talking land for land’s sake, Antarctica has land to spare. It’s been 85 years since Ernest Shackleton and the 27-member crew of the Endurance set out to cross the Antarctic on foot. Less than 100 miles from its destination, the Endurance was caught in an ice pack and was badly damaged. For over 20 months, the crew (along with 69 sled dogs) was marooned, but no lives were lost. Two books commemorate this remarkable true story of adventure and perseverance. First, there’s Knopf’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition ($29.95, 0375404031), a sophisticated account of the expedition. There’s also Ice Story: Shackleton’s Lost Expedition (Clarion, $18, 0395915244), which may be better-suited to younger explorers. Both books feature expedition photographer Frank Hurley’s photographs and offer a chronological summary of this death-defying journey. Hurley started the expedition with professional equipment, but his final shots were taken with a pocket camera. Endurance author Caroline Alexander, in association with the American Museum of Natural History, carefully researched this volume, complete with some of Hurley’s photographs that had not been published previously. Ice Story author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel presents the journey in storybook format, but the information is accurate and anecdotal. Both books would make great gifts for anyone who has a taste for adventure and hopeful endings.
Agnes and Curtis decide that the grown-ups need to take the children to the waterpark which happens to be 50 miles away for the day. Fifty miles can seem like 500 without Fun on the Run: Travel Games and Songs (Morrow Junior Books, $17, 0688146600). Brimming with silly stories, limericks, brain teasers, and songs, this book helps to fill travel time without batteries or messy cleanup. Familiar songs and games such as The Ants Go Marching and Hangman are included, but Fun on the Run contains nearly 125 pages of other games and songs that can be a part of any trip. If you still confuse Darth Vader with Darth Maul, fear not; Dorling Kindersley has published two books that will help you keep the prequel and the original trilogy straight: Star Wars Episode I: the Visual Dictionary and Star Wars Episode I: Incredible Cross Sections ($19.95, 078943962X). Like their predecessors (or would it be their descendants?), these books are designed to keep facts, characters, and plots straight. Archaeologist David West Reynolds, an obvious choice for the author, approaches this much like he did his previous Star Wars works. One feels as if he is on an archaeological dig or scientific study of another world. May the source be with you!
Give 'til it hurts You've made big travel plans for the summer, and then you receive the call: Aunt Agnes, Cousin Curtis, and the rest of the family have rented a big house near the beach, and everyone is expected to be there for the…
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Maria Ressa’s book is a political history of the Philippines and an intimate memoir, but it’s also a warning to democracies everywhere: Authoritarianism is a threat to us all.
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In the author’s latest graphic novel, Oasis, two children seek comfort in a discarded AI robot, while their mother labors in a factory in order to give them a better life.
