BOOKS

ON FIRE The Firefighters of France By Fred Goudon (Rizzoli) Steaming hot, and is it any wonder? Renowned photographer, Goudon, who has captured many a great athlete (see his Dieux du Stade calendars) now focuses his lens exclusively on the delicious firefighters of France. A handsomely curated collection of both black and white, and color pictures that ring homoerotic, but are sure to stimulate all. $55 www.amazon.com

THE WORLD By Michael Poliza (teNeues) A breathtaking homage to our beautiful, diverse and fragile world. Poliza takes us on a photographic world tour across seven continents, capturing almost three hundred astonishing images that move and inspire, and reinforce how imperative it is for us to protect the planet. Whether it’s a group of Adélie penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula or the mangrove forests of Phang Nga Bay in Thailand, Poliza never fails to make our jaws drop with wonder. $75 www.teNeues.com

CALIFORNIA ELEGANCE: Portraits from the Final Frontier By Frederic Aranda, Christine Suppes (Mondadori Electa) A celebration of the state as much as its rich and diverse people. From it natural beauty to such pacesetters as Governor Gavin Newsom, politicians Willie Brown and Jackie Speier, and actor Kirsten Dunst, this hefty tome is packed with all the things that make California, despite the fires, earthquakes and entrapping freeways, the stuff of dreams. $80 www.amazon.com

THE MONOCLE BOOK OF GENTLE LIVING A Guide to Slowing Down, Enjoying More and Being Happy By Josh Fehnert (Thames & Hudson) Being forced to slow down in times of a pandemic is different from mindfully doing so. Here’s a gentle and nurturing illustrated guide offering practical tips, interviews and helpful advice on how to take more time to breathe and live gracefully, something that we will all need when the world speeds up again. $ www.amazon.com

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THE MEANING OF MARIAH CAREY By Mariah Carey (Andy Cohen Books) You’ve heard the music, now get to know the voice intimately. Mariah’s poignant yet triumphant autobiography is anything but the self-glorifying fluff pieces celebrity autobiographies are famous for. This is Mariah laid bare, courageously revealing painful secrets about her childhood and marriages without the filter of the publicity machine. It’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a celebration of the music her experiences gave birth to. $29.99 www.amazon.com

VINYL

BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA By Wojciech Kilar (Music on Vinyl) Dark and sensual, Kilar’s masterpiece of a score was one of the indelible highlights of the Francis Ford Coppola’s vampire epic. Tracks like Love Remembered, Mina’s Photo, and Love Eternal are melancholy, sweeping leitmotifs for doomed love, while the namesake, Dracula, The Beginning, and The Hunter’s Prelude pulse and throb sanguinely. Presented in bloody red 180 gram audiophile vinyl of 2,500 numbered copies, and now also available on black vinyl. Prices vary www.amazon.com

SENSE & SENSIBILITY By Patrick Doyle (Music on Vinyl) A soundtrack that was meant for vinyl because it requires no skipping. Doyle’s unabashedly romantic score, and even the songs (Weep You No More Sad Fountains, and The Dreame), for which he used existing poems of the period, are a lush and sentimental treat, and earned him his first Academy Award, and BAFTA nominations. Presented in a verdant green 180 gram audiophile vinyl on 1,500 numbered copies to celebrate the movie’s 25th anniversary. $33.99 www.barnesandnoble.com

PERSONAL EFFECTS By Johann Johannsson (Deutsche Grammophon) This previously-unreleased soundtrack to the 2008 film was written by the late Icelandic composer, Johann Johannsson. A sentimental piano-laden score highlighting grief and loss, it’s an interrupted pleasure from beginning to end, and perhaps one of the finest he has done. $16.99 www.amazon.com

CHET BAKER with Guest Star Bill Evans – Alone Together (Jazz Images) This Netherlands record label is releasing legendary jazz recordings in limited edition pressings with deluxe gatefold and unique covers by famous photographers at affordable prices. Baker and Evan’s collaboration is essential gem that keeps the mood sensual and melancholic, and features photos by iconic French photographer, Jean-Pierre Leloir. Around $18 www.jazzimagesrecords.com