New cinema books on ‘French New Wave’ and ‘Hollywood Chinese’ to brighten your shelves

If December is the month for giving to others, January is when you reward yourself, and what better way to do so than with beautifully illustrated books about film.

Coming from the exemplary folks at Reel Art Press is the gorgeous “French New Wave: A Revolution In Design,” edited by Tony Nourmand and designed by Graham Marsh. The book illustrates the way groundbreaking cinematic style inspired an equally dazzling explosion of poster art around the world, presenting examples from over 20 countries and biographies of more than 100 poster-makers to prove its point.

Published by Los Angeles’ spirited Angel City Press is “Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films,” written by director Arthur Dong. As good as its title, the book covers everything from 1917’s “The War of the Tongs” to 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” includes numerous interviews and a dazzling collection of images including posters, stills and ephemera of all sorts.