What I Love About Movies – Little White Lies
Little White Lies magazine asks its interviewees what they love about movies at the end of every chat. Here they’ve collected those answers in a gorgeously designed coffee-table book that is not just a joy to idly flick through, but also proves genuinely enlightening on movie making, movie stars and creativity in a broader sense.
The variety of subjects, from Francis Ford Coppola to Kristen Stewart stops this from straying too far into nerdy film studies territory, or lightweight celebrity fluff. A treat.
Do No Harm: Stories of Life Death and Brain Surgery – Henry Marsh
We agree, this isn’t a title that screams ‘Festive Cheer!’. But trust us, this is one of the most compelling and life-affirming books to have been published all year. Henry Marsh is a top brain surgeon and, it turns out, an exquisite writer.
Taking us from what it’s like to feel someone’s brain in your hands to the experience of telling a loved one what is going on in a patient’s psyche, it lets us in on both the physical mysteries and the emotional complexities of brain surgery. It reads like a thriller rather than a text book and it’s an extraordinary look at what makes us human.
Women in Clothes – Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton et al
It looks like a work of art, but it began as a survey. A wide (although predominantly US hipstery) selection of women were asked over 50 questions about their clothes and what they consider personal style. The book, which now reads as something of a conversation, grew from this.
With contributions from writers, activists, and artists including Cindy Sherman, Kim Gordon, Tavi Gevinson, Miranda July, Lena Dunham and Molly Ringwald, it has quite a specific tone and approach. But that’s no bad thing – it’s still an indulgent but thoughtful look at women and style.
Miniaturist Special Edition – Jessie Burton
Without question the debut of the year, The Miniaturist has now been voted Waterstones’ Book of the Year, and a special edition has been released for Christmas.
Jessie Burton’s story of Nella, a young girl trying to deal with marriage to a wealthy, secretive merchant in 17th-century Amsterdam is mysterious, inspiring and bursting with the kind of delicate writing we all dream we could do if only we could turn off the Wi-Fi for long enough. It’s perfect for dreamy, binge-reading by the fire over the Christmas break.
The Most of Nora Ephron – Nora Ephron
Creator of When Harry Met Sally, author of Heartburn and lifelong inspiration to Lena Dunham, Nora Ephron is someone to whom every wordy girl owes a great deal. She toughed it out in NYC journalism when everyone in the office thought she should just be a typist, and still had the heart and humour to write about it beautifully.
This collection of her varied work is a beautiful book to own, albeit a dangerous one – it will only lead you to buy more, read more, and write more…
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Pictures: Trey Wright
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.