Five of the best - a selection of reading material to take you through the holidays
NEW YORK INTERIORS
TIME OUT FILM GUIDE 2003
Penguin, 2002
Now into its eleventh edition, the Time Out Film Guide has become an institution. Since nearly everyone loves a good movie, this could be an appropriate gift for someone. The sharp, witty, often acerbic reviews are drawn from London’s renowned entertainment magazine, Time Out, and make for an opinionated and entertaining alternative to the more staid Halliwell’s (which is also less comprehensive on the facts and figures). Like all the major movie guides, this book suffers, literally, from the sheer weight of movies, clocking in at a whopping 1,632 pages. There is a desperate need for an edited version, with the dross and the turkeys weeded out. Nevertheless, a casual glance at this volume can rapidly turn into compulsive reading, as every page reminds you of a film that you have seen, or always meant to see: it will have you running for the nearest video store.
TRAGICALLY I WAS AN ONLY TWIN:
THE COMPLETE PETER COOK
edited by William Cook
Century, 2002
This is a must-have for fans of British comedy, or indeed for anyone with a sense of humor. This wonderful collection brings together pieces spanning Cook’s career, from his schoolboy writings to his last interview. Along the way are scripts from Beyond the Fringe, newspaper articles, “Pete & Dud” and “Derek & Clive” dialogues, and Cook’s contributions to the satirical magazine Private Eye. A number of these selections have never previously been published. Cook was the towering comic genius of the 1960s and, even seven years after his death, he remains one of the most consistently revered figures among the latest generation of comedians. This book reveals why.
UTTERLY ME, CLARICE BEAN
by Lauren Child
Orchard Books, 2002
Lauren Child will be well known to parents as the creator of wild and wonderful picture books for young children. With this junior novel, she brings her finest creation—the magnificent Clarice Bean—to an older audience. Children between the ages of eight and twelve will love this book, while their younger and older siblings will also be panting to get their hands on it. There is more of Clarice’s breezy, feisty narration to enjoy, and Child's exuberant illustrations and madcap text design enliven the pages. As if it weren’t enough having to deal with school, two parents and three siblings, Clarice and her best friend and accomplice Betty Moody are in hot pursuit of the prize for a school reading project. Engrossed by the antics of the child detective heroine of the Ruby Redfort stories, Clarice and Betty discover mysteries to be solved all around them…
RICHARD AVEDON PORTRAITS
MMA Abrams, 2002
When removed from its slipcase, this “book”unfolds accordion-style to reveal beautiful tri-tone reproductions of 50 of Richard Avedon’s striking portraits, spanning 50 years of work. All are in Avedon’s uncompromising signature style, photographed against a stark white background. Alongside famous faces such as Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe and Samuel Beckett are ordinary Americans who have achieved fame through Avedon’s pictures of them, such as the extraordinary image of a pale, hairless man covered in bees. This volume accompanies a retrospective of the photographer’s work held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the reverse of the photographs appears an insightful essay by the curators of the exhibition, and some commentaries by Avedon himself, together with more reproductions. This is a very special and unusual gift for fans of photography.
