By British author and illustrator Marion Deuchars, Bob’s Blue Period may be short but it explores the complexities of friendships and expressing emotion in a touching and truthful manner. It’s an endearing story about how Bob the bird works through some dark emotions via artistic endeavors. While the artwork alone is charming, the story blends life lessons with a tear-jerking narrative. Recommended for kids aged four to eight years old, this story will move people of all ages.
I Can Make You Feel Good is the first monograph of filmmaker and photographer Tyler Mitchell and presents his vision for a Black utopia. Each page is full bleed, entirely subsumed by Mitchell’s loving photographs. Encompassing contributions by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Deborah Willis and Isolde Brielmaier, as well as Mitchell’s candy-colored palette, I Can Make You Feel Good reimagines the Black experience as one that’s characterized by pleasurable, leisurely moments of affirmation.
Tender yet subversive, dreamy yet introspective, Tengo un Dragón Dentro del Corazón is the first book of self-taught photographer Carlota Guerrero’s enchanting imagery. The collection—which includes text by renowned collaborators and the artist herself—spans her early photographs of women in nature, her renowned work for Solange’s A Seat at the Table, visuals from her project documenting the transgender community in Cuba and more. Altogether, this young visionary’s monograph muses on the idea of gender, femininity, human connection, patterns and the Golden Ratio.
Beloved and talented musician, singer, producer and DJ, SOPHIE tragically passed away earlier this year, and now her debut album, Nothing More To Say (2013), is set for reissue on vinyl, and all proceeds will be donated to the Scottish Trans Alliance. Out via the Glasgow-formed, now London-based label Huntleys + Palmers, the short but radical record features vocals from Jaide Green. Price is in British Pounds.
A celebration of pastel as an art medium, Swiss-born artist Nicolas Party’s Pastel exhibition at NYC’s The Flag Foundation was a delightful, immersive experience. For those who didn’t have the opportunity to wander the venue—with its Rococo-inspired murals, patterned walls and rich, elaborately framed paintings—the book Pastel commemorates the show. The 216-page hardcover serves as a look through the exhibition (featuring artists like Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau and others) and includes words from Nicolas Party, Glenn Fuhrman, Robin F Williams, Louis Fratino, Loie Hollowell and Billy Sullivan.
Written by journalist and native New Yorker Tarajia Morrell, with original illustrations by Abbie Zuidema, Soul of New York: A Guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences brings the spirit of the city within reach through cultural and culinary entries. Across 144 pages, Morrell translates the illustrious history and present-day heartbeat of NYC into adventures anyone can undertake.
Between the gender disparity in distilleries and cocktails that are associated with femininity, the culture of drinking has long been patriarchally dictated. Mallory O’Meara’s Girly Drinks forces a reckoning with this gendered divide, shedding light on the overlooked women behind breweries and booze. From an ancient Sumerian beer goddess to the iconic bartender Ada Coleman, this book reveals the feminist history within alcohol.
Ideal for professionals and rookies alike, the Moog Sound Studio provides an all-encompassing approach to exploring modulated sounds. Upgraded from their first iteration, this package offers a richer experience to build complex and complete songs, featuring three 60HP analog synthesizers: Mother-32, DFAM and Subharmonicon. The curated set also comes with a custom duvet cover, audio mixer, power distribution hub, audio and patch cables, synth exploration card game and artwork—essentially, everything needed to start composing.
In this how-to guide and workbook, sound-healing practitioner and mediation teacher Lavender Suarez (who also releases music under the moniker C Lavender) delves into how listening can impact self-awareness, mindfulness and creativity. Through scientific evidence, illustrated meditations, anecdotes and insightful questions, Suarez offers advice on how to listen more thoughtfully and what can be gleaned from truly tapping into sound.
Limited to 500 copies and available only at Rough Trade, this special edition of Japanese Breakfast’s Jubilee comes on a clear green vinyl. The indie band, helmed by singer and author Michelle Zauner, crafts an infectiously exuberant, electropop sound for their third album, which catalogs a fight for happiness in nuanced, guitar-laden tones.
Judaica Standard Time combines faith and design in functional and meaningful objects. The Shabop Shalom Slip Mat—made in collaboration with Devendra Banhart—is one such example. The mat uses a classic cork board as its base, accentuated with Banhart’s light-handed, brushstroke typeface that reads, “Shabop Shalom.”
Comprising the first book dedicated to Africa’s surf culture, AFROSURF, a sticker set and Mami Wata’s Rose Street 2.0 shirt, the The AFROSURF Gift Set is a vibrant collection of items. The book—packed with over 50 essays, photographs, poems and thought pieces—provides a comprehensive look into the spirit of surfing throughout Africa. This spirit is also imbued in the cotton shirt (available in size XS to XXL), which is made in Africa and features Mami Wata’s first home address. Altogether, this bundle celebrates a vibrant and overlooked community.
Curated by award-winning chef and activist Bryant Terry and published by 4 Color Books, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora (A Cookbook) traverses time and location to capture the expansive multiplicities in Black culture. Through recipes, poetry, artwork and essays that explore food’s intrinsic connection with community and history within the diaspora, this rich cookbook encompasses the work of more than 100 Black luminaries, including visuals from Black Panther Party creative director Emory Douglas. Featuring a blend of traditional, contemporary and remixed dishes (from jerk chicken ramen by Suzanne Barr to okra and shrimp purloo by BJ Dennis) as well as an original playlist curated by Terry himself, this book is a treasure trove that readers will delight in losing themselves within.
From Luca Antonucci and David Kasprzak’s Colpa—a collaborative art practice, publishing house and curatorial team—comes NY Rave Flyers 1990-1995 Volume 2, a 76-page collection of clever, often colorful vintage imagery. Measuring 5.5 by 8.5 inches, the book acts as a design documentary of rave culture at the time, and the posters within the slender volume often surprise.
Behind the simulated nubuck leather cover of Horror Caviar lies a sweet, savory and delectable exploration of A24’s cult classic films as well as the larger cannon of horror movies. With recipes inspired by 29 films (including Possession, Ganja & Hess, Midsommar, Trouble Every Day, The Shining and The Witch), this book comprises a collection of work by 25 artists, stylists and chefs, and original essays, such as As Hamrah’s meditation on food consumption as horror, Sohla El-Waylly’s chronology on appetites of horror and more. Be it the roasted leg of lamb and carrot flan inspired by Rosemary’s Baby or a biscuit joconde taken from Blood Diner, this unique book will delight film and food enthusiasts.
Atlanta-based Cody ChesnuTT’s The Headphone Masterpiece was first released back in 2002 and was imbued with influences from early American pop music to southern hip-hop, retro and neo soul and beyond. This three-LP reissue of the album includes the lo-fi ditty “Look Good in Leather,” “Boylife in America” and “The Seed”—a song many listeners will know from The Roots’ reworked version “The Seed (2.0)” from their album, Phrenology. Limited to 500 copies, this cult album remains as enchanting as ever.
