GUIDE TO GIFT BOOKS

The Gift of a Book

Our editors select their favorite art and photo books, cookbooks, special editions, and other titles perfect for holiday giving

African Art Now: 50 Pioneers Defining African Art for the Twenty-First Century By Osei Bonsu Chronicle Books, $55.00

Written by a British Ghanaian curator at the Tate Modern, this book is an exciting survey of African artists who emerged in the 2010s. There’s Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, whose paintings of abstract dancing bodies recall both West African sculpture and the work of Matisse; Joy Labinjo, who creates portraits of intergenerational families against flat, colorful backgrounds and surrounded by tropical plants; and Emeka Ogboh, who creates installations using photography, video, and sound to capture what Bonsu calls the “multilayered buzz” of Lagos. Each artist is represented by three or four beautifully reproduced artworks and a brief essay by Bonsu placing them in context.

What’s for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People By Claire Saffitz Clarkson Potter, $37.50

Saffitz’s first book, Dessert Person (2020), was aimed at bakers; her new one is meant for anyone who craves something delicious to eat after a meal. Don’t want to turn on the oven? There’s a chapter of chilled desserts like Mango-Yogurt Mousse and another on stovetop desserts like Bananas Flambé. There are baked goods, too, of course, and for everyone suffering from pandemic-baking fatigue, they’re on the less complicated side; there’s even a chapter called “Easy Cakes.” Saffitz tries to anticipate every question her readers may have: Can I make it ahead? What are the potential pitfalls? Between the brightly colored, almost retro photographs and Saffitz’s friendly voice, the book is an invitation to try new things.

Bird Planet By Tim Laman Abrams, $55.00

Naturalist and explorer Tim Laman has feathered his portfolio with some of the most dazzling portraits of birds from around the world. From photographing all known species of birds of paradise in New Guinea to offering bold new views of the birds in our backyards, Laman, a National Geographic contributing photographer and 2016 winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year (the Nobel for nature photographers), offers his best bird work in eight vivid chapters, organized geographically. A must for ornithologists, a delight for all.

Morrighan: The Beginnings of the Remnant Universe (Illustrated and Expanded Edition) By Mary E. Pearson Illustrated by Kate O’Hara Henry Holt, $22.99

For those familiar with the Remnant Chronicles, Morrighan: The Beginnings of the Remnant Universe, by New York Times–bestselling author and BookTok sensation Mary E. Pearson, is an event that needs no introduction. For readers seeking their next great fantasy series, this handsomely illustrated prequel to the continuing saga of Princess Lia, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan, is an elegant entrée to a riveting new world steeped in myth and magic.

Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home By Eric Kim Clarkson Potter, $32.50

Kim grew up in Atlanta in the 1990s, and when the Covid-19 pandemic began, he headed back there from his home in New York—where he’s now a food writer for the New York Times—and set about writing down his mother’s recipes while interrogating the question of what Korean American food is. His temptingly illustrated answer includes everything from Creamy Bucatini with Roasted Seaweed to Jalapeño-Marinated Chicken Tacos and Sheet-Pan Bibimbap with Roasted Fall Vegetables. There’s a chapter on kimchi and another on feasts, including the Kim family’s Thanksgiving menu—so it might be better to buy this book for yourself before the holidays.

Wolf Hall By Hilary Mantel Illustrated by Igor & Marina The Folio Society, $125.00

Only 13 years after it was first published, Mantel’s novel of Thomas Cromwell has taken its place as one of the landmarks of 21st-century English literature. But it’s not just a monument— it’s an immersive, delightful, head-spinning tale of gossip and rumor, power and intrigue, love and lust. And now the Folio Society has produced a volume worth owning whether you’ve already read the book or not, printed on thick paper with gold edging, a cloth binding featuring a painting of Cromwell, and a ribbon bookmark. There are illustrations by the team of Igor & Marina, including a full-color frontispiece and 11 black-and-white drawings. Reading this edition will make you feel pretty royal yourself. Faith Ringgold: American People Edited by Massimiliano Gioni & Gary Carrion-Murayari Phaidon, $79.95

Faith Ringgold: American People is a beautiful, broad, and profound survey of a lifetime’s work by the essential American artist Faith Ringgold (b. 1930). Ringgold blazed a bold mark on an art world that refused to make space for her, incorporating a panoply of practices: paintings, sculptures, political protest posters, and iconic story quilts. This handsome volume, published in concert with a Ringgold retrospective at the New Museum in New York earlier this year, features essays by Amiri Baraka, Jordan Casteel, Zoé Whitley, and others who bear her influence.

Rambutan: Recipes From Sri Lanka By Cynthia Shanmugalingam Bloomsbury, $35.00

British Sri Lankan cook Cynthia Shanmugalingam is raising the profile of Sri Lankan diasporic cuisine. Her debut cookbook, Rambutan: Recipes From Sri Lanka, displays a palpable love for the people and polylithic cuisine of her ancestral homeland (and this November, she’ll open a brick-and-mortar restaurant named Rambutan in London’s Borough Market). Her outstanding, highly personal cookbook spotlights succulent curries redolent with fresh-grated coconut, punchy sambols, treats sweetened with jaggery, and the stories of the people—mother, grandmother, aunties, friends—who inspire her.