Leisurely Pursuits ~ Summer signals it’s time for the luxury of getting lost in a great book. Enjoy our handpicked list featuring an array of genres—from novels and cookbooks to a fascinating read about feathers.

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     An Atlas of Rare & Familiar Colour by Atelier Édition     A monograph produced in collaboration with the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard Art Museums which encompasses over 2500 of the world’s rarest pigments. Visually excavating the museums’ extraordinary collection, the monograph examines the contained pigments and artefacts; their providence, composition, symbology and application. Simultaneously, the publication also explores the larger related fields of chromatics, the historical narratives of art and chemistry, and the innovations our species’ have sought for millennia, to better illustrate our aesthetic and expressive compulsions.             Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro    Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?         The Coin by Yasmin Zaher     A bold and unabashed novel about a young Palestinian woman’s unraveling as she teaches at a New York City middle school, gets caught up in a scheme reselling Birkin bags, and strives to gain control over her body and mindThe Coin’s narrator is a wealthy Palestinian woman with impeccable style and meticulous hygiene. And yet the ideal self, the ideal life, remains just out of reach: her inheritance is inaccessible, her homeland exists only in her memory, and her attempt to thrive in America seems doomed from the start. In enthralling, sensory prose, The Coin explores nature and civilization, beauty and justice, class and belonging—all while resisting easy moralizing. Provocative, wry, and inviting, The Coin marks the arrival of a major new literary voice.         Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker     Cassandra Edwards is a graduate student at Berkeley: gay, brilliant, nerve-wracked, miserable. At the beginning of this novel, she drives back to her family ranch in the foothills of the Sierras to attend the wedding of her identical twin, Judith, to a nice young doctor from Connecticut. Cassandra, however, is hell-bent on sabotaging the wedding.First published in 1962, Cassandra at the Wedding is a book of enduring freshness, insight, and verve. Like the fiction of Jeffrey Eugenides and Jhumpa Lahiri, it is the work of a master stylist with a profound understanding of the complexities of the heart and mind.         Pitch Dark by Renata Adler   Pitch Dark is a book about love. Kate Ennis is poised at a critical moment in an affair with a married man. The complications and contradictions pursue her from a house in rural Connecticut to a brownstone apartment in New York City, to a small island off the coast of Washington, to a pitch black night in backcountry Ireland.Composed in the style of Renata Adler’s celebrated novel Speedboat and displaying her keen journalist’s eye and mastery of language, both simple and sublime, Pitch Dark is a bold and astonishing work of art.           The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer     What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover is perfect for readers of The Midnight Library and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine as it turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.       The Taste of Country Cooking  by Edna Lewis   In this classic Southern cookbook, the “first lady of Southern cooking” (NPR) shares the seasonal recipes from a childhood spent in a small farming community settled by freed slaves. She shows us how to recreate these timeless dishes in our own kitchens—using natural ingredients, embracing the seasons, and cultivating community. With a preface by Judith Jones and foreword by Alice Waters.       Miyoko Ito: Heart of Hearts Assembled by Pre-Echo Press and Jordan Stein   The result of several years of research, Miyoko Ito: Heart of Hearts is the first book project dedicated to the life and work of Japanese-American artist Miyoko Ito (1918–1983). While Ito’s paintings have recently been the subject of critically acclaimed exhibitions, her elegant and mysterious artwork was scarcely known beyond Chicago, where she lived and was celebrated during her lifetime.Assembled by Pre-Echo Press and Jordan Stein – organizer of Ito’s first two solo institutional exhibitions in nearly 40 years – Heart of Hearts features well over 100 full-color plates gathered from the artist’s mature period, rare and out of print archival materials, a 1978 interview with the artist, and a 5000-word biographical essay by Jordan Stein that contextualizes Ito’s practice and aims to afford the artist her proper place within a history of postwar American art.         Feathers by Thor Hansen   Feathers are an evolutionary marvel: aerodynamic, functional, beguiling. Their story begins in the Jurassic and leads through the development of flight, fluff, and high fashion. This is a sweeping natural history of a common object with uncommon abilities to flutter, protect, adorn, attract, insulate, and more.             In Between by Chloe Horseman   Since 2019, Araks has had the pleasure of collaborating with the extraordinarily talented photographer Chloé Horseman. Chloé's keen eye for detail and her ability to capture the essence of quiet unexpected beauty have made her a part of our creative journey. Her work transcends the ordinary, revealing layers of emotion and artistry that resonate deeply with our philosophy. The photographer has just published her first monograph, In Between, a stunning collection that encapsulates her unique vision and profound sensitivity. This book is more than just a compilation of photographs; it’s a journey through moments that linger in the space between what is seen and what is felt. You can purchase In Between here on our website.                     


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