We've come across such a great variety of books to feature every Sunday at Art MoCo over the year (52, in fact) that it seems a shame to not to pull them off the shelf or coffee table every once in a while. So we decided to pick our ten favorites, just in case anyone has any shopping left to do. We rounded up huge tomes of photography, delightful books for kids, a tidy little book about the love that goes into bento boxes, amazing illustrations and comic strips and even a great piece of tongue-in-cheek fiction. All of these make great gifts. It's up to you to decide whether the gift is for you or someone else. See all ten after the jump.

A Daab jewelry design book, this should be good (as of this writing it's not yet released). See the slideshow on the Daab website for sample pages. Jewelry Design features contemporary jewelry designers from all around the world, the "book is an extensive presentation of individual designs, whose development and realization has been significantly influenced by today’s digital technology.". Most interesting is the exploration of rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques combined with non-traditional materials such as glass, plastic, and rubber. Often referred to as wearable art, "jewelry easily outlives generations without suffering a loss in value – another distinctive characteristic. More than anything, jewelry is always a status symbol, allowing distancing and identifying people of different social backgrounds, the exclusivity being the skillfully combined material and shape. Contemporary jewelry designers accommodate these complex functions, creating distinctive and beautiful unique items – not only for the people of today, but also for tomorrow’s generation.". Hardcover, 384 pages, well illustrated with text in english, german, french, spanish and italian, pre-order $37.77 at Amazon. Via DesignSpotter.

+ Jewelry Design at Amazon

It's August and Summer here, looking forward to some time on the beach in Maine. Just in time FRAME sent us a copy of Beachlife, Architecture and Interior Design on the Seaside and as expected it heightened the anticipation with an impeccably curated tour of beach structures from around the world. It features a mix of built and rendered projects, public, commercial and residential. New York's Floating Pool is there for example as is the the Kastrup Sea Bath in the built/ public category, the Indigo Patagonia Hotel in Chile and Supperclub in Turkbuku, Turkey and some extraordinary homes beside and on the water. A light albeit inspiring Summer read. Hardcover, 280 pages, well illustrated, $48.30 at Amazon.

+ Beachlife at Amazon

For some, for me, the boundaries have blurred, working at home and living at work is very familiar (as I write this in the living room). The spaces in Live/Work are inspired, 30 in all presented with their owners "who share solutions for everything from design problems to meeting the conflicting emotional demands of work and leisure.". The book features an eclectic mix; house additions, renovated lofts and recycled spaces, offices and studios in backyards, above cafés, and in galleries. Most created with sustainability in mind and of course working at home saves gas. Softcover, 320 pages, well illustrated, $27.30 at Amazon.

+ Live/Work at Amazon

Modern Shoestring sets out to reverse a common misconception, that the "construction of a contemporary house will cost the owner a fortune". The book features 18 custom built residential projects (no prefab) built between 2002 and 2007 on a shoestring budget, some for as little as $51.00 per square foot. The homes are presented with "emphasis on the goals of the owners, the site, and the cost in the design process. Collections determine floor plans, observatories are built for starry rural nights, and found and industrial materials such as highway construction remnants, laboratory counters, plastic water bottles, and discarded chalkboards keep costs low while imbuing structures with character.". From all over the US, from Los Angeles to Anchorage to East Hampton. See more, Search Inside the book. Hardcover, 160 pages, well illustrated, $26.40 at Amazon.

+ Modern Shoestring

With the International Garden Festival about to open (on June 21st) MoCo Loco got a copy of their new book Hybrids: Reshaping the Contemporary Garden in Metis. Hybrids is the story of the festival and the 40-plus gardens that have been specially commissioned since 2000. Per the author Lesley Johnstone, "The contemporary garden is a hybrid that draws as much on art and architecture, urban and industrial design, popular culture, and new technologies as on the history and art of the garden.". All of which is amply illustrated in images and text in a book which details many of the gardens that have been created to date. Hybrids is the next best thing to being there, although being there truly is a best thing and worth the trip for the fresh air, the expanses, the seafood and both gardens - the contemporary IGF - and the traditional Reford Gardens. Paperback, 176 pages, well illustrated, $26.56 at Amazon.

+ Hybrids at Amazon