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Watermark Holiday Notes Read more of Sarah's suggestions
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More Great Gifts! |
Watermark Holiday Notes Tuesday, December 11, 2007 This weather. If you’re staying home (you lucky thing) and need to shop, e-mail me your list, or call our staff. We’re here and busy culling through the thousands of options you have to choose from to make sure each gift you choose is just right. I’ve compiled a variety of new titles to share, some updates on hard–to-get books, and information on award-winning cookbooks. Finally, there’s a staff favorite that we’ve been recommending to great success. And don’t forget, your interest in Watermark is rewarded. There’s a clickable, printable coupon for you to use on the purchase of a book, good through Tuesday, December 18th. Next week, I’ll send information on our January events and books to use in book clubs or over coffee with a friend. Be sure to check out our staff reading journals for more tips on good books for you and your friends.
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Shin Hanga: The New Print Movement of Japan by Barry Till (Pomegranate, ISBN 9780764940392, $24.95) In 1910, Watanabe Shozaburo used his experience in selling Japanese Uikyo-e prints in antique stores to open his own print shop in Japan, selling the once affordable pieces to collectors. Prices skyrocketed and the prints’ availability became limited. Watanabe began commissioning some younger print-makers to produce new works with the same objectives in mind: beautiful hand-colored landscapes, actor prints and bird-and-flower prints, all to sell to middle-income collectors. Curator Barry Till has compiled more than one hundred full-color reproductions of these prints in this lovely volume. Appropriate for collectors, this affordable book is perfect for aesthetes everywhere.
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Portrait of a Nation: Men and Women Who Have Shaped America A Collection from the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute with a Director's Tour by Mark Pachter (Merrell, ISBN 1858943450, $22.95) This small volume brings together some of the most influential people in America. Dozens of portraits by renowned artists in a variety of media make this a uniquely fun volume for history buffs, voyeurs, and aspiring and seasoned artists: Painter Alice Neel’s self portrait reveals her most private self as she maintains her grounded nature; Lionel Hampton is depicted playing his “vibes” by Frederick J. Brown; Edith Wharton’s childhood portrait by Edward Harrison May illustrates her privileged life in New York society. Portraiture should provide an intimate look into the subject, and this book delivers. A perfect stocking stuffer.
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The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister by Chris Nichols (Gibbs Smith, ISBN 9781586856991, $19.95) What a fun book! If you prefer the Candle Club over the country club or the Original Winsted’s in Kansas City over the Red Robin, you’ll love this book. McAllister’s designs feature Las Vegas hotels like the Sands and L.A. eateries such as the neon-laden Bob’s Big Boy Hamburger stand. This book is just the right choice for that one person on your list whose taste is focused on a particular style.
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Creating the Artful Home: The Aesthetic Movement by Karen Zukowski (Gibbs Smith, ISBN 9781586857660, $39.95) The Aesthetic movement grew out of the ideas and products of English reformers, such as William Morris and held that artful homes made people better, families happier, and society stronger. This trend left us a legacy of Queen Anne houses and tidy suburbs, and its influence is now felt even as Americans embrace the more-is-more philosophy of home furnishings. At once a history and a catalyst for homeowners to create their own artful homes, this intriguing book lends flair to any house.
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Sticks and Stones: Architectural America by Lee Friedlander (DAP, ISBN 9781891024979, $85.00) Distinguished photographer Lee Friedlander offers his view of America as seen through its architecture. Shown over the past fifteen years, these 196 square format photos represent modest vernacular buildings and monumental skyscrapers. Stripped of preconceived notions of class and status, roads, sidewalks, chain link fences, alleys, and parked cars become pure form, collectively defining Friedlander’s notion of Architectural America. These photographs, as with all masterpieces, challenge our whole vision of architecture.
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The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family by Shannon Thomas Perich, photographer Richard Avedon, foreword by Robert Dallek (Collins Design, 0061138169, $29.95) John F. Kennedy and his young family sat for formal black-and-white portraits by Richard Avedon just three weeks prior to Kennedy's presidential inauguration. That same day, Avedon created more informal color portraits of Kennedy and his family at the Kennedy compound in Palm Beach. Smithsonian curator Shannon Thomas Perich has culled more than seventy-five images from over two hundred images donated to the museum by Avedon for "The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family," making these stunning photographs available for view for the first time. Perich's introductory essay--accompanied by a wealth of archival photographs of both Avedon and the Kennedy family--provides historical background on the two sittings within a political and cultural context and critically examines the work of one of the finest photographers of the twentieth century.
