Last night I saw a friend who lives out of town that I have not seen in ages. Every year we have a little gift exchange, though this year she really outdid herself. I love art books, but I rarely buy them for myself, so it was a lovely surprise to get not one but two from her. Both are books that have been on my Amazon wishlist for a while. My wishlist is less an actual wishlist as a list of books I want to remember and possibly buy someday, so she really floored me when she handed me two large and very heavy packages to open. I'm sure I'll be spending more than a few hours pouring over Art: The Definitive Visual Guide with a forword by Ross King and Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century from the Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute. I especially love the two volume set (which is also slipcased) on fashion. It is a gorgeous set of books and the clothes are really fascinating to look at. Both books are lavishly illustrated and I am feeling especially spoiled at the moment!
Merry Christmas, Danielle. Enjoy your new books.
Posted by: Susan | December 24, 2008 at 09:22 PM
What lovely books! Happy Christmas, Danielle! Here's hoping you're opening lots more books this morning!
Posted by: Litlove | December 25, 2008 at 04:31 AM
Wow-that fashion book is so beautiful! Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Eva | December 25, 2008 at 07:10 AM
Susan--Thanks and I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time looking at these!
Litlove--Books even before Christmas! :) Have a lovely day, too!
Eva--Thanks--the books are lovely. Have a great holiday as well!
Posted by: Danielle | December 25, 2008 at 08:29 AM
Merry Christmas, Danielle!
Lezlie
Posted by: Lezlie | December 25, 2008 at 11:00 AM
I got the Fashion book for Christmas last year, and love it wholeheartedly. I hope you enjoy it!
Posted by: Anna | December 25, 2008 at 05:42 PM
Merry Christmas!
I am glad that you are enjoying your presents. Great.
Keep warm
Posted by: Isabel | December 25, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Lezlie--Thanks--Hope you had a great day, too.
Anna--Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? It won't be going to my bookshelves anytime soon as I'm sure I'll be flipping through it quite a lot.
Isabel--I hope you had a great day also! So far I'm really enjoying my break and am already dreading going back. But that's still a week away, so I still have plenty of time to enjoy more reading.
Posted by: Danielle | December 26, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Wow, you really scored. Those books both look and sound fantastic.
Posted by: Carl V. | December 27, 2008 at 08:59 AM
Oooh, that fashion book sounds really fun. I don't care a whit about fashion for myself, but I do like looking at fashions from the past. How nice to be able to see your friend!
Posted by: Dorothy W. | December 27, 2008 at 04:03 PM
Carl--I did score--I never get such nice coffee table sorts of books anymore! It was a really nice surprise!
Dorothy--I'm not at all into fashion either--I like things simple and plain so they last a long time! :) However, I love looking at clothes like these--particularly the earlier 18th and 19th clothes. It's interesting seeing what people actually wore and then being able to picture them when I am reading a historical novel! And it's been a good four or five years since I've seen my friends, so that was great, too.
Posted by: Danielle | December 27, 2008 at 09:03 PM