One of the reasons I always put on weight over Christmas is that I spend too much time in bookstores and not enough at the gym. I'm supposed to be looking for gifts, but actually I'm just browsing. I love bookstores that are a combination of library and art gallery: Taschen in Saint Germain and the nearby Assouline are perfect examples. The latter even provides sofas where you can leaf through their glossy wares in perfect peace. These publishers understand that books are luxury objects. I don't believe books will die in 2012 - they will become more beautiful.
Since it's fashionable to make predictions at this time of year, I'll make one concerning a different medium: television. I can't help thinking that while a book is a lovely object, my TV set is plastic lump. Not only is it ugly, but I can't access YouTube or Facebook on it. All that may be about to change. 2012 could be the year when TV and the internet finally become the same thing. It could also be the year when Apple unveils its first TV. Steve Jobs sadly left us last year, but let's see what Apple's chief designer, the newly knighted Sir Jonathan Ive, can do for us in the months ahead. Ive describes the secret of Apple as « fanatical care ». That could equally applied to Taschen's books. So here's a thought for 2012: put fanatical care into your work and you can't go too far wrong.