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We have some favorite books back on our shelves after recent reprints by the publisher.
The Berghoff Family Cookbook by Carlyn and Jan Berghoff (Andrews McMeel, ISBN 9780740763625, $29.95) This arrived yesterday in limited quantities. The nostalgia of this bygone restaurant mixed in with its history and best recipes was underestimated by the publisher. If you loved it, get one now! | |
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The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining Texas Style by Rebecca Rather (Ten Speed Press, ISBN 9781580087902, $32.50) This favorite is back in stock as well. Rebecca Rather’s second installment of delicious Texas cooking is one you’ll use year after year.
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Cookbook Awards are given this time of year. From the winners of the James Beard Award, Julia Child’s award and the CIA award, we chose two books you may want to add to your collection. The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee (WW Norton, ISBN 9780393057812, $35.00) You don’t have to be southern to cook southern. From the “New York Times” food writers who defended lard and demystified gumbo, comes a collection of exceptional southern recipes for everyday cooks. “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook” tells the story of the brothers’ culinary coming-of-age in Charleston—how they triumphed over their northern roots and learned to cook southern without a southern grandmother. Here are recipes for classics like Fried Chicken, Crab Cakes, and Pecan Pie, as well as little-known preparations such as St. Cecilia Punch, Pickled Peaches, and Shrimp Burgers. Others bear the hallmark of the brothers’ resourceful cooking style—simple, sophisticated dishes like Blackened Potato Salad, Saigon Hoppin’ John, and Buttermilk Sweet-Potato Pie that usher southern cooking into the Twenty-First century without losing sight of its roots. With helpful sourcing and substitution tips, this is a practical and personal guide that will have readers cooking southern tonight, wherever they live.
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What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea--Even Water--Base on Expert Advice from Andres Dornenberg and Karen Page (Bullfinch Press, ISBN 0821257188, $35.00) Drink is inseparable from food. You've probably realized the glory of food and beverage pairing yourself countless times over the past few decades, whether through enjoying milk and cookies, beer and pretzels, or wine and cheese. If you're anything like us, just the idea of a freshly baked chocolate cupcake served with a tall glass of cold milk is enough to get your taste buds going—or maybe a dark chocolate dessert with a glass of tawny port is more your style. Either way, you're in for a lot of fun learning about other just-as-delicious combinations that have won our hearts.
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The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones (Knopf, ISBN 0307264955, $24.95) Living in Paris after World War II, Judith Jones broke free of the bland American food she had been raised on and reveled in everyday French culinary delights. On returning to the States--hoping to bring some "joie de cuisine" to America--she published Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The rest is publishing and gastronomic history. A new world now opened up to Jones: discovering, with her husband, Evan, the delights of "American" food; working with the tireless Julia; absorbing the wisdom of James Beard; understanding food as memory through the writings of Claudia Roden and Madhur Jaffrey; demystifying the techniques of Chinese cookery with Irene Kuo; absorbing the Italian way through the warmth of Lidia Bastianich; and working with Edna Lewis, Marion Cunningham, Joan Nathan, and other groundbreaking cooks. Embellished with fifty recipes--each with its own story and special tips--this is an absolutely charming memoir by a woman who was present at the creation of the American food revolution and played a seminal role in shaping it.
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The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman (WW Norton, ISBN 9780393061727, $24.95) Word of mouth has
catapulted this book onto our and other independent stores’ bestseller lists. A
true story as powerful as "Schindler's List" tells how the keepers of the Warsaw
Zoo kept hundreds out of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland,
Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw--and the city's zoo along with it. With most of
their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews
into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa,
emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm,
piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in
the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile,
Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its
animal inhabitants--otters, a badger, hyena pups, and lynxes. With her exuberant
prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us
viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden
visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear
of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe
crumbled around her. This astonishing book is a Watermark favorite.
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Remember... enjoy special holiday savings in-store or online! Print this coupon and save 30% off one book! The offer is good through Tuesday, December 18th! | |
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Happy Reading! | |
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Watermark Books & Cafe 4701 East Douglas/Wichita, Kansas 67218/(316) 682-1181 Hours: Monday - Friday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Cafe opens at 7:00 a.m.) Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Cafe opens at 7:00 a.m.) Sunday: Noon - 5:00 p.m. |
