Bookshelf

Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure (Bantam Dell) Design blogger Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of apartmenttherapy.com shares his secrets on how to transform an apartment into a stylish and healthy home. There's even a questionnaire on personal taste and energy flow.

Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake (Regan Books) Since the 1970s, the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles has been the funky alternative to West Hollywood. Architect Barbara Bestor includes beautiful photographs of local establishments like Sunset Junction, Atwater and Echo Park.

Design Your Self: Rethinking the Way You Live, Love, Work, and Play (Regan Books) Industrial designer Karim Rashid doles out tips on redesigning both your living area and your spiritual life. Among the topics: how to organize your work space, manage your social life and prepare for death.

Phaidon Design Classics (Phaidon Press) A comprehensive guide to classic design, this three-volume set presents 999 products ranging from a pair of Chinese household scissors from the early 1600s to Michael Graves' 9093 Whistling Kettle commissioned by Alessi in 1985. The set comes in a custom-designed carrying case.