Stumped on a holiday gift? Reach for a coffee table book.
The sometimes pricey, often large-format books are abundant at holiday time. Take care to invest in just the right one to avoid sad or puzzled eyes when your gift is unwrapped.
Some suggestions among new releases:
This two-volume opus covers the film industry from 1936 to 1972. More than 700 pages of photos and stories plucked from the archives of Life magazine show icons and others behind the scenes and in front of the cameras. Take 6-year-old Natalie Wood hanging upside down on a swing. The nearly 17 pounds’ worth of nostalgia is packed with both color and black-and-white images, along with photo essays for context. Taschen, with slipcase. $250.
- “Black in Fashion: 100 Years of Style, Influence & Culture”
A celebration of Black voices from Women’s Wear Daily, dating to the publication’s start in 1910. There are early efforts by Black garment workers to unionize. And Josephine Baker’s 67th birthday bash. There’s the rise of the late Virgil Abloh and working designers today, including LaQuan Smith and Sergio Hudson. Union Square & Co. Text by Tonya Blazio-Licorish and Tara Donaldson. $65.
This is Jules Feiffer’s first graphic novel for young readers. The offbeat, Pulitzer-winning cartoonist takes a family on a wacky adventure to the Lost Dimension. Feiffer said in press notes that writing for young readers “connects me professionally to a part of myself that I didn’t know how to let out until I was 60.” He’s now 95. His artwork is colorful and out of this world. Good for ages 8-12. HarperCollins. $12.99.
- “The Women Who Changed Photography”
Profiles of 50 groundbreaking female photographers through time and around the world, told in short essays. Many developed new techniques to capture images from war to fashion. The book offers tips on how to achieve the same outcomes. Cindy Sherman, Anna Atkins, Shirin Neshat and Lorna Simpson are included. By Gemma Padley. Laurence King Publishing. $24.99.
- “Making the Case for Equality”
Lambda Legal has been fighting for LGBTQ+ rights for 50 years. This book takes readers through dozens of the nonprofit’s milestone cases, from 1973 to 2023. It profiles leading players on both sides and tells the personal stories behind the legal briefs. By Jennifer C. Pizer and Ellen Ann Andersen. Foreword by Roxane Gay. Monacelli. $59.95.
- “1001 Movie Posters: Designs of the Times”
A 640-page tome offering movie art from more than 20 countries. “We’re not rated X for nothin’, baby!” declares a 1972 poster for “Fritz the Cat.” It was, in fact, the first animated film to be given an X rating. Also included: 1896 Parisian lithographs for the first public screening by the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis. They were among early pioneers of cinema. By Tony Nourmand, Graham Marsh, Christopher Frayling and Alison Elangasinghe. Reel Art Press. $95.
British Columbia birder and photographer Melissa Hafting explores the joy and comfort her beloved birds have provided her in hard times, including the deaths of both of her parents. Her images of birds in the U.S. and Canada are intertwined with her personal narrative. “Who knows how many tomorrows I have left in my life, but all my tomorrows will be for the birds,” she writes. Rocky Mountain Books. $45.
- “The Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Death and Life”
A tribute to Mexico’s beloved holiday when families welcome back the souls of their dead relatives. This lively volume unfolds with contemporary and historical context through photos and explanatory text focused on how the November holiday plays out in specific states and cities in Mexico. By Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena. Rizzoli New York. $65.
In the summer of 2023, at age 102, style icon Iris Apfel began work on this book. She called it her “legacy” book. She died the following March but her voice lives on in the memories she put down here. “The book is about living. Creating. Coloring life,” she wrote in the introduction. What follows is just that: a technicolor journey in words and pictures through Apfel’s childhood, marriage, work and home. Abrams. $50.
