Mens Reading: January

Rule: A Man Should Be Halfway Through A Book At Any Given Time

The Handbook of Style ($10) Dispatches… Beyond Iraq ($15 per issue) Bangkok Haunts ($11) Silver ($10) Dumped Fun and Games Activity Book ($11) beautyLight ($75)

Kicking off 2009 (um now) Gear Patrol will bring you a monthly selection of books that members of the crew are reading. We’re firm believers of the web and all its “right-now” glory but the traditional bound & wound will continue to have a place in our hearts and bedside tables (until we get used ourselves better situated with the Kindle).

Synopsis of each book after the jump.

A. The Handbook of Style – Esquire ($10): Think Fred Astaire in two-tone shoes Cary Grant in impeccably tailored suits Al Capone in pinstripes Mick Jagger in skinny pants the Beatles in Chelsea boots replica wyler geneve watch or even Albert Einstein in his V-neck sweater over an open-collar shirt. What do all these illustrious men have in common? Taste. Not boring “I followed the rules” good taste but risky “I tossed the rules I didn’t like” taste. The kind that has George Clooney favoring khakis a black T-shirt leather lace-ups and no socks or Tom Wolfe wearing his infamous white suit. Called “The Originals ” you’ll find images of these style icons in Esquire’s The Handbook of Style (Hearst Books January 2009) along with indispensable advice from the magazine’s style editors who show us how – with a little bit of effort – every man can create an individual look to distinguish himself.

B. Dispatches… Beyond Iraq – Mort Rosenblum and Gary Knight ($15 per issue): A close-to-the-news journal that takes a hard look at vital issues facing an imperiled world reaching beyond what and who to the more crucial why and what can be done. Book-sized with a bold cutting-edge layout Dispatches is meant for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of what shapes world events.

C. Bangkok Haunts – John Burdett ($11): Sonchai Jitpleecheep the hero of Burdett’s Bangkok-based thrillers is a unique police detective. A Buddhist as closely attuned to karma as to crime Sonchai is profoundly aware that the latter is only an expression of the former and montblanc replica watch accordingly he finds answers in places that logic-hampered Westerners would never know to look. In his third adventure to date a murdered prostitute proves to be–even more in death than she was in life–a femme fatale of special magnitude. As in previous episodes the pleasures derive less from Burdett’s baroque plotting (in this case including former Khmer Rouge hired killers a pornography ring debased even by Bangkok standards and a death by torture involving elephants) than from the vivid portrait he paints of contemporary Thai life and mores. [From The New Yorker]

D. Silver – Edward Chupack ($10): Held captive in a cabin on his own ship the notorious pirate Long John Silver fever-ridden and almost blind kids watches manufacturer is on his way towards England and the hangman’s noose. Before he hangs Long John writes Silver: My Own Tale As Written By Me With A Goodly Amount of Murder as a record of his life and times.

Silver is not the revised story of Treasure Island but a parallel tale from the villain’s point of view and even includes new characters and buccaneers. It is the “true” and complete history of Long John Silver’s life.

E. Dumped Fun and Games Activity Book – Josh Lewis ($11): For anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of “I think we should just be friends ” or “its not you it’s me” and thought that it would be great to slash their ex’s tires or jump off the nearest bridge – there’s a new book just for you.

F. beautyLight – Matthew Rolsten ($75): Matthew Rolston was discovered by Andy Warhol at an early age to shoot for Interview Magazine and has shot iconic covers for numerous publications including W Magazine Rolling Stone Harper’s Bazaar and BlackBook. This new book is called beautyLIGHT with Salma Hayek and many other glamorous images of Matthew Rolston’s celebrity friends whom he has photographed over the past 20 years. Notables include Angelina Jolie Zac Efron Lindsay Lohan Adam Levine Jay-Z replica swiss watches sale Matthew McConaughey Jessica Simpson Jack Nicholson Christina Ricci Jennifer Lopez Johnny Depp Janet Jackson and many others.

Make sure and let us know ([emailprotected]) if you’ve got any recommendations.