"Hypocrisy of Disco" by Clane Hayward
"Hypocrisy of Disco" is a memoir about growing up in communes around the San Francisco area in the 1970s. Its author Clane Hayward was born just before the "Summer of Love" and this first installment of her autobiography deals with her early life with her unconventional parents, as she and her siblings are moved around.
The author does not paint a rosy picture of the alternative lifestyle, but tells a story of abject poverty, hunger and the uncertainty for a child growing up in this environment. Not the most positive portrayal of the counter-culture, it is nontheless well-written and interesting to see another perspective on this period.
It is available in hardback from Amazon for under £10.
Italian Bruno Munari was an acclaimed artist, designer, educator and philosopher. He also did research in the subjects of game, infancy and creativity, and undoubtedly this fed into his wonderful children’s books. 
London's Imperial War Museum is the location for a major Ian Fleming and James Bond exhibition - For Your Eyes Only.
Want to look intellectual and well-read? You could drink your coffee from one of these Classic Penguin Book mugs.
Not for our younger readers, I’m afraid, but for anyone over 18 looking for some light reading material from the past, Judith Michael & Daughter have for a sale a varied collection of Vintage Playboy Magazines. 
Knitting isn't just confined to your gran - it's actually become quite a hip activity amongst people of all ages. And in its wake comes a selection of books helping you along you way, including Retro Knits: Cool Vintage Patterns For Men Women and Children From the 1900s Through The 1970s.
Ever wondered where The Chap gets its inspiration from? I'm guessing from genuine period publications - like our latest 
There's something very stylish about the covers of vintage pulp fiction, but the contents rarely live up to the promise. That's something you can change with the Sassier Than Fiction journals.
And while on the subject of the Routemaster bus, if you loved the bus, but perhaps not quite enough to want to recreate it in your own home, you may be interested instead in this book, “The Bus We Love: London's Affair with the Routemaster” by Travis Elborough. 
This New York Notebook from Colloco will make a stylish addition to your desk. Its cover is decorated with vintage pictures of the City and an old fashioned map on the back. 
Looking for some morbid bedside reading? Look no further than London's Dead by Ed Glinert, described as 'a guided tour of the capital’s dead'.
The subtitle of this musical biography sums up its story neatly. “Eye Mind – The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, The Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound” by Paul Drummond offers insight into the history of this important band. 
We enjoy reading any books about retro design and Vintage Furniture by Fay Sweet is certainly one that appeals to us, covering both collecting and living with modern design classics - which is what we love to do.
Anyone with an interest in post-war British furniture will want to check out The G-Plan Revolution: 1952 - 1970 by Basil Hyman and Steven Braggs, which is available to buy in hardback.
If you're working on a retro or vintage website, design, book or project, you are probably looking around for a cool vintage font. Well, to save you the leg work, you could pick up New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age.
Fancy making your own mid-century classics? John G. Shea can show you how with the Anatomy of Contemporary Furniture.
It's stating the obvious somewhat to say that Steve McQueen had an interest in cars and bikes - it was probably more of an obsession. And now you can share that obsession with McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Legend.
Playboy was launched in December 1953, offering 'entertainment for men' for just 10 cents. Picking up an original of that issue would cost you well in excess of £1,000 - if you could find one. But fear not, an official reprint of the first issue is now available, but only in limited quantities.
Whether it was true or not, the idea prevails that things operated more efficiently in the past. Especially when it came to running a household, it appears that our ancestors at the beginning of the last century knew best. “ Labour Saving Hints and Ideas for the Home” gives you the benefit of that wisdom, handily collected in one book. 
Just because you're grown up doesn't mean you can't still do child-like things such as colouring in. And when there are cool books like Creative Interiors on the market, it should be positively encouraged,
As kids throughout the world wait expectantly for a Nintendo Wii, it seems a good time to look back at the toys we wanted as kids with TV Cream's Toys: Presents You Pestered Your Parents For.
A nice piece of vintage design with a story - these vintage Penguin novel pencils.
Yesterday, we kicked off our Essential Reading series with 
Modern reference guides are fine, but books contemporary to an era are usually so much more informative. And a number of these books are sought-after by both dealers and collectors of mid-century design. One such book is Modern Design In Wood by Richard Stewart.
Pining for the return of Life On Mars? Well, sadly, it's not coming back. But that's not stopping the cash-ins, including the recently-released The Rules of Modern Policing - 1973 Edition by DCI Gene Hunt.
We have 
Every year, more books hit the shelves about mods, some good, some bad and one or two very ugly. If you fancy buying one of the better ones, but don't know where to start, help is at hand.
While children plead for and parents stress over whatever this year’s ‘must have’ toy is, remind yourself of the toys that caused a stir back in the 1980s. "Just Can't Get Enough: Toys, Games, and Other Stuff from the '80s That Rocked" is full of memories of the fads and crazes from that decade. 
Never has a product name been so accurate - this is the Book Shelf - made from an old book.
Knitting is back and it's cool - especially when you are making Knitted Icons.
Like all cities, London is a mix of architecture from all eras, dating back over hundreds of years. London: Atlas Of Architecture by Alejandro Bahamón aims to be your guide through it.