How would you like to spend the summer exploring Paris, with nothing but a sketchbook in hand? While we sadly can't help make that dream a reality, consider Jason Brooks' Paris Sketchbook (published by Laurence King Publishing) a first-rate backup plan.
An award-winning fashion illustrator, Brooks developed a fascination with The City of Light while on various fashion assignments. While on these trips, he managed to find time to stroll the avenues, eat at patisseries, and visit the museums--always with his sketchbook in tow. Compiling all of these sketches together, Brooks' stunning new book guides the reader through all Paris has to offer--from Laduree macaroons to a Givenchy couture fashion show to Degas' sculptures.
Sure, it's not the same as actually being in Paris--but if read with an espresso and a chocolate croissant, this book will get you a bit closer than watching Amelie on Netflix. -ALI HOFFMAN Click here to order the book!

Fact: Whenever in need of manicure inspiration, we turn to Madeline Poole's website. The LA-based nail artist extraordinaire consistently features the most colorful, juicy, and on trend polish productions in the entire mani-universe.
But if we're being totally honest, a trip to her site usually results endless scrolling and saving images to our desktop--and rarely does it actually motivate us to bust out a bottle of polish.
Well, that's about to change, thanks to the Poole's brand new book, Nails, Nails, Nails!, which features 25 of her latest and greatest nail projects. From the perfect half-moon, to a super easy camo-print, to red-carpet-ready lace tips, Poole breaks down each manicure into a simple step-by-step tutorial. And trust us, you don't need to be a skilled technician to get a great result (we certainly aren't!).
Grab a copy of the book here, and while you're waiting for it to arrive, you might as well kill the time exploring Poole's site. ALI HOFFMAN

In 1890, Georges Vuitton invented a highly advanced, unpickable lock, making the fashion house's high-end luggage all the more desirable. And then, to prove to the public the lock's incredible security, Vuitton posted an ad in the French newspaper, challening Harry Houdini himself to try and escape from a locked trunk.
In Louis Vuitton's new anthology, The Trunk, this fascinating morsel of French fashion house's history inspires just one of the tome's eleven short stories. Written by eleven of today's best contemporary French fiction writers, each of the stories center on the extradinary history and mysterious nature of brand's famous leather trunks. Though technically a work of fiction, the authors found inspiration in actual newspaper clippings, photographers, and insider stories.
Bound in beautiful leather, the book will look ridiculously cool on your bedside table. And though it definitely costs a good deal less than an actual Louis Vuitton trunk, it may only encouraged your wild desire to own the real thing. ALI HOFFMAN
Order a copy here!

This month's Shelf-Help giveaway is extra special: As usual, you're getting the entire, diverse lot of books featured on the page (turn to page 172 of the May issue to check them all out): Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea (magic!), You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt (Russians!), Red Moon by Benjamin Percy (lycans!), and A Guide to Being Born (all kinds of weird shit!).

But McSweeney's, the publishers of Tea's novel, also commissioned perfumer Kenneth Cory to create a scent inspired by the book and they sent us a sample of it that we're going to give to you as well. What does a story featuring a girl named Sophie Swankowski who dreams of mermaids smell like? Guess you'll have to enter the contest to find out.

Click here to enter to win it all--and we promise, you'll never complain about needing summer reading or summer fragrance this year.
MALLORY RICE

You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt

Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea

A Guide to Being Born

No matter what lit nerds and film snobs say, there is an inextricable link between books and movies. From the Harry Potter franchise to The Notebook to Brokeback Mountain, some of the biggest blockbusters have come not from the mind of some L.A. screenwriter, but from the pen of an author. Still don't believe me? Three words: The Great Gatsby.

With that said, I picked up Anna Stothard's The Pink Hotel as much for its bona fides (she became the youngest writer to be longlisted for the Orange Prize) as for its Hollywood nod: Anna Paquin optioned the film before it even came out in the US. (On the cover Paquin is quoted as saying, " This book moved me in ways I can't fully articulate...Extraordinary.") Could this be the next great book-to-movie?

Well first things first: As a book, it's a completely engrossing look at a not-quite-adult getting sucked into California's dark underbelly. The Pink Hotel, only just out stateside following its initial release in the UK, follows Lily, a British 17-year-old who sneaks off to L.A. to attend her estranged mother's funeral and try to piece together a bit of her history. What should be a short trip turns into, in effect, a new life, with Lily quickly stepping into--literally and figuratively--her mom's world of silk sheaths, heroin addicts, teetotalling paparazzi, and an angry ex husband. It's the sort of book that is easy to read and impossible to put down--and that's before you get to the twist ending, from which I'm still trying to lift my jaw off the ground.

So yes, perfect for summer reading--but also, I wouldn't be surprised to see this in theaters come summer 2014 (casting tip: this is the role Kristen Stewart was born to play). Not that that should be your only reason for reading, but it's nice to get a headstart so when it makes it to the big screen you can show off your copy that doesn't feature some star on the cover.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS
Pick up your copy of The Pink Hotel here.

