Bookshelf: Antique Fairs of England, Swedish Antiques, Art of the Muscle Car

Nothing's more fun than hunting for antiques, but reading about them comes in a close second. These recently released or forthcoming books will entertain, inform, and inspire you in your antique hunting adventures.

Swedish Antiques: Traditional Furniture and Objets d'Art in Modern Settings

This title by Karin Laserow, Britt Berg, and Niklas Lundstrom addresses an issue many of my clients tackle: How to blend fine antiques into their contemporary or modern decor.

Released earlier this year, this book provides "a comprehensive guide to blending beautiful antiques into a modern home." While the book focuses on Swedish antique furniture, the principles used by the designers here will work with any type of antiques you'd like to incorporate into your modern home.

Beyond antique furniture, the book helpfully talks about how to display antique decorative objects, such as candlesticks and chandeliers, in your decor as well. Blending all these elements seamlessly can give you the contemporary look you like with the fine antiques you love.

The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England

Many of our clients tell us they'd love to do what we do. If they knew the truth about our buying trips -- the long plane flights, sleepless nights, and exhaustion -- they might not be so eager!

But if you're planning a trip to England this year anyway, why not indulge your passion for collecting at the same time? The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England by Sandy Price, forthcoming in June, 2013, offers you a comprehensive guide to 41 specific English antiques fairs and flea markets. You definitely can plan an entire vacation around shopping for antiques. Written like a travel guide, this book includes lists of things to see and do near each of the markets profiled.

The Art of the Muscle Car: Collector's Edition

Not a collectors' guide, The Art of the Muscle Car: Collector's Edition by David Newhardt, Peter Harholdt, and Brock Yates celebrates the American muscle cars serious collectors crave. Forthcoming in May, 2013, this edition updates the original with stunning cover art and superb photographs on the pages between.

This book will look fantastic sitting on the coffee table in the man cave. Even if you aren't among the elite who can afford to collect cars, you'll take a fun trip down memory lane with this book that pictures all the cars you lusted after in your youth, from the Super Bee to the Cobra Jet to the 442. You know what I'm talking about.

Do you have any favorite books about antiques or collecting? Drop a note in the comments to let us know which books you can't live without!