Chronicle Books 30% Off Sale

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BTW this a great deal because often if you are buying from Amazon they don't discount Chronicle Books so you are better off purchasing directly from the publisher in this case!

High Style

At the intersection of Old Hollywood glamour and sleek modernity you'll find sought-after Los Angeles design duo Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield. Their first book is an over-the-top design object that's equal parts creative inspiration design acumen and exclusive insight into the lives of L.A.'s celebrity royalty. In over 300 stunning photographs Ron and Jaime share their unique approach to creating striking domestic spaces and memorable parties. Throughout features on reclaiming vintage furnishings and flea market finds complement the stories behind the fabulous rooms. All of this design wisdom is wrapped in a sexy black-on-black raw silk cover and has gilded edges making High Style a book as stylish to display as it is tantalizing to read.

Kids Books: Charlotte in London

Charlotte in London -- It's 1895. Charlotte and her family came to France three years ago so that her father could learn to paint in the French style of Impressionism. Now they are traveling to London to see if the famous artist John Singer Sargent will paint Charlotte's mother's portrait. In London Charlotte and her best friend Lizzy stay in their own room at the Savoy Hotel attend a fancy dinner party with famous writers watch boat races on the River Thames learn about legendary London ghosts and even visit a gypsy camp.

Illustrated with beautiful museum reproductions and exquisite watercolor paintings the book also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. This vibrant journal of Charlotte's exciting journey will make any reader long for lovely London.

Kids Books: Other Charlotte Books

Charlotte in New York
Charlotte in Paris
Charlotte in Giverny

Gossip Girl Board Game

Gossip Girl Board Game

Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader for the tip!

Kids Books: Everbody Bonjours!

Everybody Bonjours! Shop a fancy France-y store. Eat a pretty petit four. Discover! Sightsee! Explore! On this fun and friendly tour, everybody says “Bonjour!” Whether at a soccer stadium (“players scoring”), a crêpe stand (“batter pouring”), or strolling the Champs d’Elysee (where folks “bonjour” in every store), a little girl and her family are welcomed everywhere with the signature French greeting. Jump into these pages and enjoy the trip! Through lilting words and lively images, Everybody Bonjours welcomes young reader-travelers to a Paris that isn’t just for artists, grown-ups, and dreamers–it’s for kids!

Chronicle Book Friends & Family Discount

The Mediterranean House in America

The Mediterranean House in America -- Inspired by the romance of Italian villas, Spanish farmhouses, and Moorish courtyards, the Mediterranean Revival style became an archetype for sophisticated suburban homes throughout America in the early 20th century. The characteristic white stucco house, roofed with terra-cotta and ornamented with ironwork, decorative tiles, and fountains, remains the dominant style for new residences in California, the Southwest, and Florida. The Mediterranean house’s longevity is rooted in an overall simplicity and an emphasis on the outdoors. Its central courtyard, terraces, and loggias provide a fluidity between interiors and exteriors equally prized by the architects of ancient Pompeii and groundbreaking modernists. The Mediterranean House in America provides the first comprehensive survey of this popular style, beautifully illustrated in full-color photographs by Juergen Nogai, archival photos, and drawings.

Vanity Fair Portraits

Vanity Fair: The Portraits: A Century of Iconic Images brings together 300 iconic portraits from Vanity Fair’s 95-year history in a remarkable book that captures the image of modern fame—the magical thing that happens when individual talent and beauty (and sometimes genius) is caught in the spotlight of popular curiosity and passion. The photographers—from Edward Steichen and Cecil Beaton to Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino—are a glittering and celebrated group themselves. Their portraits have become the iconic likenesses of the best-known figures from the worlds of art, film, music, sports, business, and politics. From legends such as Pablo Picasso, Amelia Earhart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn to the stars, writers, athletes, style icons, and titans of business and politics of today, Vanity Fair: The Portraits offers an authoritative roster of talent and glamour in the 20th century.

