Sunday Paper Special Edition: Our Holiday Reading List
23 December 2021
On Our Desk
As we’re finishing up the last week of work before the holidays, we will have a copy of legendary Yale Professor Edward Tufte’s latest book Seeing with Fresh Eyes: Meaning, Space, Data, Truth. Described byThe New York Times as the “Leonardo da Vinci of data” and “the Gallileo of graphics,” Tufte makes a stunning argument for the importance of presenting our arguments and data in a clear and visually compelling way.
In Our Kitchen
This holiday season, our repertoire in the kitchen will be given a microbial boost from The Noma Guide to Fermentation by David Zilber and Rene Redzepi. Part cookery book part edible chemistry experiment, this illuminating and accessible tomb is bound to become a classic.
Speaking of classics, we are also hugely enjoying M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf. Written during the food shortages of the Second World War, this grand dame of American cuisine shares timeless tips of how to create culinary joy and sustenance during difficult times. With her signature wit and wisdom, she shows us how to dream big, even when our cupboards seem bare and uninspiring. Essential once January rolls around.
On Our Coffee Table
A personal favourite of Métier founder and designer Melissa Morris, Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal is the ultimate treat to grace your coffee table. (As many of you will know, Melissa has even designed a special edition of The Perriand City Small inspired by the textile works of Anni Albers.) Glossy and gorgeous but with depth and substance, this is essential for anyone interested in modernism and its many facets.
In Our Roma
When we’re on the go, we will slip a copy of Nathanael West’s 1939 mini-masterpiece The Day of the Locust into our Roma. This slim volume is a highly entertaining account of the seedier side of Hollywood during its golden age as it follows a group of ‘friends’ at the fringes of the film industry.
Whilst Curled Up Under A Blanket
When we manage to get a quiet moment over the holidays, we will curl up under one of our Métier cashmere blankets and pick up a copy of Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s stunning essay In Praise of Shadows. Fitting for this time of the year, this revered author explores the aesthetic importance of darkness and shadows in Japanese culture. Contemplating anything from origami to the painted face of the geisha, Tanizaki teaches us that “were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.”
In Our Rider Briefcase
If you were to rummage around in the highly organised compartments of our Rider briefcase, you would find a copy of Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies. An ode to modern masculinity, this book about a group of young men coming of age in Thatcher’s Britain, is as joyful and sharp as it is ebulliently dark.
Underneath The Christmas Tree
Whatever Métier bag your loved ones choose to carry, make sure it is always stocked with a good read by giving them the ultimate book-lover’s treat:The Heywood Hill Year in Books subscription. Curated by the staff of this legendary shop, (which happens to be a stones-throw away from our flagship on St Audley Street!) you even get a reading consultation with a personal Heywood Hill bookseller to make sure their selection is perfectly tailored to your tastes and interests. Afterwards, do pop by the Métier shop and tell us what you’re reading!