Here are our top five art and design books from 2013, as selected by our art & design specialist Margaret Snowdon. (Displayed in no particular order).

Art Cities of the Future by Geeta Kapur, Reid Shier & Kaelen Wilson-Goldie

Twelve specially commissioned curators investigate the art being made in Beirut, Delhi, Lagos, Seoul, Bogota, Istanbul, San Juan, Singapore, Cluj, Johannesburg, São Paulo and Vancouver. Their focus is the experimental and avant-garde, and to shine a light on new perspectives reflecting often-challenging situations – illuminating possible futures for global art practices.

New Suburban: Reinventing the Family Home in Australia and New Zealand by Stuart Harrison

A walk through most recent suburban housing developments will confirm the trend towards bigger houses on smaller blocks. These houses consume excessive amounts of energy and encourage interior, sedentary lifestyles. The timely optimism and vision of the projects in this excellent book retain the suburban ideals of outdoor space, informality, occupation and activity.

Rock the Shack by S. Ehmann & S. Borges

So we have a lovely home in the suburbs or perhaps a cosy apartment, but with so much going on we long for a weekend escape into nature. This architectural collection of cabins, cocoons and hide-outs has got so many wonderful boltholes it’s hard not to pack a bag and head for the bush, woods, beach, mountains, lakes, grasslands or wherever that magical shack may be. That is, when we win the lottery…

Nature Morte by Michael Petry

This book explores how twenty-first century artists are reinvigorating and redefining the still life. Structured according to the classic categories of still-life tradition – flora, food, house and home, fauna, and death – each chapter explores how the timeless symbolic resonance of the memento mori has been rediscovered for a new millennium.

The Anatomy of Fashion by Colin McDowell

There were lots of great fashion books this year: Art/Fashion in the 21st Century, Jean Patou and Paris Haute Couture, to name a few, so it is hard to choose. However, this classy exploration of how and why we dress the way we do is exceptional. Beautifully put together, it covers the history of fashions by looking at the clothing demands of various body parts – creating much more than the sum of its parts.