Reception and Book signing for Kelly Klein's Horse

Saturday, November 22nd, 5-7 pm

HORSE
By Kelly Klein
With Foreword by Michael Matz
Hardcover 14" x 17"
272 pages, 240 color and black & white photographs
$150

Deluxe slipcased edition of 500 copies,
each with a signed 11" x 14" photographic print by Kelly Klein
$400

Rizzoli is proud to announce the Fall 2008 publication of HORSE, by Kelly Klein. In addition to being a highly-regarded photographer, author Kelly Klein has been an accomplished competitive equestrienne since childhood, and this evocative celebration of the horse, is a project very close to her heart. Designed by Sam Shahid, this luxuriously scaled book is Klein’s tribute to the physical beauty, power, and elegance of the horse, and the sense of wonder and awe that the animal evokes in us. In more than 250 photographs, including many previously unpublished, Klein conveys her intimate and personal fascination with horses, and the intense vulnerability that counters their natural power and majesty. Klein has selected fine art and amateur photography from 1920 to the present, including images of the horse in fashion photographs, in races, in jumping and cross country competitions, and in rodeos and the circus, resulting in an anthology as provocative as it is striking. With photographs by Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber, Robert Mapplethorpe, Steven Klein, Dominique Issermann, Richard Prince, and Keith Carter among many others, HORSE is a passionate tribute to a magnificent animal.

All of Ms. Klein’s profits from HORSE will go to the Equestrian Aid Foundation, whose mission is to assist anyone in the equestrian world suffering from life threatening illness, catastrophic accidents or injuries by providing direct financial support for their medical or other basic needs.

For more info please go to www equestrianaidfoundation.org.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog --- We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building’s tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.

Then there’s Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma’s trust and to see through Renée’s timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

A Year in High Heels: A Girl’s Guide to Everything From Jane Austen to the A-List

A Year in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything from Jane Austen to the A-list - more on the party here.

Nantucket: Island Living

Nantucket: Island Living -Imagine a place of unspoiled beaches, windswept dunes, and dramatic natural beauty. A place free of traffic lights and blaring commercial come-ons. A place whose rich historical heritage is visible everywhere—from the antiques-shop windows filled with handmade baskets and scrimshawed ivories to the spare, shingle-clad houses that coexist harmoniously with the surrounding land- and seascapes. Imagine a place designed, by man and nature, to relax and restore you.

Nantucket Island is that place. Thirty miles off Cape Cod, Nantucket is both geographically isolated and—as an internationally regarded vacation resort—culturally sophisticated. Nantucketers are rightly proud of a manner of living that couples the casual comforts of small-town life with an urbane sense of glamour, taste, and style.

In this handsomely illustrated book, longtime Nantucket residents Leslie Linsley and Terry Pommett give you an insider’s look at the on-island lifestyle: the restored historic homes of Nantucket town and ’Sconset village, the appealingly humble beachfront cottages that dot the island’s shoreline, and the beautifully tended gardens—formal and informal—that grace Nantucket’s private houses and public buildings. More than 200 color photos document the other attractions—panoramic views, home-grown handicrafts, seasonal celebrations —that make Nantucket such a rewarding place to spend a day, a summer, or a lifetime.

The Louis Vuitton Cup:25 Years of Yacht Racing

The Louis Vuitton Cup: 25 Years of Yacht Racing in Pursuit of the America's Cup -- From 1983 to 2008, the Louis Vuitton Cup determined who would qualify to compete for the America’s Cup, the world’s most prestigious yachting regatta. The involvement of the world-famous luxury goods company in the race transformed the match from a friendly competition into a modern media event, and helped raise the international profile of the esteemed prize.

The Louis Vuitton Cup tells the story of the America’s Cup, which parallels Louis Vuitton’s expansion from a company that creates travel trunks to its presence as an internationally acclaimed luxury brand. The book traces the trajectory of the Cup, recounting stories of the individual races and victories, from the first in Newport, Rhode Island to the last in Valencia, Spain. It presents profiles of its greatest winners and pays tribute to the world’s most talented yachtsmen and the photographers who, passionate about the sea, helped forge the regatta’s reputation.

Lagerfeld Confidential

If you're a fan of Karl you've got to see Lagerfeld Confidential. It's fabulous - at least I thought so! You can check out the website site as well here. For the first time, Karl Lagerfeld, the innovative designed who has ruled the House of Chanel for more than two decades, agreed to trust a director to create an artwork based on his life. After three years of crosscrossing the globe filming the outspoken icon, Rudolphe Marconi unveils the inner workings of the influential and enigmatic star.

Holidays on Ice: Featuring Six New Stories

Holidays on Ice

Yay - but now I am going to have to buy it for my iPod all over again!

David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters ("Us and Them"); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French ("Jesus Shaves"); what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm ("Let It Snow"); the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations ("Six to Eight Black Men"); what Halloween at the medical examiner's looks like ("The Monster Mash"); and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry ("Cow and Turkey").

