As design element, ode to passion, big books are great gifts

Whether as a design element or an ode to a passion or hobby, coffee table books have it covered, especially as holiday gifts.

Splashy, special interest books are in abundance this time of year and may seem extravagant when self-purchased. That's exactly why wrapping them up and handing them over to a loved one can strike just the right tone.

Some suggestions:

This cover image released by Taschen shows "Food & Drink Infographics: A Visual Guide to Culinary Pleasures," by Simone Klabin. (Taschen via AP)

MUSIC

"Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl." Edited by Evelyn McDonnell. Black Dog & Leventhal. Yes, the dust jacket is bright pink, for better or worse, but the essays are all-encompassing, as the title suggests. Includes a range of writers, though accompanying portraiture may not be to taste. Each profile is written by a woman, with more than 100 in all. The subjects were chosen, as McDonnell says, both painstakingly and arbitrarily as she went about honoring "rock" as a verb, not a noun. $35.

"Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop," by Vikki Tobak. Clarkson Potter. Hip-hop photographers share their contact sheets, paired with interviews and essays. Spans nearly 40 years. Also plenty of performance and audience imagery. There's Fab 5 Freddy at a White Castle in the Bronx, 1982. Jump to 1993 for a never-before-seen photo of Tupac and Nas at a Club Amazon party in Manhattan. Time trip again to 2012 Atlanta and Gucci Mane on the set of the "Shooters" video. $40.

This cover image released by Assouline shows "Rolex: The Impossible Collection," by Fabienne Reybaud. (Assouline via AP)

"Hindsight & All the Things I Can't See in Front of Me," by Justin Timberlake. Harper Design. It's his first book, in which he writes: "You have to dare to suck." As a 2-year-old in Memphis, family lore goes, he harmonized nicely with Don Henley on the car radio. He revels in his years on "Saturday Night Live," and his bromance with Jimmy Fallon. Of early 'N Sync: "We had a lot of fun, and we really cared about what we were doing. We wanted to be good at it." $40.

HOME

"City of Angels: House and Gardens of Los Angeles," by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Firooz Zahedi. The Vendom Press. Drool worthy, eclectic, renowned. These are interiors and outdoor spaces of film producers, directors, artists, photographers and musicians. Over 25 houses, bungalows, studios and compounds. The spaces include homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler, from Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains to a Pacific Palisades villa decorated by Oliver Furth. $75.

This cover image released by Abbeville Press shows "Literary Chickens," by Beth Moon. (Abbeville Press via AP)

"From the Earth: World's Great, Rare and Almost Forgotten Vegetables," by Peter Gilmore. Hardie Grant Books. With hundreds of varieties to choose from, Australian chef Gilmore has selected 50 heirloom vegetables and plants. In the process, he delves into the history of both common varieties and rare or nearly extinct ones. Interviews with farmers. Recipes on how to cook up his discoveries. $60.

"Tony Duquette's Dawndridge," by Hutton Wilkinson. Abrams. Wilkinson bought designer Duquette's Beverly Hills home after Duquette's death in 1999, chronicling its expansion from a tiny box house into an expansive estate still filled with items picked by and created by Duquette and his wife, Elizabeth. It's quirky and chic and comfy all at the same time. Have a look at the Monkey Room, a glassed-in porch overlooking the garden. Duquette used it as storage and Wilkinson brought it to life. There's the signature Duquette leopard-print carpet on the staircase leading down to the summer and guest bedrooms. $75.

PHOTOGRAPHY

This cover image released by Harper Design shows "Vivian Maier: The Color Work," photographs by Vivian Maier and text by Colin Westerbeck. (Harper Design via AP)

"Vivian Maier: The Color Work," by Colin Westerbeck. Harper Design. Remember the Chicago mystery nanny whose cache of some 150,000 prints, negatives, transparencies and rolls of undeveloped film were discovered at auction after her death? Her name was Vivian Maier and this book brings her meandering to life in color. One self-portrait says it all with a sliver of her face reflected in a hand mirror that rests on a bunch of yellow flowers on street brick, from 1975. $80.

"Literary Chickens," by Beth Moon. Abbeville Press. You heard that right. The New York photographer Moon has paired 52 gorgeous black-and-white portraits of heritage-breed chickens with literary excerpts. The beady-eyed gazes of every last one of the birds are fixed on Moon's lens. Consider the Silver Phoenix female paired with this from Virginia Woolf's "Night and Day": "I've done my best to see you as you are, without any of this damned romantic nonsense." $35.

"Trees: Between Earth and Heaven," photographs by Art Wolfe, text by Gregory McNamee. Earth Aware Editions. Wolfe is a landscape photographer who has worked on every continent. Here, he puts us up close with a leopard lounging in a thorn tree in Botswana. He shares the colorful giant sequoias of California. Light dances through his images, as does the icy Moreno Glacier that serves as backdrop to the tops of Southern beech in Argentina. $75.

