Some recommended books for you to read during your Thailand holiday:
By KATY JACKSON
This is a dazzling doodle book, full of flowers, confetti, tiaras, and romance. Packed with gorgeous two- color illustrations to complete and color, this book is a must for any child who is captivated by the glamour of a wedding. From designing the dress and adding accessories, to completing the cake and opening the presents, this book offers a world of fairy-tale wedding fun.
Price: Bt225 (US$7.65) // Available in Asia Books
By SMYTH & LIM
In this captivating collection of five houses built in five different Asian-Pacific countries, Argentinean-born designer Ernesto Bedmar explores his fascination with traditional architectural styles and reinvents them for the contemporary world. Using his deep understanding of the histories and building cultures of these regions, Bedmar seamlessly knits his designs into the collective memory of each site. The five houses in India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and New Zealand demonstrate the flexibility of the designers trademark tropical architecture and showcase a diverse set of modern forms that resonate deeply with the local landscape and make use of water as a unifying and harmonizing element. The book contains a wealth of drawings and plans that detail the innovative construction techniques, and the resulting houses are captured in a breathtaking series of photographs showing the use of spaces and materials as well as spectacular sites on which they sit.
Price: Bt1,291 (US$43.87) // Available in Asia Books
By ANGELIKA TASCHEN
This round-up of the world’s most exceptional hotels and retreats is packed with awe-inspiring photos and tantalizing descriptions of the world’s greatest getaways. While few will visit them all, this collection provides a dizzying array of exotic destinations for the armchair traveler. Highlights include a California inn where Liberace would have felt right at home, and shabby-chic bungalows on Highway 1 in Big Sur. You can choose from luxurious residences nestled on the Ubud hillside overlooking the Ayung River in Bali, or ocean side bungalows on a Brazilian archipelago. You can go camping in “royal style” in the Indian desert, or opt for a luxury tented-camp on an island in the best game-viewing location in Botswana. You can relax in a hand-woven banda on Zanzibar, a hotel-museum full of contemporary art on the Sicilian coast, or a sumptuous Provencal spa retreat in the south of France.
Price: Bt855 (US$29.06) // Available in Asia Books
By JONATHAN FENBY
China is an increasingly significant global force moving forward with shocking velocity. But the last major nation under Communist rule also has a history of catastrophe and tragedy, tyranny and repression, abject poverty, unfair business practice and inherent corruption under a nebulous system of leadership, and now faces environmental degradation and a demographic time bomb. In this compelling and lucid account based on years of research and first-hand experience, Jonathan Fenby links together the myriad features of today’s China. He delivers a unique and coherent picture of its essence and evolution and contemplates its future – both alone and connected to the world around it.
Price: Bt405 (US$13.76) // Available in Asia Books
