This delightful, thoroughly enjoyable book aptly titled An Awesome Book! by Dallas Clayton is just the perfect thing to brighten up anyone’s day.  It’s filled with pages of colorful child-like illustrations that made me smile:

The message is simple but really inspiring — don’t be afraid to dream. It’s one of those rare books where having finished reading the whole thing online (the entire book is available to read online), I still want to get a physical copy of — to hold and hug and read to sleep every night, lest I forget how important my dreams. Would make a great Christmas present for both kids and adults. Buy it at the Very Awesome World website.

And the lovely sequel, An Awesome Book of Thanks, is pretty darn awesome too.  It’s about gratitude for all things big and small, good and bad.

You can also get an unsigned copy of An Awesome Book of Thanks! for less at Amazon.

Louis Vuitton City Guide 2009 is beautifully-designed (with illustrations by Ruben Toledo) and apparently quite good. The European Cities Guide (available in French and English) highlights the best from 32 cities such Amsterdam, Prague, London, Rome, Madrid and Moscow, and at $145 for a set of 9 volumes, isn’t the most expensive of guides and definitely one of the cheapest things you can buy emblazoned with a (authentic) Louis Vuitton logo.

Dedicated guides for New York, Miami, Mumbai, Tokyo and Paris are also available at $38.

I’m reading, among other etiquette-related books, Manners by Kate Spade. Elegantly illustrated with short, digestible notes on everyday things from eating to communicating, it’s quite a pleasant read.

I’m doing a project related to etiquette and culture, so if you have any recommended publication on the subject(books or websites), do write me. Thanks.