Valentina

Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity -- From Amazon.com -- Valentina was the twentieth century’s first American fashion designer celebrity, working and living on equal social footing with the clientele she dressed (Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Katharine Hepburn, Millicent Rogers, and Audrey Hepburn, among others). One of the few designers who proved that America could live without the Parisian haute couture, her career is a much needed missing link in the history of American fashion. Beyond merely turning out show-stopping evening gowns, Valentina’s exotic beauty, dramatic personality, and incomparable style earned her a legendary reputation. Kohle Yohannan explores the carefully constructed persona and lore of this designer who helped define American Couture. Published in association with the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition Valentina: New York Couture and the Cult of Celebrity, this book includes photographs, never-before-seen personal ephemera, sketches, and original platinum prints from master photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Horst P. Horst, and George Hoyningen-Huene.

But That's Another Story: A Photographic Retrospective

But That's Another Story: A Photographic Retrospective of Milton H. Greene -- A privileged witness to the glamorous spirit of the 1950s and 60s, Milton H. Greene photographed the greatest artists, actors, and personalities of the twentieth century. Renowned for his fashion photographs, Greene perfectly captured the fantasy, elegance, and beauty of his models, for which he secured assignments from major national publications and prestigious advertising clients. But That’s Another Story: A Photographic Retrospective of Milton H. Greene reproduces, in their original clarity and integrity, pictures that have been largely unavailable since Greene’s death in 1985. Organized thematically, it features both the widely published fashion and celebrity series (including the campaign Greene shot for American Airlines in the 1950s) and some intimate backstage candids. A whole chapter is dedicated to photos of Marilyn Monroe, where some of her most iconic portraits mix with private moments from her life. Ultimately, Greene’s photography invites us back to an era when film and fashion, art and style were at their highest.

Milton H. Greene (1922-1985) photographed for Look, Life, Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and others throughout the 1950s and 60s, and won awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Art Directors Club. In recent years his work has been exhibited at the International Center of Photography in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., among others. He collaborated with Norman Mailer on Of Women and Their Elegance (Simon and Schuster, 1980), a fictional autobiography of Marilyn Monroe.

Bitter with Baggage

One of my favorite non-reading books.

Stolen Moments: The Photographs of Ronny Jaques

Stolen Moments: The Photographs of Ronny Jaques -- From Amazon.com -- Relatively unknown peer of innovative photographers Slim Arons and Richard Avedon, Ronny Jaques' photographs captured the fashion, travel, food and lifestyle scenes for magazines like Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar, and Gourmet, where he established himself as the first true innovator of food photography. His work is chronicled and explained for the first time in book form by fashion luminary and friend, Pamela Fiori, editor for the past fifteen years of Town & Country magazine.

From the NY Times -- HE lured Bette Davis to New York's dockyards with her giant dog as bodyguard, celebrated with W. H. Auden the day he got his United States citizenship, listened in on Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza as they rehearsed "South Pacific" with Richard Rodgers at the ivories, and got the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to grin like fools in the Bahamas. Chances are you've never heard his name, but his photographs prove he was there.

Ronny Jaques, who died this summer at 98, was a busy magazine photographer in the mid-20th century, working mostly for Harper's Bazaar, Junior Bazaar, Town & Country and Holiday. In his heyday, he immortalized nearly everyone he came across but himself. In "Stolen Moments," a collection of Mr. Jaques's remarkable black-and-white portraits, the Town & Country editor Pamela Fiori writes that this "extraordinary" photographer was a modest, quiet, prodigiously gifted "one-man show," who was "drawn to people in the arts - ballerinas, stage actors, writers and poets, classical and jazz musicians, composers and conductors - and they were drawn to him."

Looking through these strikingly evocative photographs of people who were usually captured in more frozen/guarded poses, you sense his rapport with his subjects, and their trust in him. His shot of Leonard Bernstein in 1947 shows the conductor with his eyes closed, lovingly sketching a self-portrait on a pad propped on a pack of cigarettes. Weegee let Mr. Jaques stand by as he worked a crime scene, box camera in his meaty mitts, plump cigarette dangling from his lip.

Seeing Mr. Jaques's simple snap of a young, trench-coated Robert Mitchum, in 1947, you could fall in love. His portrait of George S. Kaufman in the 1950s catches the playwright in bed - fully dressed in suit and tie, head on the pillow, a phone at his ear, reading a notice in The New Yorker.

