books with good looks

In our opinion, some publishing houses are just a bit cooler than the rest. We have a short list of faves, and Princeton Architectural Press is definitely on there….over in our artburger division, our workers are often found poring over the latest PAPress release. The bookmakers there always use great paper stock to reproduce artwork, and they have amazing and original taste. Plus the commentary is always challenging and interesting without being jargon-y or pretentious. Here are two of our recent favorites…great for gifting, if you’re into that kind of thing at this time of year.


Ilf & Petrov’s American Road Trip: The 1935 Travelogue of Two Soviet Writers by Ilia Ilf and Eugeny Petrov
Unlike other reviews we’ve seen, we’re NOT going to compare this fascinating book to a certain megahit mockumentary featuring bad suits and male-on-male nude wrestling. The book lets us see the U.S. of 1930s through the wry commentary of two popular satiric writers from Soviet newspaper Pravda. They’re critical, bemused, and admiring in about equal measure, and the photos shot with their Leica camera are incredibly moving. Thanks to PAPress for unearthing this long-forgotten reportage on a long-gone America.

A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson
We dabble in watercolors ourselves, so it was with wonder and a fair amount of envy that we paged through this illustrated journal of the author’s post-collegiate year in the Far East. Glimpses of scenery and quirks of Japanese culture (when you buy a piece of fruit, it comes coddled in packaging fit for a newborn baby) are given loving treatment in bold, bright paintings and thoughtful annotations. It’s just an object of pure pleasure for anybody who’s into Japan or beautiful things.