Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "the book you should read now" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Today, we will introduce books selected by Shelf (3-7-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), a Harajuku bookshop that specializes in foreign books.

■ "THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE"

　　　　　　　　Paul Graham

A collection of works by British photographer Paul Graham. This book includes three works published between 1998 and 2011: "American Night," "a shimmer of possibility," and "The Present."

Each of these three photobooks is a meditation on the social fabric of modern America, while also exploring the world as it exists today. "American Night" (published in 2003) explores social inequality in America through conflicts between light and darkness, presence and absence. The collection includes images of nearly nothing taken in dazzling light, contrasted by vibrant shots of residential neighborhoods under California's blue skies.

"A Shimmer of Possibility" (2007) is an epic poem celebrating the beauty of small things and coincidences. Twelve photographs become cinematic haiku poems depicting everyday American life. The book captures ordinary moments of people waiting for the bus, mowing the lawn, smoking cigarettes.

"The Whiteness of the Whale" won the 2011 Paris Photo Book Prize, and was named "the most important photo book of the past 15 years."

【Book Information】
"THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE"
Author: Paul Graham
Publisher: MACK
Language: English
Hardcover / 240 pages / 300x240mm
Published: 2015
Price: 11,000 yen