I've never been to Alinea, but I've read plenty about it, and I find the restaurant and its cuisine fascinating. Achatz's inflection point came after spending time with Ferran Adrià at elBulli, and being exposed to the world of molecular gastronomy and its creative possibilities. The book provides an overview of the restaurant experience, Achatz's creative process and philosophy for new dishes, numerous recipes, and other juicy tidbits. The book also has an accompanying web site, which Achatz and staff plan to update with demonstration videos, bonus recipes, interactive recipe annotations, a user forum, and other experiments. The serviceware (by Crucial Detail) is beautiful, as well. One day, I hope to experience Alinea.

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Photographer Bruce Weber has called Kid's Wear "the most beautiful magazine in the world." It comes out twice a year, and is full of beautiful photography and insightful essays and stories. Within the realm of children's wear magazines, Kid's Wear is truly exceptional.

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This novel - if you can call it a novel - blew my mind and my senses, when I read it. I struggle even to describe the experience. Every aspect of the work is impressive, from regarding it as a physical artifact (of art and design), to its contents, which sweeps across and weaves together so many different subjects and literary art forms. It's truly a singular piece of work. I was fortunate enough to acquire the original (and beautiful) hardcover edition, when it was first published. I believe those editions are now difficult to find. However, the paperback edition is still available. I also had the opportunity to correspond briefly with Mr. Tomasula via e-mail, and found him to be a very generous person. My only regret is that I didn't purchase a second hardcover copy when I had the opportunity. Below, a couple of pages from this wonderful book.

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You may already be familiar with one or both of Csikszentmihalyi's Flow books, which I thought were quite insightful and illuminating, with regards to one's search for happiness and creativity. I think I learned about The Meaning of Things  from Donald Norman's book, Emotional Design. The authors provide interesting perspectives on the role of objects in our lives, and how we infuse them with meaning, which, in turn, shapes our identities.

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Have the quality of our conversations diminished? In the workplace (or in other situations), do we feel like many of our meetings have become pointless, ineffective, a waste of time? I've been dwelling upon this topic recently and dug up my copy of this book from my bookshelf, to reread. I feel like we're living in a cynical climate. The principles in this book provide one possible way to restore hope in our ability to create a better future, through the art of conversation.

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Taking inspiration from Calvino's Six Memos for a New Millennium, to organize his chapters and topics, Thackara writes eloquently about what should be at the heart of every design decision: What is this stuff for? As a result, he focuses less on stuff, and more on people, filling the book with wonderful and inspiring design examples from all over the world. Thackara also addresses many of the important issues that we face - and the underlying assumptions that we make - both as a society, and as designers.

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I first heard about Giles Revell and this book when designer Ross Lovegrove mentioned it, in passing, during his talk at the 2005 TED Conference. He was showing a video of his design studio, the camera caught a brief shot of the book, and Lovegrove said, 'Giles Revell - should be talking, here, today.'

A brief excerpt: 'Embracing complex technologies, Giles Revell uses an electron-microscope, digital software, and cutting-edge ink jet printing to construct images of insects, which are striking in their scale, detail, and beauty. In constructing these monumental images of minute forms, Giles Revell plays the role of tracker, taxidermist, scientist, and artist.'

I believe you can still get this book from the Michael Hoppen Gallery.

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I have, yet, to receive an issue of Colors magazine that I did not find thoroughly thought-provoking. However, I did find the Kalman-Toscani-era issues of the magazine to rely too heavily on their shock value - it was like attacking each issue/topic with the same hammer. I got tired of feeling like a nail and stopped subscribing. I picked up a copy of the magazine, about a year ago, and decided to subscribe again. I have found the recent issues, in contrast, to be more thoughtful and creative. Produced by Fabrica, the Benetton Group Communication Research Center, each issue is fresh in its approach towards its designated topic. Pick up a copy, and give it a try.

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I purchased and read McCloud's Understanding Comics, over ten years ago, then published by Kitchen Sink Press, and before it was regarded as a classic. I had Scott sign the book, while I was attending the San Diego Comic-Con. He was even selling a selection of his original Bristol board drawings, for the book. But I decided not to buy any of them, thinking that they weren't worth the price(!) - and I've been kicking myself ever since. Anyway, I've been getting into storytelling lately, and bought Making Comics, his latest book (2006), hoping to add more tools to my storytelling toolbox. This is a great book to get, if you're interested in visual storytelling. I (always) enjoy the comic book format, which McCloud effectively uses, both to explain and to demonstrate the different principles and techniques of visual storytelling.

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If you've seen An Inconvenient Truth, then you've seen the work of Duarte Design. This book is probably the most comprehensive book I've read, that deals with presentation design. And the book itself is, also, well-designed. I have several books on presentation design, and if I had to choose only one, today, this would be it.

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