The title Simply Beautiful Photographs is of course self-explanatory. This book is a National Geographic publication, a hardcover book containing superb images printed on high quality paper. It is just asking to be consumed, but there is of course no way anyone could take in all of its images at once. It is the kind of book to dip into every so often, and every time you do you are bound to come across an image that surprises or delights you and is totally different from the ones you poured over on the previous occasion.

Simply Beautiful Photographs begins with a foreword by Maura Mulvihill and a seven-page introduction, after which it is divided into six sections entitled Light, Composition, Moment, Time, Palette and Wonder.

Annie Griffiths

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Balasaraswati was unique in that she was one of the few lightbearers for her community of dancers and represented a form that was almost lost after Independence took Bharat Natyam over and brought it within strict, almost sanitized guidelines. Balasaraswati along with Rukmini Devi Arundale belonged to the form’s renaissance. She came from the matrilineal devidasi tradition of South India, which like Indian classical music performed by the courtesans of Delhi and Lucknow, has a long heritage of artistic practices. Before she turned thirty, this dancer had become a legend in her own time. However she and her family relocated to the United States in an attempt to preserve what had been handed down to them through the generations, which was gradually being sidelined in the post 1950’s since it was seen as being very far from the mainstream.

Douglas M. Knight Jr

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My husband knows I love big lavish picture books that you can dip in and out of at will and a couple of years ago he bought me a big chunky picture book called Egypt – 4000 Years of Art by Jaromir Malek. He got it from the Phaidon shop at Bicester Village outlet centre and swears he didn’t pay much for it. Perhaps he was hoping it would inspire me to book a trip to Egypt but so far it’s not worked its magic on me.

Jaromir Malek is the Keeper of the Archive at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, one of my favourite museums and a place where I always hunt down the mummies and have a good gawp at the Egyptian section.

Jaromir Malek

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Landscape Photographer of the Year is the publication that features the winners and other commended entries from renowned photographer Charlie Waite’s Take a View competition. The contest is run in collaboration with the AA, who publish this book. Both amateur and professional photographers may enter, and they do not have to be UK residents. All photographs submitted, however, must be taken in the British Isles. There is a separate section entitled Youth Class for photographs taken by children under the age of sixteen.

The competition gives photographers the opportunity to enter all or some of four categories. First is the “classic view,” which should demonstrate the ‘beauty and variety’ of the British landscape.

photography

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The Art of the Picts by George Henderson and Isabel Henderson is an in-depth look at the art of the Pictish peoples, who lived in Scotland in the 6th to 9th centuries. Both authors are renowned experts in the field, so we can be assured that we are in good hands.

First published in hardback form in 2004, The Art of the Picts is now being published in a more manageable paperback format. I have been reading the paperback edition, due for publication in August 2011, and given the weight of it I am glad I didn’t attempt the hardback.

George Henderson, Isabel Henderson

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Since the beginning of the twentieth century fashion has undergone some remarkable changes, affected in part by a recession, two world wars, a huge increase in consumerism and more recently the influence of the Internet. In their study “Fashion since 1900”, Valerie Mendes and Amy de la Haye trace these changes, focusing on hairstyles, accessories and makeup as well as clothes. Whether you want to know which celebrities were setting the trends, which designers were most influential or how international events were changing the way people dressed, you will find something to interest you here.

The book is divided into ten chapters that are arranged chronologically, going from “1900-1913: Undulations and Exotica” in Chapter 1 up to “2000-: Planet Fashion” in the final chapter.

Amy de la Haye, Valerie Mendes

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Technology never stops advancing and offering new possibilities that make processes more straightforward, including those needed by artists and designers. Sometimes, however, we react against highly professional, faultless work and yearn for a return to arts and crafts that have a more natural feel to them, that look as though a human hand actually made the artwork. “Handwritten” is a book that shows us one aspect of the world of art where designers are in fact shunning the perfection of technology. It presents handwritten typographics from advertising campaigns, mainstream culture, record covers and other types of artwork from all over the world.

Mirko Ilic, Steven Heller

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When I made the transition from a compact digital camera to a digital SLR last summer, I knew there was going to be a lot to learn. The instruction manual that came with the camera did not give enough information, and I have since been looking at books that could help me to take better quality photographs. Perhaps the best I have looked at so far is Michael Freeman’s “101 Top Digital Photography Tips”. The quality of the paper and the superb design of the book immediately draw you to it, but as you start to leaf through the pages you realise that there is much more to it than the look and feel. It delivers on information for all levels of photography, whether you just point and shoot or you are a professional.

Michael Freeman, photography

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It seems to me that there are (at least) two sides to Sebastian Faulks. On one hand there’s the genius writer of fantastic books like Birdsong and The Girl at the Lion d’Or which are so convincing that he tells us that readers refuse to believe he just made them up. On the other there’s the slightly stuffy chap who appears on dull but worthy Radio 4 programmes like ‘The Write Stuff’ (surely a show designed for rather smug clever people to show off how clever they are to an audience of baffled listeners) and looks like the sort of chap who probably has leather patches on his corduroy jackets. When I was offered Faulks’ latest book I was excited because he writes such fantastic fiction – but when I realised it was non-fiction, my spirits dipped a bit. I probably should have given him more credit.

Faulks on Fiction is a companion book for the BBC 2 series of the same name which starts on Saturday 5th February.

Sebastian Faulks

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Grayson Perry is the sort of person about whom it’s hard not to have an opinion. Mention his name and people fall into three broad camps; those who say ‘Grayson WHO?’, those who say “Ah yes, the controversial potter who won the 2003 Turner Prize” and everyone else smiles and says “The bloke in the dress”. As the wife of a man who’s utterly obsessed by ceramics and spends his life researching potters and stalking the older ones in order to ‘buy before they die’ I was aware of Perry quite a while before he hit the mainstream.

We were sitting in the kitchen of an elderly but very esteemed potter who’d just given us a very nice lunch when the gentleman concerned started to rant about Grayson Perry.

Grayson Perry, Wendy Jones

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Originally published in 1932, this definitive guide to English Literature edited by Margaret Drabble has been updated on several occasions. The main focus of the alphabetical listing is writers and their major works. Writers of course include authors, playwrights and poets. Shakespeare is afforded two and a half pages, which must be one of the longest entries. (Milton’s is comparable.) Within the entry for any writer, an asterisk next to the title of a work or the name of another writer indicates a separate entry where more detail can be found. So, if you want to read about one particular Shakespeare play, look under its title rather than under Shakespeare.

English Literature, Jenny Stringer, Margaret Drabble

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