Reading is one of the ways we sharpen our eye. In this post, we are pairing titles our team is currently reading with works from our collection that share a visual or conceptual connection. Each pairing reflects a shared tone, subject, or sensibility, offering insight into the ideas and artworks capturing our attention now.
Tom Lake
Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake brings the past vividly to life, reviving the fleeting glories of youth, love, and memory that shape who we are today. The title of Amy Donaldson’s piece, Resurgent Glory, conveys this same revival of past emotions and experiences.
Every Living Thing
A story of science, rivalry, and discovery, Every Living Thing explores how humans have tried to know all life. Tom Chambers Fragrant Attraction contains much of the natural vivid beauty discussed in this nonfiction, narrative history book.
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a lyrical tale of self-discovery, following Santiago’s journey to his dreams while revealing the profound interconnectedness of all life. The web-like composition, title, and colors of Michael Hoffman‘s Costa Del Sol Dreaming pair beautifully with this book.
The Paris Apartment
When Jess arrives in Paris, she finds her brother missing and a building full of secrets; The Paris Apartment keeps readers guessing until the very last page. Similarly, in David Burdeny’s photograph Odette, Paris, France, your eye darts across the Parisian details, inviting you to imagine your own stories within the scene.
Atmosphere
In Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a gripping story of ambition, love, and life at the edge of space. The abstract horizon line in Eric Abrecht’s Azul Horizon highlights and how it can blur—mirroring the challenges of life as an astronaut, where the messiness of life on Earth gives way to a sense of calm in space.
All That Life Can Afford
Anna Byrne chases her dreams after moving abroad only to confront class divides, social ambition, and the cost of belonging among the jet‑set elite in this Emily Everett novel. Gavin Benjamin‘s Miss A Thing 1, with its glamour and sparkle brings us into the plot of All That Life Can Afford as Anna balances her desire to fit in with staying true to herself.
People We Meet on Vacation
We loved the way this Sherri Belassen piece paired with the vibrant cover of Emily Henry’s novel, People We Meet On Vacation. This book is a charming tale of friendship, love, and second chances across unforgettable summers.
The Great Alone
While the colors of this pair are enough to make the connection, we also like how Rose Masterpol‘s Oxygen creates a quiet rhythm that matches the main character Leni’s experience navigating the Alaskan wilderness in The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah.
Intermezzo
Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo is a quiet, emotionally taut novel about two brothers stumbling through grief, love, and adulthood; this Hyunmee Lee piece echoes that same isolation of grief and the stoic restraint young men often cling to when facing their emotions alone.
Mistborn
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn mirrors Jeff Erickson’s abstract, ethereal landscape in flux, where unseen energies quietly shape a world on the brink of transformation, as a group of unlikely rebels learns to harness elemental magic to challenge a centuries-old tyranny.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
We love pairing the intensely shadowy and layered Midnight Oil by Rose Masterpol with Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as this installment explores growing darkness, Harry’s own anger, and his secret efforts to train friends to fight back against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Horse
This perfect pairing of Albert Murillo‘s Stamp Collection: Almeria is solely based on the cover art which we love almost as much as this Geraldine Brooks story of a legendary racehorse, the enslaved groom who raised him, and the modern uncovering of their hidden history.
