Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
My book club is reading Sarah Thornton’s Seven Days in the Art World over the holidays. I’ve barely cracked the spine, but I can already tell that it’s going to be a riveting read. $14.60 at Amazon.ca
Athena Tsavliris, Toronto editor

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
We adored Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell’s metaphysical romp across time, so we’re itching to read his latest. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet may stick to a single time period, telling the story of a clerk in a Japanese outpost of the Dutch East Indies Company, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a magical read. $21.12 at www.chapters.indigo.ca
Jennier Nachshen, Montreal editor (English edition)

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Man of many talents, funny guy Steve Martin has just released his third novel, An Object of Beauty. The story follows a young and ambitious woman who takes the New York City art world by storm until finally, she comes face-to-face with circumstances no one, including her, can control. Martin, an avid art collector, also gives us the inside scoop on the art market including photos and details of some of the works discussed in the novel.
$18.80 at Amazon.ca
Malwina Gudowska, Calgary editor

Essays In Love by Alain de Botton
Consider this author Descartes for the everyday. A scribe of practical subjects like work, travel and architecture, he’s smart and spot-on. This book charts his relationship with a girl from unexpected meeting to saying “I love you” with all the abstract insights on universal truths to make you “ah-ha.” $15.87 at Amazon.ca
Joy Pecknold, Vancouver editor

Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin
Not for virgin ears (or eyes), this book chronicles the adolescent life of a suburban girl-turned-Vice Magazine columnist as she retraces her diary entries from age 12-25. Acerbic and funny, Arfin tracks  down old friends and enemies and revisits schoolyard bullying, high school drama, college experimentation and her early twenties as a heroin addict in New York City. $16.89 at Amazon.ca
Maria Tallarico, Managing editor

You’re well-read, now get, well, red.

Penguin in collaboration with (PRODUCT)RED has created a line of red-covered classics like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground and Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, to mark World AIDS Day today.

Fifty percent of profits benefit the Global Fund. That makes The House of Mirth actually merry.

$13.68 at Chapters.

In the early '90s grunge era “dirty beauty” meant nonchalance about hair care. In today’s green era, it means caring about toxins in our beauty products.

If 'ignorance is bliss' isn’t your motto, pick up No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. The former Montrealers and journalists dig into the dirtiest ingredients and their risk factors, recommend less toxic products they’ve tested and provide home recipes for hair, face and bod. They also offer up a slew of sidebar beauty tips, like doing your hair wash routine backwards for better results.

We appreciate that the authors don’t hold back on the bad stuff, but remain even keeled. For instance, while hair dye holds many horrors, they won’t forsake all honey-blonde highlights.

$14.40 at www.amazon.ca
www.nomoredirtylooks.com

Here’s a riddle: What’s good-looking on the outside, full of brilliance on the inside and very well-read? (Other than you, of course).

The classic novels recently re-covered by award-winning designer Coralie Bickford-Smith for Penguin.

The ten two-tone hardcover titles that include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Madame Bovary will look oh so smashing (and smart) lined-up along our mantle.

We’re not ones to judge a book by it’s cover, but these exceeded our Great Expectations.

$14.99 at www.chapters.ca