10 BEAUTIFUL BN FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

In what is essentially dimensional collage, Yellin encases bizarre found objects, eclectic magazine and book clippings, paint drippings, and bits and pieces that mark his creative path.

This gorgeous book includes a sixteen-page acetate insert, illustrating a cross section of one of the glass sculptures.

Rizzoli (2015)

3. RAINFOREST

Rainforests are the earth’s most beautiful, and possibly most complex, ecosystem. Much of it remains a mystery.

Award-winning author Lewis Blackwell and a group of top nature photographers explore, from the forest floor to the leafy canopy in Rainforest. The images are stunning, from aerial to macro views, including new work by photographer Tim Flach.

Harry N. Abrams (2014)

4. UNBRANDED

Thrill your adventurous soul with Unbranded, a new book by architect Ben Masters, with spectacular photography that documents a journey taken by four riders through the backcountry of the American West.

Accompanied by four wild mustangs, Masters and his friends travel from Mexico to Canada through unpredictable and harsh conditions including downpours, rattlesnakes, sickness, raging rivers, injury, relentless heat and even death.

Explore the wild terrain with Masters and his mustangs as they ride, wild and free, on a journey of self-discovery over wild deserts and mountains.

Texas A&M University Press (2015)

5. TWO

Two, by award-winning photographer Melissa Ann Pinney, explored the relationship between two — relatives, friends, teammates, lovers, owners and pets.

Beautifully illustrated, with 75 stunning full-color images and filled with magnificent essays from ten of the finest contemporary writers, Two is curated and edited by bestselling author Ann Patchett.

The book presents a range of relationships and bonds between two entities -- parent and child; siblings; best friends; soulmates; companions, etc. The pairs range in age, ethnicity, and culture.

Billy Collins, Edwidge Danticat, Elizabeth Gilbert, Allan Gurganus, Jane Hamilton, Barbara Kingsolver, Elizabeth McCracken, Maile Meloy, Susan Orlean, and Richard Russo are the writers who offer their ideas about what it means to be a couple.

Harper Design (2015)

6. SZE TSUNG LEONG: HORIZONS

Sze Tsung Leong: Horizons, presents a collection of Sze Tsung Leong’s beautiful wide-angle photographs of landscapes, connected with a common horizon line.

Leong is fascinated with the edge between land and sky, as it appears so defined, as a thin line in the distance, while in reality there is no specific hard edge. He plays with boundaries, like placing the edges of the glacial lake of Jökulsárlón in Iceland adjacent to the edges of the Indian Ocean and coupling California’s horizon lines with those of Kenya.

Hatje Cantz (2014)

7. EATING WILDLY: FORAGING FOR LIFE, LOVE AND THE PERFECT MEAL

Foraging has become cool again. Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal, by Ava Chin, is a fascinating memoir about foraging for food in New York City.

Chin, aka the “Urban Forager,” manages to find a slew of wild urban edible delectables in the most unlikely places.

A new sense of abundance is possible once you view life with new “foraging eyes.” Flora, fauna, and fungi are all fair game.

As Chin searches for food, she searches for love. Her personal tales unfold as she heads down a path to self-discovery, reconciliation with her family, and finding true love.

Simon & Schuster (2014)

8. FACE PAINT: THE STORY OF MAKEUP

Face Paint: The Story of Makeup, by renowned makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, traces the history of colorful body and face decoration, from ancient Egypt to the golden age of Hollywood.

Eldridge reveals why the art of makeup has always been present in human history, the materials and science it has utilized, and the glamorous icons who influence the style of every generation.

“Makeup artist and Lancome global creative director Lisa Eldridge drops serious knowledge in Face Paint, her book on the history of beautifying.”

— Marie Claire

Abrams Image (2015)

9. REDOUTÉ: SELECTION OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS

Written by Werner Dressendörfer and H. Walter Lack, Redouté: Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers traces the lifelong work of the French flower painter, Pierre-Joseph Redouté.

Called “the Raphael of flowers,” Redoutés painted exquisite blossoms and botanicals the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a member of Parisian high society. One of his most famous patrons was Napoleon’s Josephine.

This book reprints Redouté’s Choix des plus belles fleurs et quelques branches des plus beaux fruits (Selection of the Most Beautiful Blooms and Branches with the Finest Fruits). It was originally published between 1827 and 1833.

This collection showcases 144 hand-colored stippled engravings of Redouté’s most renowned works. TASCHEN’s reprint of these images shows off Redouté’s timeless blossoms in beautifully bright color.

TASCHEN (2015)

10. THE LADY IN GOLD

Gustav Klimt made his painting shine, using real gold, often in rendering the Art Deco patterns in his subjects’ clothing.

The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, by Anne-Marie O’Connor, tells the thrilling story of how Klimt’s most famous painting was stolen by the Nazi’s in World War II, the subsequent lawsuit filed against the Austrian government by Bloch-Bauer’s heirs, and the US Supreme Court landmark ruling on the matter.

This story was recently turned into a film, Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.

One of the Best Books of the Year: The Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor.  

Winner of the Marfield National Award for Arts Writing. Winner of a California Book Award.

Vintage (2015)

Read more about Beautiful Favorites, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact. 

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Ray Collins. Found At Sea - The Photography of Ray Collins.
2. Image: by Ray Collins. Found At Sea - The Photography of Ray Collins.
3. Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Dustin Yellin: Heavy Water.
4. Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Dustin Yellin: Heavy Water.
5. Image: Courtesy of Harry N. Abrams. Rainforest.
6. Image: Courtesy of Texas A&M University Press. Unbranded.
7. Image: Courtesy of Texas A&M University Press. Unbranded.
8. Image: Courtesy of Harper Design. Two.
9. Image: Courtesy of Hatje Cantz. Horizons.
10. Image: Courtesy of Simon and Schuster. Eating Wildly.
11. Image: Courtesy of Abrams Image. Face Paint: The Story of Makeup.
12. Image: Courtesy of Taschen. Redouté: Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers.
13. Image: Courtesy of Vintage. The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.
14. Image: by Ray Collins. Found At Sea - The Photography of Ray Collins.
15. Image: Courtesy of Fin and Fur Productions. Scene from Unbranded.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image: Courtesy of Harry N. Abrams. Interior image from Rainforest.