Go Ahead – Judge a Book by Its Cover
Coffeetable books
By Kimberley Jones, Fri., Nov. 28, 2008
Art: Over 2,500 Works From Cave to Contemporary
foreword by Ross KingDK Publishing, 612 pp., $50
What it aims to do: Teach you how to become a better appreciator of art – and possibly the most annoying person in the room. "Do you know the difference between Mannerism and Pointillism?" asks the press release. "Can you tell a John Currin from a Jan van Eyck?" Listen, mister, you're not gonna make any friends with that tone of voice.
What it says about you: Egghead with exquisite taste.
The randomizer: Pages 158-159 – a gorgeous reproduction of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, Garden of Earthly Delights. Flip the page, and you get a fascinating breakdown of the painting's composition, story, and technique. Keep flipping, and you'll hit one dazzling artwork after another, accompanied by bite-sized artist bios, historical contexts, and stroke analyses.
Best accessorized with: New York's Museum of Modern Art's gift catalog and a B.A. in art history.
Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion From the Bohemian Surf Boom
by Brian Chidester and Domenic PrioreSanta Monica Press, 272 pp., $39.95
What it aims to do: Produce an ambitious survey of the surf aesthetic's influence on American culture, from Moondoggie, the Gidge, and Pet Sounds to burlesque and the Mollusk crew's new wave return to surf's boho design roots.
What it says about you: You're big on tiki kitsch.
The randomizer: Pages 162-163 – scenes from American International Pictures' sun-and-surf films such as Bikini Beach, Beach Blanket Bingo, and Pajama Party. The writing teeters toward the pedestrian, but Pop Surf Culture is a treasure trove of art, including album covers, movie lobby cards, and cornball advertisements, such as Annette Funicello's sunbaked endorsement: "Coppertone gives you a better tan!"
Best accessorized with: Bongos, baby.
Haciendas: Spanish Colonial Houses in the U.S. and Mexico
by Linda Leigh Paul and Ricardo VidargasRizzoli, 224 pp., $55
What it aims to do: Showcase the stunning exteriors and interiors of 25 houses with a design eye toward Spanish colonialism. Think leather and stucco, stone angel motifs, wrought-iron gates, and terraces with views to die for.
What it says about you: You've actually spent time thinking about how to most artfully drape a mosquito net.
The randomizer: Page 51 – "A more convivial room could not exist. The cherished collection of wood instruments is a lively backdrop to the cozy leather and cedar equipale furniture and the painted saint panels of the antique cabinet." Sure, the tone is a touch Town & Country douche, but honestly, the room does look awfully convivial.
Best accessorized with: A pitcher of sangria and bougainvillea in bloom.
I Live Here
by Mia Kirshner, J.B. MacKinnon, Paul Shoebridge, and Michael SimonsPantheon Books, 320 pp., $29.95
What it aims to do: Open your eyes to four hot spots of war, disease, and social injustice around the world – Malawi, Mexico, Chechnya, and Burma. This sensory-overload anthology is organized into four distinct books, overstuffed with illustrations, photographs, creative writing, collages, and testimonials of refugees and rape victims. The hand-printed sections carry the whiff of an overearnest teenage girl doodling in her diary, but it's powerful stuff, nonetheless.
What it says about you: You care about what's going on in the world ... or you're a really big fan of project spearhead Mia Kirshner (she plays Jenny on The L Word and is donating all her proceeds to Amnesty International).
The randomizer: Page 17 of the Burma book features a series of extreme close-ups of a woman's body, accompanied only by this chilling text: "Self Portraits: She took one picture every hour while working her shift at the brothel. She had 6 clients in 12 hours."
Best accessorized with: The latest Human Rights Watch newsletter.
A Texas Journey: The Centennial Photographs of Polly Smith
by Evelyn BarkerDallas Historical Society, 216 pp., $49.95
What it aims to do: Provide a unique and underseen look at what Texas looked like in 1935, the year it celebrated its 100th anniversary of independence from Mexico. The Texas Centennial Central Exposition planners sent photographer Polly Smith, then only 28, to the corners of the state to shoot the racetrack at Arlington Downs, the missions of San Antonio, and a basket weaver on the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation in Polk County. Smith traveled alone in a Ford pickup which doubled as a mobile darkroom.
What it says about you: You don't need to read the placard to know that's Dobie, Bedicheck, and Webb philosophizing in front of Barton Springs Pool.
The randomizer: Page 99 – a stark black-and-white photograph of oil-derrick workers in East Texas.
Best accessorized with: A pair of Tony Lamas kicked up on the coffee table.
Exodus/Éxodo
by Charles Bowden and Julián CardonaUniversity of Texas Press, 285 pp., $50
What it aims to do: Put a very human face on what politicians like to call "the immigrant problem," via Cardona's black-and-white portraits of border crossings, migrant workers, and rallies and Bowden's emotionally wrecking accompanying text.
What it says about you: Mexico means more to you than a combo plate with rice and beans.
The randomizer: Pages 68-69 – members of the activist group Voces sin Eco comb the desert for las Desaparecidas, the lost women of Ciudad Juárez.
Best accessorized with: A raised consciousness.
Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon
by Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt, and Peter W. Kunhardt Jr.Knopf, 512 pp., $50
What it aims to do: Follow up Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography and chronologically chart, from the assassination to the dedication of the Lincoln memorial, how Lincoln was remade in the public consciousness. The Kunhardts are uniquely qualified for the job – in 1911, five generations back, their ancestor Frederick Hill Meserve, the son of a Union officer, published The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln.
What it says about you: Your car bumper reads, "I'd rather be watching the History Channel."
The randomizer: Page 138 – "October 1868: Mary Lincoln Leaves the Country" dishes on Lincoln's widow's still-paralyzing grief, which manifested itself in part with an infantilizing coddle of youngest son Tad so overpowering that he was "unable to tie his shoes at age twelve."
Best accessorized with: Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Hey, it worked for Obama.
Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings
by Kerry MillerHarperCollins Publishers, 176 pp., $13.95
What it aims to do: Capitalize on the huge success of source blog PassiveAgressiveNotes.com (winner of South by Southwest's 2008's Best Blog award) and collect the very best in acid-tongued communications between neighbors, roommates, even best friends in one portable, paperback volume.
What it says about you: You're part of the Overshare Generation. Tweet tweet.
The randomizer: Page 75 – "Dear #2534, If your dog continues to bark past midnight, I will break into your home, steal it, and feed the little fucker to the homeless on Pearl Street. Happy Holidays, RF." Where's the passive in that?
Best accessorized with: The porcelain goddess. It's really more of a bathroom book – but everybody knows the bathroom book is the new coffeetable book.
