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3 Gorg New Books Your Coffee Table (& Gift List) Can't Live Without!

By Brenna Egan

You may not have Richard Prince piece's dangling from your walls or Koons' balloons greeting visitors upon entrance to your abode, but that doesn't mean you can't dazzle guests with mini-vignettes of arty decor. By that, fellow not-ballers-yet, we mean coffee table books — the resplendent triple threat of objets d'art. You can show them off on a rad rainbow bookshelf, pore over them for endless inspiration and edu-ma-cation, and even wrap 'em up and inscribe a sweet note for a heady pressie (nothing beats the no-card-necessary aspect of that!).

Well, three natty and noteworthy tomes have come across our desks in the last week that are begging for some eye-popping and page-turning. First, there's Gypset Travel, the long-awaited part deux to Julia Chaplin's Gypset Style (we're pretty confident that's already sitting pretty somewhere in your home!). Next up, celeb style-snappers of the century, Markus + Indrani, have shelled out 200-plus pages of their expertly art-directed megawatt photos in ICONS. And, last, but not least — perhaps the best gift for the dog-lover in your life — is Frank Bruynbroek's Compawssion: Portraits Of Rescued Dogs, filled with furry friends who may have faced a darker fate if it weren't for straight-up stray sympathy (adopt!). Sneak a peek at what's in between these hot hardcovers in the upcoming gallery, and we're sure large-scale canvas lust won't even cross your mind!

Photo: Courtesy of Frank Bruynbroek

If that 'do doesn't make your tail wag, we don't know what will! In all seriousness, Frank Bruynbroek, a bone-a fide (excuse the pun) doggy photog, set out on a mission with this book to export his talents for the greater good. "Most of all, I want Compawssion to be about mutual respect, love, joy, and the celebration of the rich emotional connection between dogs and people. There is definitely a greater awareness growing everywhere, with wonderful, dedicated people rescuing and placing dogs every day. With each picture I take, I plant a seed. I hope that one day the seed will become a beautiful tree. I probably won’t be around anymore to stand in awe in front of a forest, but it’s all part of the traveler’s tao, 'the destination is not important.'”

Compawssion: Portraits of Rescued Dogs by Frank Bruynbroek, $75, available atCompawssion.

Photo: Courtesy of Frank Bruynbroek

How could anyone leave this half-dog, half-zebra to suffer on the streets? Puppy mills be damned! Along with black-and-whites of this adorable hybrid, you'll find pups and interviews from public figures like Dr. Jane Goodall, Ellen DeGeneres, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Brigitte Bardot, and Josh Duhamel.