Do you ever find that you are not quite switched on to everything over the Summer months? There’s so much going on, we’re all out enjoying the sunshine (what sunshine?) and lots of people are away on annual leave….It means that new books can come and go, without you even noticing.

For this reason we thought it’d be a great idea to bring to your attention just some of the key titles that you might have missed over the last few months. We consider these our ‘recent backlist’ – so they are not sparkling new, but just a few months old.

Take a look for yourself, you might find something here that really takes your fancy!

Let’s talk about values is the next installment of Emotional Learning Cards from Iniva. These can be used in any educational or therapy setting, or indeed any situation where community values want to be explored. They aim to help young people discuss and consider why we should be inclusive in our society. Thirty inspirational lithographs by aritst Shiraz Bayjoo are reproduced here, one per card, with text prompts alongside. The other books in this series have proved hugely popular.

Next up is Tal R’s Flamingo Flametti which has this Danish artist creating collages, paintings and sculptures inspired by imaginary vaudeville director ‘Flametti’, who was first introduced to us in a novel by Hugo Ball in 1918. The book is published after an exhibition by Tal R at Kunst Nürnberg in 2016.

Burning Ice: Art and Climate Change might be another title that has slipped through your net this summer. This is a reprinting of Cape Farewell’s ground-breaking book, first published 10 years ago now. It documents the expeditions that teams of artists and scientists have made to the The High Arctic, in order to highlight issues surrounding climate change – thus provoking cultural response. Many influential artists have taken part.

Then there is Peter Downsbrough’s artist’s book, CORK CITY, featuring photographs of just that! It is said that Downsbrough’s work can be considered as ‘visual poetry’ – looking at lines, cuts and the spaces in between, and comparing this with the linearity of language. This book is published in a very limited edition of 300 copies – and is well worth further investigation.

Dieter Huber, on the other hand, likes to use contemporary means to highlight socially relevant issues of the day. In #SAFE he explores today’s highly relevant and troubling themes of public freedom and safety. This book shows 202 of his works on this very subject, using various media.

You may also have missed the special, limited, signed edition of Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston. Julien’s 1989 treatment of his directed film (of the same name) is considered a landmark of what is now called ‘The New Queer Cinema’. Here the film’s creation and direction is revisited, and Julien’s methods are documented and expanded on. The book also accompanied an exhibition at Victoria Miro gallery during May to July 2017.

There’s also one of Henry Moore Institute’s latest Essays on Sculpture (No 77), in this ‘recent backlist’ category. This time it is on art historian, writer and teacher of sculpture Ben Read, who died in 2016 (Benedict Read’s life in sculpture: His father never told him about things like this). An expert on Victorian Sculpture, Ben used to say just have a look around our cities and see the sculptures that abound. This series of books is very enlightening – they make good reads!

Or what about the title from British artist John Golding, or a catalogue from the Richard Hamilton/Siegfried Gideon exhibition in Zurich, or the long awaited book from Focal Point Gallery: Chthonic Index….?  These could have slipped your notice, yet they deserve to be looked over again! Want to explore the relationship between art, literature, music and chess? Then Laquearia might be for you. Read more here. Or there is also the book by Idris Kahn, which was published alongside The Whitworth’s exhibition that ended in March 2017. Did you miss that one?

Maybe you like surveys? Hayward Publishing’s long overdue survey of prints in the Arts Council Collection –  A Century of Prints in Britain – may also have passed you by. It includes 200 pieces of art from both well known and little known print artists. An essay that is included by expert Julia Beaumont-Jones also sheds light on this popular medium.

Last, but not by any means least is a ‘corker’ of a title, Dominic from Luton, featuring the eclectic work of artist Dominc Allan, as he explores urban England and especially his home town of Luton. A range of his ambitious artistic projects form the early 2000s are featured here. For example, in his 2006 Sunridge Avenue Projects, Allan set up a 6 month exhibition in his parents’ suburban house, attracting exhibitors such as the highly acclaimed Bedwyr Williams and Martin Creed.

We hope all the above will jog your memory, remind you of a title you may now want to delve into, set you off on a new book interest, or make you explore our list of titles even further. We definitely have books, books and more delicious books to grab your attention, peruse at your leisure, or just drool over. Why don’t you do your own word search on a favourite artist or art category, and see what we’ve got to offer?