Five Brilliant Books

Five books which have caught my eye this autumn - a couple of interiors ones, a couple of spooky ones, and one about type which I am fascinated by to the point of nerd-dom.

Details Details: A Stylist's Secrets for Creating Inspired Interiors by Lili Diallo

Lili Diallo is a designer and prop stylist based in NYC - the late lamented Domino magazine loved her "deft balancing act between the haphazard and the composed," which is more than enough to pique my interest. Check out her beautiful portfolio here, and the book is out in the UK on the 7th of December.

Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

I love Chris Priestley's books. I bought Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror while we were on our honeymoon, and was captivated by the delightfully scary stories and creepily beautiful illustrations by David Roberts. In this novel, lonely Michael Vyner is left to his own devices in the desolate country house which belongs to his guardian, but it soon becomes clear that lonely doesn't mean alone...

Just My Type by Simon Garfield

This book investigates the origins and influence of type. Why have some, like Times New Roman and the much derided Comic Sans, taken over the world? Why did an email written entirely in capital letters get the writer sacked, and why do some fonts make us feel all warm and fuzzy while others have the same sobering effect as an unexpected brown envelope from the Inland Revenue? Fascinating reading, especially for a type geek.

A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter

This book is a series of essays about what makes a place to live your home, and not simply a house. Writer, journalist and photographer Mary Randolph Carter visits creative people to see how they really live.

Dark Matter: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver

Another scary book which pretty much had me at hello - I think some of the best new writing  is for young people. Here's the lowdown: "Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark."

Clare