What would Betty Draper do?

The last series of the BBC's fabulous and unmissable US import, Mad Men, concluded with the fragrant but forlorn Betty Draper eschewing the treacherous charm of her alpha male hubby Don for an older, more reliable model.

Good luck to her, I say, and now, for some reason, as if imagining her furnishing her brand new home with Sally and Bobby parked, as ever, in front of the TV like all good 1960s children, I find myself seeing books and thinking 'Betty would love this' (even though, I'm afraid I cannot recall ever seeing her read in the series, but let's call this artistic license).

The latest volumes to tick Betty's boxes to my mind are two gorgeous retro-photo Taschen editions: Los Angeles, a sumptously saturated-colour paean to the city of angels and, new in today, the glorious 20th Century Travel, a collection of advertising images (v Draper) boasting a couple of 50s/60s perfect people that could even be the Drapers in their pomp.

Being Taschen, both books are beautifully produced, designed and packaged--which belies their very reasonable prices.

Both make superb gifts and a beautiful addition to any coffee table...and don't take that as a put-down, 'cos if it's good enough for the Drapers, it's good enough for the rest of us. This is style-we-like!

Pocket Money Puffins

No, before you ask: Pocket Money Puffins are not a fast-food treat for cash-strapped Icelanders...silly...they're actually a rather scrummy little range of pocket sized books for the cash-strapped teenager/parent in your life.

Featuring cred teen authors such as Charlie Higson, Sarah Dessen and Meg Rosoff, you can earn yourself brownie points with your surly young god/godess by picking up a couple...at £3.99 apiece it's easy to be generous. Great for holidays, long car journeys or even under the duvet at night (do kids still actually do that??)..you'll find them in our teens section--grab them while they're still hot!