Books remain among the most personal and enduring Christmas gifts. Chosen with care, they become companions rather than objects – read slowly, revisited often and sometimes kept for a lifetime. From radical cultural studies to poetic city portraits and exquisitely crafted literary editions, these five titles stand out for their beauty, substance and ability to be both read and treasured.
GIRLS: On Boredom, Rebellion and Being In-Between
GIRLS is the companion to MoMu Antwerp’s exhibition, reframing girlhood as cultural, political and messy rather than merely nostalgic. Curated by Elisa De Wyngaert with Claire Marie Healy and colleagues, it moves between art, fashion and film: Riot Grrrl ephemera, bedroom imaginaries and nods to Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides sit alongside artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Alice Neel. Shaped through conversations with teenagers, it foregrounds LGBTQIA+ voices and the charge of becoming in the restless, tender, unresolved in-between.
Text contributions from: Elisa De Wyngaert, Claire Marie Healy, Wim Martens and Alex Quincho. Published by Hannibal Books. £50.00. Available at ACC Art Books and other premium booksellers.
FOREVER PARIS: A Guide to the Timeless Soul of the City
This book reads like a love letter to lived-in Paris rather than a checklist of sights. Wandering from Saint-Germain-des-Prés to Le Marais, it celebrates the artisans, bookbinders, pâtissiers and institutions that shape the city’s soul. From flea markets to Café de Flore and the Jardin des Plantes, Montagut’s visual language favours atmosphere over itineraries and immerses the reader in a poetic ritual of Paris. Illustrated in Montagut’s delicate watercolours, it captures the city’s memory and savoir-faire, quietly resisting the rush of the modern city.
Author: Marin Montagut. Published by Flammarion. £25.00. Available at Waterstones, Amazon and other book retailers. Pictures © Marin Montagut.
LOVING II: More Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s – 1950s
LOVING II deepens the quiet, radical intimacy that made its predecessor (LOVING) so resonant. Drawn from the ever-expanding archive of collectors Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, this second volume gathers previously unseen vernacular photographs of male couples from the 1850s to the 1950s. Soldiers, students, farmers and lovers appear in moments of tenderness: a hand on a knee, an arm around a shoulder, a shared gaze. Spanning daguerreotypes to snapshots, LOVING II is less about history than recognition, reminding us that love, even when hidden, has always found a way to be seen.
Authors: Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell. Published by 5 Continents Editions. £52.00. Available at ACC Art Books and other quality booksellers.
MADAME DE by Louise de Velmorin
In this exquisite new Dédale edition, Madame de reappears as the luminous bijou it has always been: an elegant novella where love, secrecy and a pair of diamond earrings shape an entire social world. L’ÉCOLE de Van Cleef & Arpels and Franco Maria Ricci revive Louise de Vilmorin’s 1951 classic with the refinement it deserves: Bodoni type, ivory paper, and Laurent de Commines’s vivid fifties-inspired illustrations, whose ornamental whimsy mirrors the novel’s emotional finesse. Like all FMR projects, the book is conceived as an objet d’art, inviting readers into a labyrinth of charm, irony and Parisian intrigue.
Preface by Patrick Mauriès and introduction by Emmanuelle Amiot. Published by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts (Van Cleef & Arpels) and Franco Maria Ricci Editore. Standard edition, €22.00 | Prestige limited edition numbered, with silk hardback cover, hand-mounted illustrated plates and prestige slipcase, €90.00. Available from L’ÉCOLE and Franco Maria Ricci.
MANHATTAN PROJECT
A striking photographic exploration of Manhattan’s West Side, documenting its dramatic architectural transformation over the past decade. With a foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and contributions from curator Brett Littman, Staller transforms construction materials and urban surfaces into compositions that feel like drawings or abstract paintings. Across 120 pages and 85 colour images, the book celebrates light, form and texture, inviting readers to see the city’s evolving skyline as a nuanced interplay of art and architecture. Text appears in both English and French, and its hardback design reflects its placement at the intersection of fine art and architectural photography.
Author: Jan Staller. Published by 5 Continents Editions. £41.00. Available from ACC Art Books and other premium book retailers.
In an age of speed and screens, these volumes ask for stillness. They are books to enjoy on long evenings by the fire with a glass of wine and on slow mornings with your cappuccino. Reads designed to last beyond the season, to enrich your shelves and your life.
Author: Lina Ress
Other beautiful books recently reviewed by I-M Inquisitive Minds include Brutal Scotland by Simon Phipps and Seasons: A Taste of Cowdray.
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