From Taschen, with Love

Taschen has introduced a new series of elaborately illustrated, beautifully photographed and artfully arranged books on some of the world's most famous cities. Written and edited by Angelika Taschen, the books are lavish travel books filled with information about the best hot-spots in retail, the best hotels and the best places to dine - from the most extravagant to the most affordable. The chapters (Hotels, Restaurants and Shops) in each book are designed with tabs, making them easy to locate and flip through. There are maps in each book and the text is published in three languages. The photographs are typical of Taschen's standard: large, illustrative, full-colour portraits of the spaces in question. The books are must-haves for the arm-chair traveler, or for anyone who is planning a trip to these fantastic cities.
So far, only three of these big, beautiful travel books have been created: Taschen's Paris, the recently released Taschen's New York and the upcoming Taschen's London. I'm still holding out for Taschen's Toronto! (It might be a bit of a wait...)

Apartment Therapy - The Book

My newest treasure is the book by the editors of one of my favourite online destinations: Apartment Therapy. Released earlier this year by San Francisco publishers Chronicle Books, the new book is a mid-sized, hardcover gem containing the best apartments from their uber-popular website, apartmenttherapy.com. Editors Jill Slater and Janel Laban pen most of the text, but the true stars are the owners of the apartments themselves, who are given a voice throughout the book, answering style and design surveys and providing direct insight into their decorating challenges and accomplishments. The apartment owners/renters also provide all of the photography of their places, giving the book a truly bohemian (but modern) flavour. Forty apartments throughout the United States are featured and each chapter concludes with a full list of design resources the owner/renter used to achieve the look.

Heart Day Reading

Here's the perfect example of books I will buy solely for their cover designs - Penguin's Great Loves series, with cover illustrations by London designer David Pearson. Also perfect considering Valentine's Day is only 4 days away. 20 to choose from; $10.99 each.

The Ralph Lauren Book

Ralph Lauren has released a gargantuan tome about his life and legacy to mark the 40th anniversary of his company. The hardcover book is about two feet tall and a foot-and-a-half wide with 480 glossy pages, most of which are printed with full-colour photographs of his designs. It weighs about 25 pounds and comes in a sturdy box for storage.

The first part of the book tells his life story through photographs and brief personal reflections on his childhood dreams of becoming famous. He spent his youth at the movies, something he says deeply influenced his desire to replicate the glamour he saw on screen in every day life. The book is a lovely retrospective of some of his best collections and most memorable designs, from the runway to the furniture showroom. And it is not without sentiment: his memory of hand-stitching the labels to his first collection of ties in the late 1960s with his wife and mother-in-law is poignant. The book comes highly recommended for anyone who loves this designer or has a thorough interest in fashion.

Incidentally, a written speech by Audrey Hepburn about Ralph Lauren's designs is featured in the foreword.

The Ralph Lauren book: $145.00