This is what I bought over my Christmas break! Sorry, this is not a very good picture as you can't quite see the breadth of my stack and trust me, they are heavy, too! There was a time when I actively bought art and photography books--lovely, lavish, coffee table glossies. Maybe it was lack of shelf space or cost or I was just too wrapped up in novels and nonfiction but I stopped buying books like this ages ago.
Since I went here and here and looked online here when I was on vacation, I was tempted to take advantage of holiday sales and add a few new art books to my piles. And one lone nonfiction, too. From top to bottom:
Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing tthe Wild West--One Meal at a Time by Stephen Fried -- I think I mentioned I am hoping to read more 'Western' Literature and History this year (Plains Fiction especially) and this looked like it would be an interesting place to start. I love social history and as this covers roughly the first half of the Twentieth Century it is about a favorite period that I like to read about, too.
Hebrides by Peter May -- I think I mentioned, too, that I had ordered a book of photographs of the Hebrides that is a companion book to Peter May's books. I have yet to get The Chessmen in the mail, but now I will have visuals to go along with the story.
The Pictures of a Generation 1974-1984 by Douglas Ekland -- I ordered this sight unseed but it was so cheap it was practically a steal. I love Cindy Sherman (as odd and unsettling as her photographs may be) and her art features highly in the book. I have yet to really look through it, but I think it will be a good addition to my collection of photography books. Someday I am going to make a reading project related to photography. Someday!
Prendergast in Italy by Nancy Mowell Mathews -- I had been leafing through this on the sale table at the Joslyn and thought how much I would like to take it home with me. While it was on sale it was still not quite within my budget, but when the clerk told me all the items on the table were 40% off the marked sale prices I decided it was a sign. I'm not really familiar with Maurice Prendergast, an American Post-Impressionist, but I like the paintings in the book. Now I will get to learn about him, and painting of Italy, well, how can you lose?
Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West by Eva Respini came from that same sale table. And it's another that will work into my Western Lit plans--in this case it might help knock down some of those 'myths of the west' that have been constructed over time.
Poiret by Harold Koda -- This is an absolutely gorgeous catalogue of Poiret's fashion designs. If you like fashion and textiles from the 1920s this is quite a nice find. It is massive and beautifully designed.
I haven't a clue where I am going to keep these books--they are best displayed on a nice table somewhere. Definite splurges these were, but once in a while it's nice indulging in books that are so pretty and inspiring--inspiring visually that is! By the way, I received several book gift cards for the holidays and am already contemplating how to use them, though I like to take my time and ration them over the coming months. You might, therefore, see a little influx of new books (not that that would be anything new of course . . . ).