This cover image released by Abrams shows "Tony Duquette's Dawnridge," by Hutton Wilkinson and photographs by Hamish Bowles. (Abrams via AP)

FASHION

"Roland Mouret: Provoke - Attract - Seduce," by Roland Mouret and Alexander Fury. Rizzoli. The French designer in conversation with fashion writer and historian Fury. This ode to Mouret and his company is more valuable for its Q-and-A text than the photos of various models and collections. It's all very French: "You know, I've learnt everything about fashion in bed," Mouret says. "Every body I've touched has taught me something about dressing it."

"Rolex: The Impossible Collection," by Fabienne Reybaud. Assouline. If you can afford a Rolex, you can afford to gift this stunning, limited-edition oversize book about the brand, its history and its celebrity following. By big, we mean 14-by-17 inches, in a handcrafted clamshell case with color plates hand-tipped on art quality paper. The luxury time pieces are shown off on the wrists of everybody from Picasso to Pope John Paul II. $845.

This cover image released by Hardie Grant Books shows "From the Earth: World's Great, Rare and Almost Forgotten Vegetables," by Peter Gilmore. (Hardie Grant Books via AP)

CULTURE

"New York by New York," by Wendell Jamieson. Assouline. "Something's always happening here. If you're bored in New York, it's your own fault." So says Myrna Loy in this gifty, photo-driven tome with a foreword by Jay McInerney. Big moments and little ones are celebrated. It took a two-page spread to do justice in black and white to Bianca Jagger marking her birthday in 1977 by mounting a white horse for a walk into Studio 54, launching the club into the social stratosphere. $250.

FOOD

This cover image released by Vendome shows "City of Angels: Houses and Gardens of Los Angeles," by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Firooz Zahedi. (Vendome via AP)

"Food & Drink Infographics: A Visual Guide to Culinary Pleasures," by Simone Klabin, edited by Julius Wiedermann. Taschen. Butchery in France, the principles of molecular gastronomy, the health benefits of sweet cherries and everything you need to know about chewing gum, all represented in fun visuals that often double as art in and of themselves. Some are historical, others comical. Many may also be useful in the kitchen or at the bar. $70.

"Pantone Foodmood," edited by Guido Tommasi. Guido Tommasi Publishing/ACC Distribution. Drawing inspiration from the color experts at Pantone, these dishes urge home cooks to create with their eyes. Recipes are organized by color and each color is characterized by mood. Yellow includes mango pudding with panna cotta. Purple is beet and pumpkin ravioli. Savory asparagus tarts represent for green. $50.

This cover image released by Harper Design shows "Hindsight & All the Things I Can't See in Front of Me," by Justin Timberlake. (Harper Design via AP)

This cover image released by Clarkson Potter shows "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop," by Vikki Tobak. (Clarkson Potter via AP)

This cover image released by Rizzoli shows "Roland Mouret: Provoke, Attract, Seduce," a book by Alexander Fury and Roland Mouret. (Rizzoli via AP)

This cover image released by Earth Aware Editions shows "Trees: Between Earth and Heaven," by Gregory McNamee and photographs by Art Wolfe. (Earth Aware Editions via AP)

This cover image released by Assouline shows "New York by New York," by Wendell Jamieson. (Assouline via AP)

This cover image released by Guido Tommasi PublishingACC Distribution shows "Pantone Foodmood," a cookbook edited by Guido Tommasi. (Guido Tommasi PublishingACC Distribution via AP)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.

Signs advising arriving visitors of the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days through July have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.

Some 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone. Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show the day-tripper tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.

Transgressors face fines 50 euros to 300 euros. The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

Venice has long suffered under the pressure of over-tourism, but officials say that pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year — including day-trippers — are not reliable and that the pilot project also aims to come up with more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.

By contrast, registered visitors spending the night last year numbered 4.6 million, according to city figures, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs.

Venturini said the city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000. Its narrow alleyways are clogged with people and water taxis packed, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.

Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism, and say more attention needs to be paid to boosting the resident population and services they need.

Venice last year passed a telling milestone when the number of tourist beds exceeded for the first time the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.

“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not decrease not even by one single unit the number of visitors that are coming,’’ said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.

“You pay a ticket to take the metro, to go to a museum, an amusement park; you don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to kick residents out of Venice,” he said.

Venturini said about 6,000 people had already paid to download the QR code, and officials expect paid day-tripper arrivals Thursday to reach some 10,000.

More than 70,000 others have downloaded a QR code denoting an exemption, including to work in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. People staying in hotels in Venice, including in mainland districts like Marghera or Mestre, should also get a QR code attesting to their stay, which includes a hotel tax.

The tourist official says interest in Venice's pilot program has been keen from other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian art cities and cities abroad such as Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Tourists take pictures at the St. Mark square in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists ride on a ferry boat in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People stand in front of an information board explaining how to pay the tourist tax in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Marco Bettini, director of Venis Informatics System, gestures as he talks to reporters at the police Venice control room, in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Venice councillor Simone Venturini speaks with reporters in front of a tourist tax totem in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers prepare banner explaining how to pay the tourist tax in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Marco Bettini, director of Venis Informatics System, gestures as he explains the Venice density to reporters at the police Venice control room in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists arrive at the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Porters wait for tourists outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Porters wait for tourists outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists arrive outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourist information boards are seen outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists arrive outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)