One of the great, lesser-known privileges enjoyed by New Yorker staff members is sneaking into the magazine's library, ducking among the sliding shelves and poring over bound volumes of the magazine from the 1960s, '50s, '40s and beyond.

On time-crisped pages, advertisements invite the eye into another age, another sensibility. There's the elegant lady in her peignoir at the dressing table, caressing the bottle of Je Reviens; the spruce gent in the houndstooth suit, pipe in mouth, savoring his Glenfiddich; the new groom standing beside his Jaguar, holding his crinolined wife in his arms - forerunners of Don Draper and Betts, at the dawning of Madison Avenue.

All the nostalgia of those stacks can be found in this one, slim, valuable retrospective collection. "I wanted to be with the big boys," Mr. Jaques told Ms. Fiori. "Stolen Moments" shows he was.

Too Fat to Fish

Too Fat to Fish - not my usual sort of recommendation here however, I love Artie because I think he is hilarious and not just because he is from New Jersey. I have pre-ordered my copy from Amazon and it should arrive next week. I will post my review here as soon as I am finished - I know you'll all be waiting!

American Fashion Accessories

American Fashion Accessories --- Starting in the twentieth century, the American accessory designer looked to Europe and then said, I can do better. In a book commissioned by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and edited by Candy Pratts Price, with writing by Jessica Glasscock and Art Tavee, their achievements are revealed: a century of objects of necessity and desire poured forth to boutiques and department stores across the United States and the world. The forward-thinking American accessory designer, in collusion with America s royalty the Hollywood star and in sync with the unstoppable dominance of a rebellious popular culture, has assembled a cabinet of curiosities, including everything from Adrian s witty Hollywood hats to Ralph Lauren s all-American accoutrement to Madonna s rubber bracelets. It is a tradition that continues today with a stellar group of CFDA designers whose work exemplifies the American accessory.

A Morrissey Memoir? Possibly Very Soon

If you’ve recently found yourself feeling upbeat and optimistic about life, Morrissey, the dour dauphin of rock, may soon put a stop to that: he has announced that he is working on his memoirs. In an interview with the BBC, Morrissey, the former Smiths frontman and symbol of romanticized depression, said he had begun writing an autobiography to communicate directly with his fans and to speak over the filter of the mainstream media. “With every printed interview, there’s lots of misquotes,” Morrissey told the BBC. “Lots of them are really silly and really extreme, which you have to live with the rest of your life. So it’s setting the record straight.” No publisher or release date for the as-yet-untitled memoir has been announced. Morrissey is also working on a new solo album, “Year of Refusal,” scheduled for next year. {via NY Times}

Here's the Story

I wasn't going to read Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice because I am not a big fan of memoirs especially when someone declares on the cover that they are "finding their true voice" but I did read Barry William's book Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg and really enjoyed it. And I heard Maureen in a radio interview the other day and the book sounds interesting. I know she was really into cocaine, etc. Anyway, I am going to read it or listen to - haven't decided which yet. Unfortunately I have been too busy with work and fulfilling other obligations which has left me zero time to read. I have so many books I want to read and so little time! If anyone had read this or plans to read it let me know - as of Friday it was #20 on Amazon.

Bringing Paris Home

Bringing Paris Home invites the reader to re-create the panache of French interior style in an American setting. Author Penny Drue Baird shares her love and knowledge of French history and decorative arts and describes the design elements essential to an elegant French interior—architectural details, furniture, paint and wall covering, fireplaces, lighting, and tabletop settings. A special chapter on shopping offers tips on finding treasures in the famed Marche aux Puces in Paris. Penny Drue Baird's highly engaging text, filled with reminiscences and anecdotes, brings the charm and pleasure of Paris to life. Lavishly illustrated with Parisian scenes and completed interiors by Baird, Bringing Paris Home is an essential resource for capturing the atmosphere of Paris.

Fashion Game Book

Fashion Game Book: A World History of 20th-Century Fashion -- Brainiacs have all the fun in this compendium of fashion intrigue, lore, who s who, and what s what. An entire century of designers, couturiers, and must-have looks parades between the covers. Stump your friends and test your knowledge with questions and answers, quizzes, and matching games. Accompanying photographs illustrate one hundred years of design in vivid color. From Charles James and Claire McCardell to Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen, from jeans and T-shirts to bridal gowns and high heels, the Fashion Game Book offers the essential keys to understanding the art of appearances. With this complete guide, you'll never hear the words, You're out.