Book of the Day Posted Nov 08, 2025

Book (Calendar) of the Day: Toilet Paper / Walter Chandoha

From the distributor: "Let's meow loud next year! The ToiletWalterPaperChandoha Calendar 2026 presents 13 photographs of sweet, cuddly and sleepy cats by American photographer Walter Chandoha (1920–2019), coedited by the animal-loving duo of ToiletPaper, Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. Walter Chandoha, one of the world's most famous cat photographers, defined the visual language of cat portraits for over 80 years and took some 90,000 cat photos during his life. Hyperallergic contributor Carey Dunne once called him 'the one cat photographer to rule them all.' His signature lighting technique captured each cat's unique personality, creating timeless, empathetic images that continue to inspire artists and photographers today. Whether hanging in your home or your office (or perhaps both), this downright adorable collection of cats will be sure to leave a smile on your face month in and month out."

Book of the Day Posted Nov 07, 2025

Book of the Day: Ground Rules by Alejandro Cartagena

From the publisher: "Ground Rules is the first comprehensive, fully bilingual survey charting the career of the prolific photographer Alejandro Cartagena. Celebrated for his photobooks Carpoolers (2014) and A Small Guide to Homeownership (2020), Cartagena is known for his formally engaging and socially incisive images that span the politics of the US-Mexico border, suburban sprawl, and the increasing wealth disparities in North America. Ground Rules deploys a diverse array of photographic formats, from documentary and collage to the appropriation of vernacular photographs and AI-generated imagery, all unified by Cartagena’s commitment to addressing Mexico’s most pressing social and environmental issues with humor and pathos. Published to coincide with a mid-career solo exhibition at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, on view from November 2025 through May 2026." Book of the day. (Aperture, 2025)

Book of the Day Posted Nov 06, 2025

Book of the Day: Freedom Rhythm & Sound Chapter 2

From the distributor: "Album sleeve art from a transformative era in America's radical jazz culture, plus covers for recordings by Black poets, civil rights activists and experimental musicians Just over 15 years ago, Soul Jazz Records' Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker published Freedom, Rhythm & Sound, showcasing the stunning graphic works of independently published jazz record cover designs of the 1960s and 1970s from radical jazz musicians such as Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and more. These artists reshaped the cultural landscape for African American musicians in the US, transforming the role of jazz musician from nightclub entertainer to artist. The artwork of their often self-produced record cover designs reflected their radical agenda, spiritual awareness and singular search for musical and personal freedoms. Following the success of the first volume, Freedom, Rhythm and Sound: Chapter Two features hundreds more of these beautiful and rare jazz record cover designs from the 1960s to the 1980s. In addition to spotlighting the radical jazz musicians of this time, this second volume branches out to feature record cover art of recordings by Black poets, civil rights speechmakers and other experimental pioneers." Book of the day.

Book of the Day Posted Nov 05, 2025

Book of the Day: Tom Sachs Guide

From the publisher: "The definitive exploration of the prolific material, intellectual, cultural, and commercial output of inimitable artist Tom Sachs. A 21st-century creative force, Tom Sachs’s critically acclaimed practice spans sculpture, installation, painting, film, ceramics, and industrial design. Tom Sachs Guide is the most comprehensive-to-date look at his work, documenting decades of rigorous and visionary artmaking. Vividly illustrated with more than 650 images and organized into thematic chapters, the book includes work across mediums, as well as longstanding collaborations with Nike and immersive reinterpretations of NASA missions. A rich appendix includes essential lists and charts, offering insights into the artist’s creative process and studio practice. An object direct from the hands of the artist, Tom Sachs Guide is a printed tour through his studio, his body of work, and the unique worlds he creates, designed and written in close collaboration with Sachs himself." (Phaidon, 2025)

Book of the Day Posted Nov 02, 2025

Book of the Day: I Hear Music in the Streets - New York 1969-1989

From the distro: "Featuring the work of Arlene Gottfried, Peter Hujar, Stephen Shames, Bruce Davidson, Susan Meiselas, Joseph Rodriguez and 60 other photographers, I Hear Music in the Streets is an ode to New York City's music scenes and subcultures from 1969 to 1989. The book is structured into eight thematic chapters, each exploring different communities, movements and spaces that shaped the city's music scene: "The Bronx Boys," "The Oddballs," "Black Power," "The Pride," "The Subways," "Our Latin Thing," "The Beach" and "Days of Disco." Guiding us through this urban journey is music historian Tim Lawrence, author of the bestselling titles Love Saves the Day (2004), Hold On to Your Dreams (2009) and Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor (2016). Photographers include: Andy Warhol, Arlene Gottfried, Bill Bernstein, Bruce Davidson, Bruce Gilden, Camilo José Vergara, Carrie Boretz, Chantal Regnault, Charles Stewart, Chris Stein, David Godlis, David Gonzalez, Diana Davis, Diego Echevarría, Dustin Pittman, Edo Bertoglio, Geraldine Pontius, Helen Levitt, Henry Chalfant, Jack Garofalo, Jamel Shabazz, Jill Krementz, Joseph Rodriguez, Laura Levine, Leee Black Childers, Leon Gast, Leonard Fink, Leonard Freed, Lynn Goldsmith, Martha Cooper, Marylinn K. Yee, Ming Smith, Nan Goldin, Nicholas Taylor, Peter Hujar, Pierre Venant, Richard Sandler, Ricky Flores, Roberta Bayley, Shane McCauley, Stephen Shames, Susan Meiselas, Thomas Hoepker, Tina Paul, Tod Papageorge, Tom Bianchi, Tom Lee, Volker Hinz, Waring Abbott." What a powerhouse! Book of the day!

