Ah, think of the serene gardens, tatami mats, Zen-inspired decor, sliding doors, and shoji screens of the typical Japanese home. Think again. Tokyo: A Certain Style, the mini-sized decor book with a difference, shows how, for those living in one of the world’s most expensive and densely packed metropolises, closet-sized apartments stacked to the ceiling with gadgetry and CDs are the norm. Photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki rode his scooter all over Tokyo snapping shots of how urban Japanese really live. Hundreds of photographs reveal the real Tokyo style: microapartments, mini and modular everything, rooms filled to the rafters with electronics, piles of books and clothes, clans of remote controls, collections of sundry objets all crammed into a space where every inch counts. Tsuzuki introduces each tiny crash pad with a brief text about who lives there, from artists and students to professionals and couples with children. His entertaining captions to the hundreds of photographs capture the spirit and ingenuity required to live in such small quarters. This fascinating, voyeuristic look at modern life comes in a chunky, pocket-sized format-the perfect coffee table book for people with really small apartments.

It's common for Americans to stereotype the Japanese as conformist, rigidly organized, and immaculately tidy, but with Tokyo: A Certain Style Kyoichi Tsuzuki makes remarkable progress toward broadening those impressions. Tsuzuki photographed the very lived-in interiors of numerous Tokyo houses and apartments, and then jammed his piles of pictures into the format of a short-of-stature book. The result is an engrossing look at the many ways people have adapted to Tokyo's notoriously cramped living spaces. There are several common threads--indoor clotheslines are used to supplement or replace closet space in almost every home--but each dwelling brings out its owner's personality. Some are breathtakingly cluttered, with bric-a-brac piled on electronic equipment and papers stacked on every flat surface, while others show so little evidence of the debris of daily living that one feels certain sorcery must be involved. Most charming are the "design" elements that show off the owners' little quirks: ingeniously improvised hooks and shelves, major appliances banished to the outdoors, and the extensive stuffed animal collection of a grown adult. Many photos simply boggle the mind with the sheer amount of stuff that can be crammed into incredibly small spaces, while others highlight the strange beauty that is often achieved in compressed living. Highly recommended for dorm-bound college students or anyone who has ever groused about a lack of space. --Ali Davis

Whatever the occasion -- low-key, special occasion, purely impromptu, fantastically formal -- Donna Hay's entertaining provides the menu, the mood, the drinks and the food. This refreshingly original, practical and inspirational approach will fill your table and picnic basket, breakfasts, lunches and dinners with endless irresistible but easily made dishes and simple but great ideas. Planning, preparing, cooking and serving -- always with simplicity and style -- are all part of the successful and enjoyable Entertaining experience.

Covers the simplest furniture pieces and retail shelving to space-saving built-ins.

Organized into five chapters with numbered tips.

Takes a room-by-room approach to practical organization and decorative display.

“Quick Fixes" spread in each chapter features illustrate how to plan, create, and utilize storage throughout the home.

Renowned photographer Jon Ortner spent ten years documenting New York City in its best light, those moments before sunrise and at sunset when the city emanates a radiant beauty. In this lavishly produced volume, he presents 200 full-color photographs of the city's neighborhoods and landmarks, including breathtaking views of its skyline, from the George Washington Bridge and the Statue of Liberty to Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building. Perhaps most moving of all are the portraits of the World Trade Center Towers, a tragic loss to the city preserved here in the muted colors of twilight. Captions reveal little-known facts about Manhattan and two glorious foldout images present panoramic views.

As Western lavishness collided with striking native elements in the vast reaches of the East African savanna, the Safari style was born. Blending ethnic African with colonial European, the look emphasizes relaxed yet luxurious living, drawing on an elemental approach to texture, color, and pattern, and on indigenous materials and design. Exploring 21 spectacular homes in glorious color, Safari Style takes us on an expedition through a fantastic Moorish residence in Kenya, a hotel in Zanzibar masquerading as a Persian palace, an Italianate villa on a former coffee plantation in Nairobi, a tree house hideaway perched in the Ngong hills, and a host of other extraordinary dwellings. Though most of us will never live anywhere so unique, we can certainly find countless great ideas here to incorporate into our own more humble abodes. This is about a lot more than a few animal-print pillows and some swags of mosquito netting; it's about Old World elegance and evocations of the pleasures of exotic travel, even if we only get to enjoy it from the comforts of a cushy mudcloth-covered armchair. --Amy Handy