The gift of a book is among the most refined and personal expressions of affection you can bestow on a friend or family member. It’s a gesture that flatters the mind as much as it does the heart.
But it's not always an easy choice. Which is why we’ve asked our authors, photographers and subjects of our books to tell us who they’d give a copy of their Phaidon or Monacelli book to this holiday season in the belief that their inspiration will, in turn, inspire you.
Each of their books is an invitation to taste, see, and wonder ranging across all ages and appetites aesthetic or otherwise. Take a read and then head into the store where we’ll make your gifting the simplest of pleasures.
John Pawson – architect and author of Home Farm Cooking, Making Life Simpler
"I’d give Home Farm Cooking to my good friend Junko, whose family served me the most amazing traditional home-made noodles, one new year’s eve outside of Nagoya, Japan. Working collaboratively goes right to the heart of architectural practice and this thought has very much shaped my selection of Home Farm Cooking, which I co-authored with my wife, Catherine. The book was put together over the course of a couple of years, but it draws on decades of shared attitudes to do with cooking and life. It’s a perfect gift for anyone interested in food and interiors, who also needs answers to the question ‘what shall we eat today?’."
Hugh Mangum – chef author of Barbecue
"If I could gift Barbecue to anyone without a moment’s hesitation it would be my father, Hugh Mangum III. My father was food obsessed and cooking obsessed. He delighted in the fact that as a little boy I was adventurous in terms of food. Food and baseball were our love language and my fondest childhood memories are of our meals and food related road trips. When my father passed it was only natural that I honor his passing by going further down the food rabbit hole he and I had dug together. Enrolling in culinary school and then eventually becoming a chef seemed like my destiny. Barbecue was near and dear to my father, a Texan, and then keeping the family love of Barbecue I made it my North Star as well. To be able to imagine how filled with joy my father would be at the thought that I had written a book devoted to our mutual love of Barbecue would be just about as good as anything I can imagine. He has been my co-pilot on this journey as a chef in spirit every step of the way."
Sonia Pulido – illustrator of What a Rock Can Reveal, Superpowered Plants, What a Shell Can Tell, Superpowered Animals
"I’d give What a Rock Can Reveal to a friend who thinks rocks are boring and barely notices them to show them the wonderful stories our craggy companions can tell us. I’d give What a Shell Can Tell to a friend who lives quite far from the sea, to let them discover the secrets of shells and smell the scent of the ocean through the pages of the book. I’d give Superpowered Plants to a friend who is unknowingly surrounded by superheroes in their home. They will never see their green roommates in the same way. I’d give Superpowered Animals to friends who are totally into sports, just to make them understand that we humans don't stand a chance against animals in most of the Olympic disciplines."
Ben Mims – author of Crumbs
"I would give Crumbs to all the history professors out there because that's what the core of the book is all about: understanding history through cookies. Food exemplifies the connections we make across borders and continents and being able to tell a story about how ingredients and traditions and cultures morph and move throughout the world through cookies was so fun to write."
Jonathan Becker - Photographer and narrator of Lost Time
Jonathan Becker the Lancaster Hotel, Buenos Aires, 1986
"Marcel Proust is known to be an obsessive collector of photographic portraiture. I’d be keen to have his take on Lost TIme."
