Top Ten Gift Books for the Holidays

Holiday shoppers in the Hamptons and points afar looking for the perfect gift for the book-lover in your life, your search is over. From children’s books to hot cars to Hamptons gardens, our friends at Books & Books in Westhampton Beach have the Top Ten books for gift-giving this holiday season.

Impossible Collection of Cars by Dan Neil

This is the book of the year for the automobile aficionado! This spectacular volume showcases the 100 most exceptional cars of the 20th century. Each luxury vehicle featured was chosen for its revolutionary design, magnificent lines, and head-turning capabilities. This limited edition is presented on art quality cotton paper in a beautiful black rubber presentation box with a cutout metal plate. The book is completely hand-assembled and each photograph individually mounted on the page. Assouline, November, 2011; $750.00

Hamptons Gardens by Jack deLashmet

This visually stunning edition is an invitation into the private world that lies behind privet hedges and wrought iron gates in one of the world’s most exclusive residential areas. In collaboration with photographers Mary Ellen Bartley and Doug Young, author Jack deLashmet opens the garden gates to the most exciting private gardens of the Hamptons. Assouline, August, 2011; $250.00

Apple Design by Friedrich von Borries, Ina Grätz and Sabine Schulze

Apple is one of the most influential and popular design companies of our era, and featured in this collection are over 200 examples of outstanding Apple designs by Jonathan Ive, Apple Sr. V.P for Industrial Design and arguably the second-most important person to the success of the company after Steve Jobs. Since 1997, Ive has been responsible for the look of all of the company’s products. This edition deepens our understanding of contemporary industrial design and Apple’s innovation with outstanding full color photographs. HajteCantz, November, 2011; $60.00

The Art Museum by Phaidon Press

Why buy a mere art book when you can have a museum of your own? The Art Museum is the finest art collection ever assembled between two covers. Featuring 992 oversized pages of nearly 2,700 works of art, this is the most comprehensive and visually spectacular history of world art ever published. These beautiful reproductions are a bold assertion of the importance of the printed page. Phaidon Press, October, 2011; $200.00

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

From the the creator of the Caldecott Medal winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret comes another breathtaking tour de force. Set 50 years apart, these two independent stories – Ben’s told in words, Rose’s in pictures – weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you and leave you breathless with wonder. Scholastic Press, September, 2011; $29.99

Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Katherine Paterson and Pamela Dalton

In Brother Sun, Sister Moon, award-winning author Katherine Paterson re-imagines a hymn of praise originally written by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. Illuminated with the exquisite illustrations of cut-paper artist Pamela Dalton, this picture book offers a stunningly beautiful tribute to nature. An inspiring modern classic. Chronicle Books, June, 2011; $17.99

The Show More Show Less Phantom Tollbooth 50^th Anniversary Edition by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer

It has been 50 years—and millions of readers—since the world was first introduced to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond with Tock, the Humbug, and the captive princesses Rhyme and Reason. This remarkable 50^th anniversary edition, with original artwork and essays, is the perfect gift for longstanding fans and lucky new readers. Knopf,  October, 2011; $24.00

Wildwood: The Wildood Chronicles, Book 1 by Colin Meloy

Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness. So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend, Curtis, deep into the forest from where no one has ever returned. Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic. Balzer + Bray,  August, 2011; $17.99

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Noel Daniel and Matthew R. Price

This book brings together two dozen of the most beloved of the classic Grimm fairy tales in a specially commissioned all-new translation. Containing a painstakingly-researched selection of artwork by some of the most famous illustrators from the 1850s to the 1950s, this collection is a testament to the magic of fairy tales and their illustrations. Taschen, October, 2011; $39.99

Magnum Contact Sheets by Kristen Lubben

This is the definitive book on how the best photographs are created and edited. They reveal the creative methods, strategies, and editing processes used by some of the acknowledged greats of photography. This landmark publication contains 450 photographs and accompanying critical analysis. Thames & Hudson, November, 2011; $150.00

You can get these great holiday gifts and more at Books & Books, 130 Main Street, Westhampton Beach, New York. For more information, call 631.998.3260.