Watercolor is kind of like the ice cream of the art world: Traditional food critics may see it as child's play, but modern foodies recognize its blue-ribbon potential.
Enter Watercolor: Paintings by Contemporary Artists , the latest edition to Chronicle Books range, which proves the art form transcends far beyond the likes of Play Doh and Crayons.
Featuring more than twenty of today's most talented and avant-garde artist, the work ranges from portraits and landscapes, to the abstract and experimental. From a stunning portrait of Celine's Phoebe Philo by Samantha Hahn to Jane Mount's Ideal Bookshelf series, we found it hard to spend less than 5 minutes on each page.
Buy the book here ($27.50), and maybe grab a scoop of lavender ice cream later. ALI HOFFMAN

"Ingenue Blue" by Julia Denos

" Ideal Bookshelf 353: English Lit" by Jane Mount

"Meadow Playing" by Anna Emelia Laitinen

"Haute Shoes" by Sujean Rim

Gertrude Stein first published the poem Tender Buttons in 1914, the same year World War I commenced and Charlie Chaplin introduced his most memorable character, The Little Tramp.
Now, almost a century later, Chronicle Books releases a brand new edition of the poem's first section, "Objects." Paired with stunning illustrations by artist Lisa Congdon, the text dances through talk of umbrellas, blue coats, copper, and ribbon, awakening the imagination with perfectly whimsical graphite drawings.
As a result, the words do not read the least bit old fashioned or dated--in fact, we wouldn't be surprised if a designer finds inspiration for a collection in the tome come fall.
ALI HOFFMAN
Order a copy here!

On the Shelf-Help page in the April issue (ladies and gentlemen, please turn to page 170), we featured a Q&A with Fiona Maazel about her new novel Woke Up Lonely, which NYLON's executive editor Ashley Baker says "expertly renders heartbreak and hilarity." (Plus, it's about cults, and who doesn't love a good cult?!) Former NYLON contributor Nathaniel Rich gave us an end-of-the-world reading list in the same vein of his latest book Odds Against Tomorrow. Jess Sauer reviewed Meg Wollitzer's The Interestings, a book about a girl named Jules dealing with a case of gluckschmerz (rough translation: that thing where jerks can't be happy for other people) and I reviewed Ben Greenman's new novel, The Slippage, which is basically about a suburban couple who are trying to get their shit together.

They're the best books hitting stores this month, and we're giving them all away for free to one lucky NYLON reader. The books included are Woke Up Lonely by Fiona Maazel, Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich, The Slippage by Ben Greenman, and The Interestings by Meg Wollitzer.

Want them all? Click here to enter for a chance to win!
MALLORY RICE

Who is James Franco? This may seem like a silly question, but you might find it more difficult to answer than you think. Is he the sweet guy from Freaks and Geeks? Is he the nervous actor fumbling on stage at the Academy Awards? Is he Spider-Man? Or, most recently--and our current obsession--the gold-toothed "Alien" from Spring Breakers. Sure, the ability to transform from one character to the next is kind of what the gig is all about--but when it comes to differentiating between Franco playing a character and Franco in real life, the line often seems a bit blurry (to say the least). His latest endeavor, a unofficial memoir titled A California Childhood hitting bookshelves today, doesn't exactly clear any of this up. In the introduction, Franco writes, "The text and images come from all periods of my artistic life, but the subject matter all derives from my younger years. I'd like to make claim that this is fiction, but what isn't nowadays?" But that's not to say it isn't completely entertaining--after all, it is James Franco. Filled to the brim with family photos of his childhood in Palo Alto, memorabilia from high school, surprisingly impressive paintings and doodles, original short stories and journal entries, the book is hard to put down--even after you've read it cover to cover. But what's true versus what's a recreated memory, or even a totally fictionalized account? Well, we leave it for you to decide if that even matters at all. ALI HOFFMAN Order a copy here!

James Franco

The Franco family, Palo Alto, California

"Old Painting" by James Franco

"Old Painting" by James Franco

Portrait by James Franco

These days, it seems like anyone with camera (or even the right iPhone app) can call themselves a fashion photographer--particularly, if shooting street style. But fashion illustrator? Now that remains a bit more sacred. Enter Tony Glenville's new text from Laurence King publishing, New Icons of Fashion Illustration, which features 28 of today's most talented fashion illustrators. Including everyone from Cedric Rivrain to Piet Paris, the book dedicates a chapter to each artist individually, giving the reader a comprehensive understanding of the illustrator's style and technique. Plus, you'll also find a really rad sketch of Alexa Chung about halfway through. So whether you're an art major, a fashion designer, or simply a clothes enthusiast, this book will likely become the MVP of your coffee table. ALI HOFFMAN Order your copy here!

Kate, 2010 by Zoe More O'Ferrall

Liberty, from the "Perfectly Flawed" series, 2010 by Stina Persson

Kate in Alexander McQueen , 2007 by Cedric Rivrain

Eyeshadows, Bloomingdales , 2010 by Sara Singh

untitled, 2009 by Kareen Iliya