Finding a present that will be read, valued, and kept long after the wrapping paper has been discarded is a timeless holiday challenge. Beautiful print always makes for one of the most thoughtful, tactile gifts to place beneath a tree. From chef-led cookbooks tailored for the keen host and handsome design titles to gripping fiction and independent magazines well worth subscribing to, Monocle has curated an expansive guide to the finest books and periodicals currently on the market.
Cookbooks and food guides form a central pillar of this season’s publishing landscape, offering readers a chance to refine their culinary skills while exploring international flavours. Frederik Bille Brahe, the chef who made his name creating Copenhagen cafés that serve elegant, homestyle dishes, presents his latest cookbook, Apollo: State-of-the-Art Cooking and a Party. Released by Apartamento Publishing in collaboration with head chef Yuta Kurahashi, the book spotlights the vibrant food served at Apollo, the restaurant located within the courtyard of the Kunsthal Charlottenborg art museum. The menus draw inspiration from Danish, French, Italian, and Japanese cuisines, featuring standout creations like mussel toast, eggs with crushed pistachios, maitake mushroom omelettes, and cacio e pepe white beans.
Similarly, Ottolenghi-trained chefs Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich bring their celebrated London culinary footprint to the page with Honey & Co Daily. Since opening their first restaurant in Fitzrovia in 2012, the duo has become renowned for elevated Middle Eastern cuisine. Their new recipe book captures the generous, laid-back plates of their Store Street outpost while remaining accessible for home cooks, offering fresh combinations like a grape-and-bean salad accompanied by a sumac-spiked cosmopolitan.
For those looking beyond the kitchen counter and toward the home bar, drinks expert and author Alice Lascelles offers a considered look at a 150-year-old classic in her latest book, The Martini. Moving from Tokyo speakeasies to swish Mayfair hotel bars, Lascelles explores how professionals craft the Bond-approved drink, uncovering modern variations infused with shiso, olive oil, and tomato leaves, while revealing why the freezer remains the ultimate secret to a great martini.
Hospitality ventures are also making their way into print, allowing travellers to bring their favourite hotel memories home. Siblings Emanuel and Patrícia de Sousa, owners of the Porto-based hotel Rosa et Al, have released their first cookbook, The Supper Club, published by Lebled Soloviev Editions. Divided into mountain and sea-based fare, the book pays gastronomic tribute to Portugal’s regions with recipes such as rabbit with chocolate and plums, and tuna with chard and blackberries, alongside a cocktail chapter featuring the Martini Malandro made with medronho brandy.
Meanwhile, the French food and gastronomy reference point Fooding continues to map out vibrant dining scenes, releasing its 2026 guide to Belgium. Celebrating the concept of belgitude—Belgium’s charming way of not taking itself too seriously—the bilingual French-Dutch publication adds 150 new addresses across Wallonia, Brussels, and Flanders. Editor-in-chief Elisabeth Debourse and co-CEO Christine Doublet highlight destinations ranging from neo-bistros to special-occasion tasting-menu spots like Bloesem in Antwerp and Commotie in Ghent.
Design and creative direction offer another rich vein of print inspiration. French creative director Rémi Babinet reflects on 30 years at the helm of BETC in No Ads Please: Advertising Stories from the Founder of the World’s Most Creative Agency. Packed with campaign stories, photographs, and reflections, the book serves as a manifesto for the strategic advantage of simplicity and the foundational importance of listening to social trends, consumers, and daily life.
Furniture design takes centre stage in The Monocle Book of Designers on Sofas, which invites readers into the homes of 50 architects and designers. Through essays, original photography, and an illustrated guide to 100 iconic settees spanning 125 years of design history, the book explores how a piece of furniture as defining as a sofa reflects its owner’s core philosophies. Sydney-based publisher Softer Volumes similarly explores interior aesthetics in Bars Vol 01, bringing together more than 50 global watering holes that treat their spaces with as much care as their drinks, highlighting spots like Sydney’s Bar Besuto, Berlin’s Anima, and Lisbon’s The Kissaten.
Culture, travel, and fiction round out the literary landscape. Switzerland: The Monocle Handbook scales alpine heights to profile the country’s finest dining, luxury stays, and independent boutiques, from Gstaad’s Hotel Olden to Zürich’s Collective Bakery. In graphic memoirs and fiction, Astrid Goldsmith’s The Crystal Vase explores a powerful family history and post-WWII survival following the death of her grandmother, while Ilias Kyriazis illustrates a gripping graphic-novel adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s classic noir, Trouble Is My Business. Seasonal readers can also hunker down with Anuradha Roy’s Himalayan ode Called by the Hills, Erling Kagge’s The North Pole: The History of an Obsession, or Fríða Ísberg’s thought-provoking debut novel, The Mark.
Independent magazines and literary journals further enrich the printed word. Japan’s biweekly lifestyle title Brutus delivers a spring/summer style special titled "Well Made," celebrating staple wardrobe pieces that endure. In Paris, photographer Augusta Sagnelli and journalist Kyle Berlin have launched Souvenir magazine to revive the bohemian spirit of the Left Bank through photographic essays and street-style vignettes. Portland’s Broccoli Publishers has introduced Heartbeat, a music and sound magazine exploring global sonic landscapes from São Paulo record collectors to Mexico City soundscapes, accompanied by printed playlists.
Other notable periodicals include Sweden’s slow-travel biannual Lohi Journal, an English-language edition of Tokyo’s iconic men’s fashion title Popeye celebrating its 80th anniversary, and Hearst Magazines Italia’s ambitious bilingual publication About, which channels the political architecture and cultural framing of the 1970s and 1980s. Chanel’s inaugural 250-page Arts & Culture magazine features contributions from critic Hans Ulrich Obrist and photographer Roe Ethridge, while M International serves as an English-language companion to Le Monde’s M Magazine, offering enduring insights into culture, diplomacy, and design. Finally, London magazine haven Magculture introduces Translator, a publication dedicated to platforming translated journalism and reportage from across the globe for English-speaking readers.
These literary offerings culminate in titles such as Konfekt: A Guide to Generous Hosting, a celebratory publication dedicated to the art of thoughtful entertaining. From laying an inviting table and mixing vintage champagne to sharing a Congolese lunch in Paris or a maximalist Viennese afternoon tea, the book champions a generosity of spirit that encourages hosts to dive in, welcome their neighbours, and celebrate the courage of bringing people together.
