THE OTHER HALF

Volumes on the good life and its toys, tastes and trinkets

HOT TICKET
Though summer has come to an end, the holidays are just around the corner. Translation? Time to start planning your next getaway. Before booking that flight, why not check out Taschen's latest travel tome? Great Escapes Around the World ($50) indulges any savvy traveler with sophisticated suggestions ranging from Star Wars-style house-boats made of bamboo poles, palm leaves and coconut fibers in Kerala, India, to a luxury lodge and spa on a coffee plantation in Java, the coffee capital of the world. With nearly a thousand pages to peruse, you're sure to find your next passport stamp here.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
Although your buddies might be tooling around in the latest Bentley, you've always known that no new model can hold a candle to a classic. Limited-edition autos, such as one-off's built for elected officials or those produced for the Kings of Wall Street and today's hottest celebrities, are even more revered. Luxury Toys: Classic Cars (teNeues, $50) includes a forward by former racing legend and founder of Prinz-Poldi-Racing-Team, HRH Prince Leopold von Bayren, which will clue you in on the fine features of classics, and what to look - and pay - for, should you be considering making a chrome-and-steel-type investment

THE POWER OF THE LBD
If you don't know what the LBD acronym stands for, you have a long way to go, and the first step on your journey towards fashion plate should begin with Nina Garcia's The Little Black Book of Style (Collins $17.95). Garcia, Elle Magazine's formidable fashion director and judge on Bravo's reality hit Project Runway, offers a hilarious how-to guide for anyone who has ever committed a fashion faux-pas. Instead of presenting a strict set of rules, Garcia encourages her readers to cultivate their own sense of style. Tips on how and when to wear an outfit, a list of wardrobe staples and quotes by such notable designers as Chanel, Lagerfeld and Armani make this a must-read. Oh, and if you still haven't figured it out, LBD stands for Little Black Dress, a season-after-season must in every woman's closet.

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