Some of Phaidon's Better Living 100 books

Phaidon's Better Living 100

Smart advice on partying, gifting, and eating well, self-help for home and office life, alongside pithy words of artistic wisdom, (and you thought we just did ‘coffee table’ books!)

Self-help and personal improvement weren’t familiar phrases among Viennese book dealers when Phaidon was founded in the Austrian capital, 100 years ago. Nevertheless, over the past century, the publishing house has established itself as a provider of apt creative, career and personal advice, as the fields of fine art, cookery, design and fashion have wound their way into both our professional and personal lives.

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be: The world's best-selling book by Paul Arden  

Consider the provocatively entitled It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be: The world's best-selling book by Paul Arden. In this book, the late, great Paul Arden, one of the world’s great ad men, offers up his wisdom on issues as diverse as problem solving, responding to a brief, communicating, playing your cards right, making mistakes, and creativity - all endeavours that can be applied to aspects of modern life.  

This uplifting, humorous, and big-hearted little book provides a unique insight into the world of advertising and is a quirky compilation of quotes, facts, pictures, wit and wisdom - all packed into easy-to-digest, bite-sized spreads.  

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!): How To Unleash Your Creative Potential by America's Master Communicator

Not to be outdone, Madison Avenue’s original Mad Man, George Lois, offers up his own Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!), in a book appropriately subtitled How To Unleash Your Creative Potential by America's Master Communicator. Famous for his great ad campaigns, as well as his iconic Esquire covers in the 1960s and 70s, George Lois’s book is packed with smart lessons, practical advice, facts, anecdotes and inspiration, making it a timeless creative tome for all those looking to succeed in life, business and creativity.   Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 Own It: The Secret to Life

Cross over to Fifth Avenue, and you’ll pick up a little advice from the internationally renowned fashion designer and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg, who shares her own accessible, empowering manifesto in Own It: The Secret to Life. Presented in an easy-to-follow format, the book offers great insights into von Furstenberg’s own life, as well as serving as a blueprint for enjoying both personal and professional growth at any age.

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 Failed it!: How to turn mistakes into ideas and other advice for successfully screwing up

For a slightly more humorous and accepting assessment of life’s tribulations, try Failed it!: How to turn mistakes into ideas and other advice for successfully screwing up by the Dutch photography curator and communications expert, Erik Kessels. Part photobook and part a celebration of failures as a function of artistry and learning, the book celebrates the power of mistakes and shows how they can enrich the creative process. In these pages, Kessels showcases the best and most hilarious examples of imperfection and failure across a broad range of creative forms, including art, design, photography, architecture and product design, to inspire and encourage creatives to embrace and celebrate their mistakes.  

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 The Talks - No Idea Is Final: Quotes from the Creative Voices of our Time

Broadening the chorus of creative and professional advice somewhat, try The Talks - No Idea Is Final: Quotes from the Creative Voices of our Time. Subtitled Quotes from the Creative Voices of our Time, this book by two of Europe’s leading interviewers, Sven Schumann and Johannes Bonke, draws together pithy remarks from more than 500 interviews with cultural visionaries, including artists, actors, directors, chefs, fashion designers, architects, authors, musicians, and athletes. The result is a fast-paced, insightful look into the lives and minds of the creative voices of our time.

  Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100
Modern Manners: Instructions for living fabulously wellModern Manners: Instructions for living fabulously well

Care to take things a little more slowly? Then turn to Modern Manners: Instructions for living fabulously well, Instructions for living fabulously well, drawn from the pages of the ever-witty biannual magazine, The Gentlewoman.

With contributions from a roster of The Gentlewoman’s impeccably engaging contributors and readers, including Ann Friedman, Eva Wiseman, Otegha Uwagba, Caroline Roux, Susan Irvine, and Joan Juliet Buck, this thoughtful, stylish collection of essays is an essential guide to navigating today’s world.

Individually arresting and unexpected, Modern Manners offers advice on subjects ranging from the classic topics of etiquette and social behaviour (tipping; arriving alone; godparenting; hosting) to totally contemporary matters (the best legal drugs; the benefits of a menstrual cup; the art of regifting; and crafting the perfect out of office reply), and tips and opinions galore from fun friends of the magazine from Miranda July and Hilary Mantel to Kylie Minogue and Honey Dijon.  

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 Every Day a Word Surprises Me & Other Quotes by Writers

Every Day a Word Surprises Me & Other Quotes by Writers expands those guiding voices out to the greatest literary minds of our times, in an inspirational and insightful collection of quotes by writers through the ages and across the globe.   This book is the ideal bedside keepsake for readers, authors, and everyone who appreciates the exquisite power of words.

This carefully curated book, packed with original research, is a go-to resource for thoughts on a variety of subjects, including originality, punctuation, reading, daily routines, rejection, money troubles, the creative process, love, truth, and more.

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 Born to Party, Forced to Work: 21st Century Hospitality  

Do you have a strong desire to better express yourself socially? Then get Born to Party Forced to Work. In this book, Bronson van Wyck, the man Vogue called 'The Wizard of Oz of New York party planning,' distills the essential pillars of the art of celebration into one volume, with examples drawn from his many successes - and, admittedly, a few entertaining failures. Lusciously illustrated with images from Van Wyck's most spectacular events, this is the perfect primer on throwing parties that are as much fun to give as they are to attend.

  Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 My First Cookbook Collection

And if you haven’t sufficiently helped yourself with these titles, you could also try My First Cookbook Collection, a carefully curated set of culinary titles which includes both recipes to follow and interactive books that find the fun in cooking and ingredients, encourages the youngest readers to become food lovers forever; and also our Healthy-Eating Collection, a ready-made library set for the health-conscious foodie interested in alternative diets, all from Phaidon’s bestselling recipe bibles. You want one final piece of damn good advice? You can get them all in our store, here.

Phaidon's non fiction/ general interest 100 The Healthy-Eating CollectionThe Healthy-Eating Collection