Events Posted Oct 23, 2025

Stillz signing "Bad Bunny 2019-2025" Sunday October 26th at Arcana

Join us at Arcana this Sunday, October 26th from 4 until 6PM to meet the photographer Stillz as he signs copies of his new book collaboration with Bad Bunny! The book will be available for purchase! All are welcome! If you can't make it, please feel free to acquire a copy via our website at this link. Hope to see you soon!

Miscellany Posted Oct 13, 2025

Diane Keaton

Every bookseller should have a handful of dream clients. For us, for over twenty-five years, we were fortunate enough to include Diane Keaton as one. Smart, engaging, funny, and ever impeccably stylish, she always brought a smile to the faces of the staff whenever she walked through the door. Sometimes she would stock up lavishly, other times nothing at all. I remember one time watching her studiously take in our front window on The Promenade for a full five minutes before strolling away without entering. But, it was always clear that she loved the bookstore experience, and she spread her enthusiasm over many, many colleagues around town. When we eventually did an event with her and D.J. Waldie for the reissue of “California Romantica,” she could not have been more gracious even though we managed not to draw a Diane Keaton-worthy sized crowd. Every customer walked away with not just a signed book, but a connection they would remember. One of my favorite memories was when I sheepishly asked Ms. Keaton if she would sign my copy of the obscure catalogue Galerie Jablonka published for an exhibition of a series of portrait paintings Andy Warhol did of her for Vanity Fair in 1984. She had never seen it, and laughed heartily at the notion that such a thing would even exist. Of course, she honored the request, and we made sure to dig up another right away so she would have one for her own, voluminous bookshelves. Bookselling is a rewarding process in which one hopefully makes friends along the way as part of the journey. Beyond the silver screen, Ms. Keaton was a photographer, designer, prolific author, and a genuine friend of the book. And, one of those rare dream clients and friends that we shall dearly miss.

Book of the Day Posted Oct 08, 2025

Book of the Day: David Wojnarowicz - Arthur Rimbaud in New York

From the distributor: "In 1978 and 1979, David Wojnarowicz took a series of photographs of a man wearing a paper mask bearing the visage of Arthur Rimbaud, the French poet equally known for his fervid verse and dramatic life. Rimbaud was the instantiation, and perhaps the inventor, of the idea of the young gay hustler of genius. Presenting a selection of photographs by Wojnarowicz, this amply illustrated volume features an introductory essay by Antonio Sergio Bessa contextualizing the series within a foundation of other works across literature, photography and performance. Nicholas Martin explores Wojnarowicz's practice in the context of the rise of the punk movement in downtown Manhattan in the late 1970s. Craig Dworkin explores Rimbaud's years as a runaway youth in Paris during the Commune, and his acquaintances with the city's bohemia. Marguerite Van Cook contributes an essay about her experiences with the London and New York music and art scenes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Phillip Aarons offers a personal account of his engagement as a collector of Wojnarowicz's work. The book also features an interview with photographer Allen Frame, who produced several performances of Wojnarowicz's monologues in the early 1980s in New York's Lower East Side, Berlin and Brooklyn." Book of the day.

Book of the Day Posted Oct 05, 2025

Book of the Day: Leigh Bowery

From the publisher: "A comprehensive monograph on the boundary-pushing career of artist, performer, model, TV personality, club promoter, fashion designer and musician, Leigh Bowery. Leigh Bowery used performance to explore questions around the politics of the body, and its use as both material and a site of transformation. He was also fascinated by the subversive potential of costume as sculpture. Published to accompany a major exhibition, the Leigh Bowery exhibition catalogue features over two hundred images by and of the artist – spanning an eclectic and dynamic career which included fashion photography, club polaroids, film stills, paintings, postcards, and ephemera. In addition to Bowery's own works, the book also includes paintings of the artist by Lucian Freud, and works made with and about Bowery by Stephen Willats and Trojan Barnes, among others. A visual inventory of all of Bowery's costumes, held by the artist's estate, has been newly photographed – published here for the first time." Book of the day. (Tate, 2025)

Book of the Day Posted Oct 04, 2025

Book of the Day: Annie Lennox - Retrospective

From the publisher: "A long-awaited visual memoir from Annie Lennox, a legend of popular music and culture. This is the award-winning artist’s first and only official book—destined to be the must-have title for music lovers and will command attention from the fashion and photography worlds. Over a career spanning almost half a century, Annie Lennox has established herself as one of the true superstars of pop music and an icon of popular culture. With Dave Stewart as Eurythmics, and later as a solo artist, she is responsible for some of the best-selling records of all time, as well as some of the most memorable imagery created around music. Always recognized for her unique approach to style and performance—she has been described as 'the singer whose powerful, androgynous look defied the male gaze.' Lennox has been filmed and photographed by all the great image-makers of our time, from Richard Avedon and Paolo Roversi to Bettina Rheims and Ellen von Unwerth. With Polaroids from her personal archives alongside iconic portraits, music video stills, and record covers, Annie Lennox: Retrospective collates more than two hundred images to create an illustrated memoir of a creative’s life, both in and out of the spotlight. Made in close collaboration with the artist, this highly anticipated volume moves chronologically through the entirety of Lennox’s life and career—from the early 1970s when she first met Dave Stewart following through with Eurythmics in the 80s, and then as a solo artist starting in the 90s and onwards. Extracts of her lyrics accompany the photographs throughout. Engrossing captions and personal anecdotes shine light on periods of her life, to tell the stories behind the pictures. At once intimate, revelatory, and celebratory, this is a beautiful and compelling document of the woman behind one of the strongest voices in music." RIzzoli, 2025, book of the day!