OUR BOOKSHELF, Five Books Past and Present to Inspire Your Seasonal Reading List

Five Books Past and Present to Inspire Your Seasonal Reading List

A YEAR AT CLOVE BROOK FARM, Christopher Spitzmiller (Rizzoli, 2021)

Christopher Spitzmiller is known to his many friends and Instagram fans as the ultimate weekend farmer, who raises his own chicks, grows his own flowers, and puts up his own jam, cider, and honey. In his first book, he treats readers to a full year at his country retreat, Clove Brook Farm. Organized into four sections by season, the book begins with spring: the lilacs and appleblossoms, the dovecote with Indian fantail pigeons, Easter lunch, with daffodils and porcelain, and Spitzmiller's recipe for rhubarb pie. Summer brings hydrangeas, dahlias, readying the chickens for the Dutchess County Fair, and a garden cocktail party. Fall focuses on collecting, cider making, an orchard luncheon and a Thanksgiving table, honey-gathering, and planting bulbs. Winter closes the book with holiday decorating, gilding allium, a holiday buffet, and homemade gifts.

DRAGONS AND PAGODAS, A Celebration of Chinoiserie, Aldous Bertram (Vendome Press, 2021)

A gorgeously illustrated survey of chinoiserie from the 18th century to today.

INFLUENTIAL STYLES,

Judith Miller (Watson-Guptill, 2003)

Covering all the major design influences found in the nation's homes, from medieval through the present, this beautifully illustrated guide to style and design includes information and examples of Shaker, Victorian, Art Deco, and Mission styles, with photos of moldings, wall coverings, furniture shapes, columns, and much, much more.

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED: DESIGNING THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE, Charles E. Beveridge & Paul Rocheleau (Rizzoli, 2021)

A landscape architect, city planner, and creative genius who transformed the American landscape, Frederick Law Olmsted was a man of passionate vision and drive. He defined the profession of landscape architecture and designed America’s most outstanding landscapes, many gorgeously illustrated here, including New York’s Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the U. S. Capitol grounds, and the Biltmore Estate. During a remarkable forty-year career that began in the mid-1800s, Olmsted created the first major urban parks and park systems in this country, along with widely influential suburban residential communities.

THE ART OF INNOVATION: LESSONS IN CREATIVITY FROM

IDEO, Tom Kelly (Currency, 2001)

IDEO, the widely admired, awardwinning design and development firm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera, the Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous innovation.