book

He may be the most quoted man in fashion, but that doesn't mean Karl Lagerfeld feels inclined to write a book any time soon. "No memoirs," the Kaiser stated at Tuesday's WWD CEO Summit at New York's Plaza Hotel. "I have nothing to say."

While that may be true, at least as far as the written word goes anyway, the legendary designer certainly had plenty to say on stage. From revealing the surprising locale of his next show (Dallas) to explaining how it feels to be marking his 30th anniversary at Chanel ("Some people say I'm a hired gun. Well, I'm very happy to be one."), Lagerfeld kept the bon mots coming and the assembled crowd — which included Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, and Sarah Jessica Parker — hanging on his every word. Below, a few gems:

On career longevity: "Fashion is for people to wear and that has not changed."

On inspiration: "When I like something, I don't ask myself why. I just like it."

On couture today: "There are so many new worlds, and so much new money. We have more couture clients now than we did 20 years ago. Many of the rich people of the past are poor compared to the rich people of today, I'm sorry."

On his childhood ambitions: "I didn't even know one could make a business out of fashion. Back then it was called clothes."

On designers who complain about the workload: "You accept a job, you know the conditions. Don't play the victim."

On what irritates him most: "People who create complications in order to appear more professional."

On Paris in the '80s: "The '80s were very difficult. I prefer to forget about them."

On career setbacks: "Sometimes you go two steps back but that's a healthy thing. No one has a one-line career."

On his look: "You may think it's very distinct but to me it is normal."

On the potential of a retrospective: "I would never make a retrospective. I look forward, ahead, ahead. I don't keep any kind of archive even."

On his three steps to success: "What? Steps? Oh, there's a whole staircase."

It's a personal finance book. No, it's a chick lit novel. Wait a minute, I think it's both! A lot of publishers and writers try to make the title of their books hip and fun, because a cute cover and title is more likely to draw your eye than a dry one, right? Personal finance can be hard to dress up, but take a look at some of the more creative titles for women:

• Shoo, Jimmy Choo!: The Modern Girl's Guide to Spending Less and Saving More
• Does This Make My Assets Look Fat?: A Woman's Guide to Finding Financial Empowerment and Success
• Hot (broke) Messes: How to Have Your Latte and Drink It Too
• A Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security
• The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life

What do you think — do these titles make the topic more appealing?

You can resolve to do many personal finance-related things, but if you're not sure what you're doing, it's going to be a tough resolution to follow. Have this one simple savvy goal for 2011, and that's learning more about managing your personal finances. One of the best ways to do that is read up on it. Here are some money book favorites for your consideration:

• I Will Teach You to be Rich — Ramit Sethi
• Your Money or Your Life — Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, and Monique Tilford
• Get a Financial Life — Beth Kobliner
• Your Money: The Missing Manual — J.D. Roth
• Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny — Suze Orman
• Generation Earn — Kimberly Palmer

Until this Friday at 9 a.m. EST, photographer Todd Selby's book, The Selby Is in Your Place ($23), will be available in its entirely online for your reading pleasure. If you haven't already bought the book, which was released in April, then after previewing it online, you'll certainly be convinced to pick up a copy for yourself — or for a friend for the holidays!

I was excited to finally get a glimpse of Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler's paisley ping pong table, which I'd read about in interviews but never seen. Meanwhile, the massive amount of books in Karl Lagerfeld's studio truly astounded me. And, I was intrigued to see the home of director and curator Aaron Rose, whose film Beautiful Losers is a favorite of mine. Selby's photographs are so candid, and the interiors he selects are all so eclectic and personal that even the homes of those I'm unfamiliar with are fascinating to look at. Check out a few of my favorite photographs from the book below, and be sure to preview the book online before Friday!

Here's an excerpt from OnSugar blog Rantings of a Single Girl.

The Help had been suggested by several people for me to read, but I just hadn't picked it up yet. So when y'all started suggesting it for the Book Club, I decided that would be my next pick. After reading the book in 2 days, I'm so happy that it was suggested.

I can't even begin to tell you how much this book hit home with me. At first I thought Stockett wouldn't have any idea about what she's writing about. I've found most authors who try to write about the South and racial struggles (who aren't from the South) can't do it. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, MS.  Even if I didn't know she was, I would have been able to tell from her writing.  The beauty of how she described Mississippi was so wonderful to read.

While I wasn't around in 1960s Mississippi, my father was.  I can still hear his stories about the desegregation of schools and so on. I can still hear the anger in his voice when he talks about those times . . . and unfortunately that anger is a racial anger. He was raised to believe that people of color were not equal to him. My grandparents taught him that black people were quite literally the help.

Read the rest here.

Want to see more? Start following Rantings of a Single Girl or start your own OnSugar blog. Maybe your stories will be posted here on TrèsSugar!

A good decorating book can't exist without beautiful photography for inspiration. Though a shutterbug is not the only ingredient in the secret sauce, to be honest, I often do judge shelter books primarily on imagery. But, there are exceptions.

Professional stager Jill Vegas's new book, Speed Decorating: A Pro Stager's Tips and Trade Secrets For a Fabulous Home in a Week or Less, is one of those, meant to be tutorial-based. Her step-by-step approach to decorating seems like it would be a relief for anyone who doesn't know where to start. The volume offers practical advice that's easy to apply to arranging every room in your home, and it attempts to demystify a process that for many is daunting.

But while I did find a few "trade secrets" here, such as product recommendations and tips on things like how to remove indentations on carpeting from furniture, I felt like much of Vegas's advice was just common sense — clean, organize, hire a professional. Some tips like "make a shopping list" seemed a little too obvious.

Read the rest of my review.

No academic course will teach you how to give a derelict house a gut renovation and turn it into a fantastically unique, high-style home. That skill comes with experience and serious design savvy, something which Robert and Cortney Novogratz accidentally learned they had.

After renovating their first home in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood 10 years ago, which then was a neglected, not-so-fashionable area, they realized they had a knack for building and decorating, together. Since then, they've renovated and designed numerous buildings in and around NYC, including an entire block in SoHo and a house in the country, and founded their own design powerhouse, Sixx Design. As a memoir of sorts chronicling seven of the couple's projects, the Novogratz clan — did I mention they have seven children? — published Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home, From Wreck to Ravishing. Hear my thoughts on the volume when you read more

I am on a never-ending quest to expand my home library, and fortunately my home is small enough that I'm not plagued with any bare bookcases giving guests the illusion that I'm illiterate. But, if I did live in a sprawling space with lots of storage, why not fill those built-ins with books? Enter Wonder Book, which sells books by the foot. Prices for "like new" hardback books begin at $6.99 per foot. Depending on what look you're trying to achieve, or what you're interested in, you can choose from modern cloth hardbacks, vintage club books, oversized coffee-table books, vintage kids books, sets, books by subject, books by color, and more. I love the look of the Vintage Club Books ($49.99). I would prefer a collection of books I've bought one by one myself, so that they're not only decorative functional, and so the collection tells a story. But you never know, maybe you'll find a gem around foot 2.