Two major themes are at play in this selection of books recommended for the bibliophiles on your holiday gift list. One is nostalgia for long-standing social conventions and institutions that are slowly vanishing from our landscape, like letter writing and old-fashioned barbershops. The other is passion for an art form, be it movies, fashion or comics.
Love and longing: What better reasons are there to drop a few 20s this holiday season for your friends and family?
‘Letters of Note’
The subtitle says it all: "An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience." Compiled by Shaun Usher, this charming collection of more than 125 handwritten letters is the perfect antidote to our super-wired lifestyles. There are letters from historical figures (Benjamin Franklin), geniuses (Albert Einstein), politicians (John F. Kennedy), musicians (Mick Jagger) and criminals (Clyde Barrow). But there are also letters from unknowns, like Linda Kelly, Sherry Bane and Mickie Mattson, who in 1958 wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, pleading for him to preserve Elvis Presley's sideburns when he was inducted into the Army. Those letters, more than any, are a poignant reminder of a time when a well-phrased missive delivered to the right hands was believed to have the power to change the course of action. $40, Chronicle Books
‘By the Book’
Given the chance, what questions would you ask your favorite author? The New York Times Book Review Editor Pamela Paul gets that opportunity every week. The results appear in the By the Book feature of the Sunday Times, and it's a favorite read for most book lovers. Nowhere else would you learn Junot Diaz loved Encyclopedia Brown as a child, or John Irving thinks Ernest Hemingway is overrated, or Ian McEwan would be Shakespeare's Puck, given the choice. Sixty-five previously printed interviews are featured here. A few actors are thrown into the mix for good measure, but the topic is always books. $28, Henry Holt
‘Barbershops of America’
Ye old barbershop of yesteryear, that bastion of clean shaves and buzz cuts, can be added to the long list of things from our childhood that continue to disappear. Perhaps that is the appeal of photographer Rob Hammer's coffee table book of images taken at barbershops across the country. You can practically smell the hair oil and Barbicide as you flip through the pages, perusing shops from Sparks, Ga., to Spearfish, S.D. From the looks of the fake paneling and laminate flooring, most of them haven't changed an iota since they opened. Sprinkled throughout are quotes overheard from the barber chair: "White Russians are for girls. I drink Scorpion Bowls. They make me steal things I already own." $60, barbershopsofamerica.com
‘What I Love About Movies’
Fifty filmmakers — those who appear behind the camera as well as those who appear in front — are asked to explain their passion for the art form. Some of the answers are brief. Says Mila Kunis: "It's escapism. … (W)hether you're happy or sad, for an hour-and-a-half you're in a completely different world." Director Wes Anderson, on the other hand, writes a small essay. But his answer can be boiled down to this: "They're so complex that it would be impossible to break down." Other subjects include Francis Ford Coppola, the Coen Brothers, Helen Mirren and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The book also features brief bios of the filmmakers and is beautifully illustrated by artists who share an edgy, highly stylized sensibility. $36.95, Opus Books
‘The Best American Comics 2014’
Editor and comic artist Scott McCloud warns readers that this excellent collection of comics culled from the year's output should be read in order, from beginning to end. "Do not browse," he admonishes. But it's hard to resist the urge to turn to entries from favorites such as Chris Ware ("Building Stories"); Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell ("March: Book One"); and R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb ("High Road to the Shmuck Seat"). Just be sure to look at everything in between or you'll miss the dreamy quality of Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault's mean girl saga "Jane, the Fox and Me" and Mark Siegel's haunting "The Mermaid in the Hudson," among others. $25, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
‘Vogue & the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People’
Prepare to drool over the gorgeous gowns and beautiful people that populate the lushly decorated pages of this coffee table book devoted to high fashion. The weighty volume of photographs documents the institute's collection of historic garments, as well as Vogue photo shoots inspired by the museum's annual spring exhibitions and the glamorous opening night soirees, where celebrities preen before cameras in their best haute couture. The institute began holding annual thematic exhibitions in 1989, but this book focuses on the 21st century. Each year gets its own chapter, named after that year's exhibition, from "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" in 2001 to this year's "Charles James: Beyond Fashion." It's one of those books you can look at over and over again and see something different every time. $50, Abrams
