Let’s face it, finding the perfect gift for someone can be difficult. However, here to help LUXlife has compiled a list of the best gift ideas for those who are passionate about books. And with Father’s Day just around the corner, you can’t go wrong picking a luxury publication from The Folio Society for the dad who loves to read.
With more than 500 titles available, this leading publisher has been creating beautifully illustrated editions of the world’s greatest books for over 70 years including classic fiction, modern fiction, sci-fi, and of course non-fiction (everything from historical to biographical, war to crime, science and nature).
The Folio Society researches works which it wants to publish. The majority of its fiction titles leads to collaborations with established as well as up and coming artists to illustrate the stunning editions, while the non-fiction books include photography which have been thoroughly researched by the picture team, who spend countless hours locating the right and relevant images.
If you have never picked up a novel from The Folio Society, you may not know the esteemed publisher also commissions well-known figures from the world of art, entertainment and science to write introductions for its editions. The likes of Stephen Fry, Frank Skinner, Margaret Attwood, Dennis Lahane, Sophie Hannah are just a few of the big names who have offered their words for introductions.
Last but not least, it’s the design of these editions that truly make the books something any father would treasure, and that’s why we think we’ve found some treats for you this Father’s Day. Here are some of our favourite picks from what is currently available.
For the dad who likes a bit of suspense, perhaps he was glued to the TV when The Bodyguard was on or he likes films like Goodfellas
The Secret Agent
- By Joseph Conrad
- Introduced by Will Self
- Illustrated by Ben Jones With a note by the author
Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.FolioSociety.com
Bound in blocked cloth. Set in Sabon with Clarendon as display. 296 pages. 7 full-page colour illustrations. Slipcase blocked with UV spot varnish. 9˝ x 5.˝
Will Self ’s provocative introduction and Ben Jones’s disturbing portraits complete The Folio Society edition of The Secret Agent; Joseph Conrad’s startling terror-attack fiction set in Edwardian London. The novel’s inspiration was an actual failed plot to bomb the Greenwich Observatory, in 1894.
Amongst the greatest English-language writers, Conrad dives into the seething heart of a city on the edge of terror. He lays the seedy heart of the city’s anarchist element bare; its human flotsam and jetsam relentlessly derided through his scathing and often comic descriptions.
And, as Will Self notes in a newly commissioned introduction, Conrad wrote his novel against the backdrop of an increasingly direct-action suffragette movement, while the city existed in a state of perpetual alert. Self thoughtfully examines one of the great works of a truly talented storyteller; a prescient thriller that delves deep into the mind-set of fanaticism.
For the father who might be a bit of a Trekkie or always goes on about how wonderful Blade Runner is:
Ubik
- By Philip K. Dick
- Introduced by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Illustrated by La Boca
Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.FolioSociety.com
Ubik is an unmissable The Folio Society edition for fans of one of science fiction’s true masters. Time magazine, which in 2009 named it as one of the greatest novels since 1923, described Philip K. Dick’s Ubik as ‘a deeply unsettling existential horror story’, a masterwork that built something new and altogether stranger out of the glittering foundations of modern science fiction. It is a novel that wrongfoots the reader at every turn. Dick delivers a taut thriller shot through with his dark sense of humour.
Inspired by Dick’s ability to break new ground with every story, The Folio Society edition pushes the boundaries of book design and science-fiction art. Featuring a series of hypnotic illustrations by award-winning independent art studio La Boca, this volume is presented in a special die-cut slipcase (with a hidden message) that combines with the vibrant binding to reveal the title.
For the dad who likes a bit of laughter and is a repeat watcher of The Big Lebowski and tunes in to Documentary Now!
Get Shorty
- By Elmore Leonard
- Introduced by Dennis Lehane
- Illustrated by Gary Kelley
Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.FolioSociety.com
Elmore Leonard was the master of the popular crime genre, embracing mid-century noir and Americana. Arguably, the greatest showcase for his prodigious talent is Get Shorty and this explosive new edition from The Folio Society sees Leonard’s characters ruminate, seduce and terrorise through the mesmerising full-page portraits of multi-award-winning illustrator Gary Kelley.
A masterclass in dialogue-driven narrative, Get Shorty is a pulse-quickening romp around the back streets of Miami, the gambling dens of Vegas and the flashy pads of LA with a motley crew of mobsters, dames and Hollywood wannabes. From the very first page, the reader is plunged headfirst into the action, in the room with mob enforcer Chili Palmer and his cronies.
As introducer Dennis Lehane writes: ‘Elmore Leonard’s plots feel less like plots and more like life’. Lehane – whose own collection of stellar writing credits include Mystic River and hbo’s The Wire – is a self-confessed Leonard obsessive and in an introduction specially commissioned for this edition casts an appreciative eye over the writer’s work.
For the dad who likes to watch documentaries or can’t get enough of Blue Planet
The Folio Book of Science
Selected and introduced by Professor Alice Roberts
Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.FolioSociety.com
Selected by scientist, author and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts, this collection from The Folio Society features some of science’s most illustrious names, including Robert Hooke, Maria Sibylla Merian, Charles Darwin, Mary Somerville, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould. Highlighting the contribution of female scientists (the first such anthology equally weighted between male and female contributors), the selection draws from every scientific discipline.
Coverage begins as early as the 4th century BC with Aristotle’s insights into animal anatomy and behaviour: ‘Some [beasts] are gentle, peaceful and not violent … some are violent, passionate and intractable. Serpents are illiberal and crafty.’ Later luminaries include Emilie du Châtelet and her observations on the nature of fire, Caroline Herschel who describes her sightings of new comets, and Michael Faraday narrating his celebrated ‘Chemical History of a Candle’. More modern examples include Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman eulogising the pleasures of intellectual and scientific discovery; and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s ‘New View of Mothers’.
While including some of the most renowned names from 24 centuries of scientific research and exploration, this book also casts a spotlight on the role and contribution of female scientists. It demonstrates that even if they were renowned during their lifetimes for their ground-breaking scholarship, history has often subsequently pushed them into the shadows of their male counterparts.
For the dad who might want to relax with something more dramatic and tunes into MotherFatherSon or likes a period drama like Downton Abbey
Brideshead Revisited
- By Evelyn Waugh
- Introduced by A. N. Wilson
- Illustrated by Harry Brockway
Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.FolioSociety.com
Chosen as one of Time magazine’s 100 greatest novels of all time, this is Waugh’s most popular book, combining aching sympathy for the passing of privilege with the best of his razor-sharp wit.
Charles Ryder’s cousin warned him against taking rooms on the ground floor of his Oxford College, so when the young Lord Sebastian Flyte is sick through his window, it seems he should have heeded the advice. However, no one is immune to Sebastian’s inimitable charm and soon a relationship develops that will change Charles’s life forever.
The novel pinpoints a very precise moment in British social history and Waugh perfectly recreates the ambiance of the period; the aristocracy cling to their privilege and Ryder becomes increasingly vocal about his anti-religious sentiment. Despite the distractions of the beautifully crafted prose, the reader remains painfully aware of the imminent war, while Ryder and his contemporaries enjoy the bounties of privilege, blissfully ignorant of impending events.
