Don’t overlook splashy coffee table books as holiday presents
NEW YORK » Art, architecture, music or travel: Coffee table books can fill just the right gift niche, especially when the cost would be budget- busting if you bought one for yourself.
Offerings abound at holiday time. Some suggestions:
Homes
“Architectural Digest: AD at 100, a Century of Style,” by Architectural Digest. Abrams. In her foreword, Anna Wintour calls the book “quite the house tour.” It’s a centenary celebration of homes past and present. Marlene Dietrich lounges in Beverly Hills, circa the 1930s. Kylie Jenner stands atop a suede pouf next to a white grand piano at home in Los Angeles. The studios of famous artists and the homes of legendary architects are included. $100.
“Cabin Porn: Inside,” by Zach Klein. Voracious/Little Brown. More than a decade ago, Klein — co-founder and designer of Vimeo — began collecting tales of cabin life on a blog as he and his family set up camp in upstate New York. After publishing “Cabin Porn,” about his unplugged return to nature, he’s back with a second volume filled with the interiors and small details of how lay builders went about making their dwellings all over the world. $32.
“Inside Tangier: Houses & Gardens,” by Nicolo Castellini Baldissera, photos by Guido Taroni. Vendome. Long a haven for hippies, artists, literary outcasts and eccentrics of all kinds, Tangier is also filled with properties reflecting the “Tangerine” lifestyle. Among those in the book: Sidi Hosni, where Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton spent three decades. $75.
Music
“My Name is Prince,” by Randee St. Nicholas, Amistad. A retrospective of the photographer’s 25 years working for Prince. Over 384 pages, St. Nichols sheds light on some of their most intriguing shoots. In the mid-1990s, she ran across the charred remains of an elegant building in Hollywood, hired a shiny grand piano and shot Prince bathed in red light amid the ruins. $90.
“Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice,” edited by Mary Guibert and David Browne. DaCapo/ Hachette Books. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Buckley’s debut album, “Grace,” is this collection of never before seen journals and unpublished lyrics. Buckley died in 1997 in an accidental drowning three years after “Grace” was released. The book intersperses photos of such artifacts as his guitars and favorite books with his writings, presented in his own hand. $40.
“Guitar: The World’s Most Seductive Instrument,” by David Schiller. Workman. Brief profiles of 24 guitar gods along with the instruments themselves, with detailed descriptions of why each is important. Accompanied by a researcher, Schiller traveled far and wide to study and photograph hundreds of guitars. This is a gift for the hardcore. $35.
“Rihanna,” by Rihanna. Phaidon. It’s 504 pages. It weighs 15 pounds. It’s Rihanna’s visual biography. In more than 1,400 photos, the superstar shares her backstage moments, vacation moments and fashion moments, along with the obligatory concert moments. She smokes. She skis. She gets tattooed. There’s little from her childhood, though one
This cover image released by National Geographic shows “Women: The National Geographic Image Collection.”
of her report cards notes she was “sure of herself and displays a positive attitude.” The cheapest of four versions sells for $150.
Hollywood
“Game of Thrones: The Costumes,” costumes by Michele
Clapton, written by Gina McIntyre. Insight Editions. The costumes of the HBO series were integral in bringing George R.R. Martin’s world alive. Best jewelry? The dragon necklace of Daenerys. Best wedding gown? Sansa had two, one in gold with the Lannister lion embroidered at the back of the neck and another in spectral white with a fur collar and fish clasps influenced by her mother. $75.
“Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking,” compiled and edited by Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall. Abrams. Collected from libraries, archives and personal collections, the book covers more than five decades of letters, memos and telegrams from celebrities and other insiders. In a 1952 letter, Humphrey Bogart addresses John Huston as: “Dear Fly in the Ointment.” $40.