Publishers' Spring/Summer catalogs are beginning to roll in, and there's some seriously awesome stuff coming down the pike. We were particularly interested in the artsy, funky, elegantly presented gift-book offerings from the fine people at Chronicle Books:

1. The Ultimate Book Club Organizer

The Ultimate Book Club Organizer (out in May '08) keeps your book club information in one beautifully designed, easily accessible place. The book includes pages for your reading notes, a book log, a meeting calendar and a place for your fellow club members' contact info. There are also cute extras, like 90 book-rating stickers ("Wow!", "OK.", and "Ugh!"), bookmarks, adhesive bookplates, and a pocket for storing clippings and reviews. Plus, it's really, really pretty.


2. School Years: A Family Keepsake of School Memories, illustrated by Stephen Britt

This adorably funky album (currently available) comes with expandable pockets—one for every year from kindergarten to 12th grade. You can fill them with photos, report cards, art projects, and other mementos. This book is the perfect solution for those of us who want to keep some of our children's masterpieces... but would prefer to avoid turning our entire houses into shrines to Junior's scholastic achievements.

P.S. Plus: Stephen Britt!!! How could you not love Stephen Britt?


3. Ichthyo: The Architecture of Fish

These black and white X-ray images of fish skeletons were originally created to preserve a record of scientific samples. They're also astonishing lovely, sure to appeal to devotees of both science and art. Ichthyo (out in June '08) is a compendium of images drawn from the National Museum of Natural History, which holds the world's largest collection of ichthyological specimens.

Labels: Chronicle Books, Upcoming Books