Season's Readings

Our Favorite Books, Perfect for Gift Giving

Splendid coffee table books, like so many trays of holiday cookies, seem everywhere to tempt us this time of year -- on tables by the cash registers in Barnes & Noble, on huge posters in the windows of Borders, on display cases pushed front and center at the mall to lure shoppers hurrying toward the food court: travel tomes, cookbooks, fashion photography, celebrity bios. Prominent among them are gorgeous, photo-filled books on homes and gardens.

Every year the Home staff sorts through the rich selection to recommend books worth adding to your gift list. This year, we're taking a somewhat different approach. Instead of limiting our choices to the newest seasonal offerings, we've each nominated books that have become our favorites, regardless of when they were published. Books we want for our own libraries, to loan to friends and colleagues, and to go back to again and again.