10 NEW BEAUTIFUL COUPLES BOOKS NOW
Love is in the air this week. And we are celebrating Beautiful Couples. Whether two are lovers, friends, partners, collaborators, or even dalliances, there is beauty in their togetherness.
Today, we are sharing 10 new books that offer a range of windows into the special glories of couples.
1. TWO
Two
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)
2. PASSAGES: SECRETS OF THE HEART
Passages: Secrets of the Heart
Each poem is accompanied by an exceptionally beautiful photograph.
Little Creek Press. A Division of Kristin Mitchell Design, LLC; First edition (2014)
3. FRIDA & DIEGO: ART, LOVE, LIFE
Frida & Diego: Art, Love, Life, by Catherine Reef, is a wonderful examination and portrayal of the nontraditional, controversial, rebellious, and politically volatile couple, Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
The two were deeply in love, yet their marriage was full of tumult and drama. Their art helped to define the twentieth century.
The book features numerous archival photos and full-color reproductions of both artists' work.
Clarion Books (2014)
4. INTIMATE COLLABORATIONS: KANDINSKY AND MUNTER, ARP AND TAEUBER
Intimate Collaborations: Kandinsky and Münter, Arp and Taeuber
Ahead of their times, both couples were fairly feminist. Men and women were mutually supportive, yet respectful of differences between the sexes. It is fascinating to learn about how they each grew, in life, in work, and in spirit, individually and as part of a very special couple.
Yale University Press (2014)
5. FRANK & AVA: IN LOVE AND WAR
Frank & Ava: In Love and War
Their relationship was tempestuous. They came together just as Sinatra’s career began to collapse and as Gardner's blossomed.
Stoked with passion, riddled with jealousies and betrayals, their coupledom was anything but easy. While they each had numerous other relationships and marriages, they considered each other to be the “love of my life.”
Thomas Dunne Books (2015)
6. THE LOVERS
The Lovers
Fleishman was inspired to write the book upon finding a love letter written by her grandfather to her grandmother early in their marriage, during the Second World War.
She set out to find more beautiful couples who have shared their lives together for many decades. Fleishman’s grandparents were married for 63 years.
The Lovers is filled with gorgeous color photographs and text, including in-depth interviews, that document the intimate stories of elderly couples across the United States and Europe. It is a testament to the beauty of deep, old love.
Schilt Publishing (2015)
7. DATE NIGHT IN: MORE THAN 120 RECIPES TO NOURISH YOUR RELATIONSHIP
Date Night In: More than 120 Recipes to Nourish Your Relationship
Come together, mix it up, and join passionate forces to create dishes like Crostini with Ricotta, Prosciutto, and Peas, Tomato and Fennel Gazpacho with Dungeness Crab, Fennel-Crusted Lamb Chops, and Dulce de Leche and Nectarine Creamsicles.
Good food, drink, and conversation -- isn’t that part of how it all began in the first place? Get out the candles and rekindle your couplehood!
And check out more of Rodriguez’s recipes in our posts 10 Beautiful Ways to Shake It and A Warm Drink to Make Our Spirits Cozy.
Running Press (2014)
8. KEEPING THE FEAST: ONE COUPLES STORY OF LOVE, FOOD AND HEALING IN ITALY
Follow the arc, as Paul and her husband John fall in love, marry before they face crisis and tragedy then come around again to a place of joy.
While reporting on an uprising in Romania, John was shot and nearly killed by sniper fire. As he struggled to recover, battling ensuing depression, their relationship is tested.
Through it all, they discover the powers of basic, universal human rituals: the daily sharing of food around the family table.
Riverhead Hardcover; First Edition edition (2010)
9. EXTRA VIRGIN: RECIPES & LOVE FROM OUR TUSCAN KITCHEN
Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from Our Tuscan Kitchen, by Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar, is a joyful love story and cookbook, all rolled up into one sumptuous blanket.
Mazar, a sassy beautiful actress from New York, and Corocos, a romantic handsome chef from Italy, found passions in food and in each other. They married and formed, what is arguably the sexiest couple in the culinary world today.
Their style is rustic Italian. Check out their 120 recipes -- they are loaded with flavor, texture and jazz. Yet they are totally accessible and easy to prepare.
Try salty sweet Pecorino and Honey Dip, luscious smoky Grilled Apricots with Goat Cheese Ricotta, and Breakfast Pizza -- just a few ideas to whet your whistle.
Clarkson Potter (2014)
10. POWERS OF TWO: HOW RELATIONSHIPS DRIVE CREATIVITY
Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity, by Joshua Wolf Shenk, illustrates, by example, how two heads are better than one.
The couples portrayed in this book are primarily business and/or creative partners vs lovers.
They include Lennon and McCartney, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Pierre and Marie Curie, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, as well as Vincent and Theo van Gogh, among other pairs.
Shenk draws on neuroscience, social psychology, and cultural history show us how and why a couple of minds work together, supporting, enhancing, stimulating and helping each other to achieve greatness. We can see it in the way couples talk, think, argue, love, hate, and oddly, even look like each other.
“Sterling . . . a rare glimpse into the private realms of duos . . . Shenk is a natural storyteller.”
— Sarah Lewis, New York Times
Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books (2015)
BONUS: MY LOVE DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER
My Love, Don't Cross That River, is a beautiful film, directed by Jin Mo-young, that, within 2 weeks of its release this past November, has broken box office records in Korea.
It is the story of a couple of '100-year-old lovebirds.' This film follows them until the last moments of their 76-year marriage.
My Love, Don't Cross That River ranked the top among variety movies including documentaries, independent movies and such, drawing 4,780,000 viewers to the theatre.
Release date in Korea : 2014/11/27
Read more about Beautiful Couples, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.
Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Snow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.15.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!
IMAGE CREDITS:
- Photo: by Melissa Ann Pinney Image from Harper Design. Two.
- Image: Courtesy of Harper Design. Two.
- Image: Courtesy of Little Creek Press. Passages: Secrets of the Heart.
- Image: Courtesy of Clarion Books. Frida & Diego: Art, Love, Life.
- Image: Courtesy of Yale University Press. Intimate Collaborations: Kandinsky and Münter, Arp and Taeuber.
- Image: Courtesy of Thomas Dunne Books. Frank & Ava: In Love and War.
- Image: Courtesy of Schilt Publishing. The Lovers.
- Image: Courtesy of Running Press. Date Night In: More than 120 Recipes to Nourish Your Relationship.
- Image: Courtesy of Riverhead Hardcover. Keeping the Feast: One Couple's Story of Love, Food, and Healing in Italy.
- Image: Courtesy of Clarkson Potter. Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from Our Tuscan Kitchen.
- Image: Courtesy of Gather Journal. Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar.
- Image: Courtesy of Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books. Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity.
- Image: by Jin Mo-young. Still from My Love, Don't Cross That River.
- Image: by Jin Mo-young. Still from My Love, Don't Cross That River.
