On The Page: LMPR’s Favourite Books Under the Tree

'Tis the season, for both a busy arts and culture sector, and upcoming festivities. In the LMPR office, between promotions, each of us is considering our gift list for friends and family. We share with you our favourite books to give – and receive – this Christmas, in the hope our suggestions help to fill a stocking or two (and not just ours!).

Laura Murray – Various Titles 

On my Christmas Wish list this year are two books that I've been meaning to add to my library after receiving strong recommendations for both!

Thinking with Type, by Ellen Lupton

I’m obsessed with great design. And typographic style and originality is truly at the core of great design, especially as we shift rapidly from print culture to screen culture. From the latest style sheets for print and the web, to the essentials on mixing typefaces and hand lettering, the now-classic Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students is a visually-driven guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen.

The Participatory Museum, by Nina K Simon 

Recommended by a fellow marketer following her attendance at the annual National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) Conference, The Participatory Museum is touted as a practical guide to working with community members and visitors to make cultural institutions more dynamic, relevant, essential places. Although Simon was initially speaking directly to her museum colleagues when she penned the book, her professional expertise and insights will be equally engaging to others interested in the how, why, and where people connect socially. Throughout, Simon offers innovative design techniques and case studies to make a powerful case for participatory practice.

Brian Paterson – The Where, The Why, and The How,

by Matt Lamothe

The Where, the Why, and the How is a book that came on my radar this year and beautifully checked off a name or two on my list.

It bridges art and science in a delightfully unique way that spoke to me and will (hopefully!) resonate with my loved ones.

To create it, a trio of authors commissioned 75 contemporary artists to provide illustrations for some scientific mysteries and phenomena. They also recruited top scientific minds from UBC and CERN, among others, to provide insightful accompanying descriptions.

Through the beautiful, quirky, and though-provoking artwork, it explores principles of physics, questions about the natural world, aspects of the human body, and more.

What's more – it even has a well-crafted trailer!

Angela Poon – A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein

Many years ago, my husband and I started a tradition with family friends in which we’d give a special book at Christmas for all three kids to enjoy. Every year has been a delight, but last year’s gift of A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein, created a night full of such happy memories that I’ll never forget it. With the book of beloved children’s poems – some sweet, most silly – lain across my lap, all three kids leaned in and read poems for hours. One particular favourite called “Hurk” had each and every one of us on centre stage that night, reciting the poem to an audience full of wonder and giggles.

Hurk, by Shel Silverstein

I’d rather play tennis than go to the dentist

I’d rather play soccer than go to the doctor

I’d rather play Hurk than go to work

Hurk? Hurk? What’s Hurk?

Zoe Grams – Artful, by Ali Smith

Books I want for Christmas? Now there’s the question. Around this time each year, my family would launch a book-buying moratorium to save exasperation over ever-increasing wish lists.

Top of this year’s requests is the dazzling Ali Smith’s Artful. Not quite fiction, not quite essays, its four sections focus on life, style, love, mortality, and what art and writing can mean. I have heard it described by the most critical of reviewers as warm, genius, and even heroic: “a seductive and compelling case for the power of the imagination.” I’m looking forward to becoming acquainted with one of the most interesting writers published today.

As for what I'm giving this year – that's between me and the tree until December 25.

Categories: MPMG