Last week several people from our office had the pleasure of attending a party for Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s new book, New York from the Air. The event was held on the 49th floor of Seven World Trade Center, one of the new buildings that have been constructed since 9/11/2001.

Before going to the event my colleagues and I had assumed we were in for something special, but I don’t think any of us were prepared how amazing it would actually be, starting with the elevators. The building is equipped with Otis destination elevators which work, according to Wikipedia, “After pressing a destination floor number on a lobby keypad, passengers are grouped and directed to specific elevators that will stop at the selected floor (there are no buttons to press inside the elevators).” You might think I’m nuts for finding this so impressive, but if you’ve been to our offices you would understand. Our elevators are…slow.

As you may remember, I traveled with my family to Holland last spring, where I spied Home Made in a wonderful cookware store. Well, the book has shipped and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it to try out a recipe or two.

There were many wonderful choices but I polled my clan and went with a family favorite: the Dutch version of sticky buns.

I had never made cinnamon rolls before but these were wonderfully easy to do. Why do I always imagine dough making as a laborious chore? It certainly was anything but in this recipe.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, author Duncan Tonatiuh, author of our children’s books Diego Rivera and Dear Primo, talks about growing up in Mexico and how it has inspired him to create his beautiful books.

Assistant editor Wesley Royce talked to our Hungover Owls creator J. Patrick Brown about his inspiration and why owls seem to be hungover ALL the time!

Hungover Owls was a hilarious book to work on, definitely the bright spot for many cold days last winter. If you’re unfamiliar with the Tumblr blog upon which the blog is based, you should hightail it over there right now. But the book does more than just the photo/caption & repeat of the blog: If you’ve ever felt a little worse for the wear after a night out, then you’ll recognize the humor in J. Pat’s spot-on anthropological assessments and crazy stories Hungover Owls. In honor of the books upcoming release I asked the author, J. Patrick Brown, a few questions.

It’s my last week on the job as the editor of this blog and what a ride it has been. Thank you to all who have been reading and encouraging us through this growth process. But I digress. The post below is all fun, all office trends, courtesy of our resident Human Interest Blogger here on Floor 6 aka Merle Browne, executive assistant to our CEO Michael Jacobs. She makes some pretty valid observations. Read on and see if you agree…

Ten years after 9/11 and we still mourn. As New Yorkers, the high level of emotion was palpable this past Sunday: cordoned-off streets, heavily-guarded subways, a pervasive sense of quiet and reflection. But, as they always have said, New York is filled with some resilient folk. It’s a city of perpetual motion, constant change and a frenetic pace. And in the past 10 years, nothing has changed more than the New York City skyline itself. To commemorate the beauty and majesty of our city, we have compiled some images from our updated New York From The Air, featuring breath-taking photographs of some of the best landmarks from around the Big Apple, many entirely new since the last edition in 2003. Last week, I had the chance to talk to the book’s editor, Laura Dozier, and our colleague Eric Klopfer, who had the unique opportunity of taking a helicopter tour of the city’s skyline with the book’s photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. As we reflect on the sadness of that day, let’s also celebrate the profound resilience and strength of our city. Be sure to also check out the author at this weekend’s Brooklyn Book Festival as well.

While the end of summer may be approaching (and it is, believe me, since the weather forecast calls for a cool front starting the end of the week!), we still thought we could share the handiwork of our handy STC Craft editor Liana Allday. She has repurposed the ubiquitous T-shirt in a fun and unique way.

Two years ago, Amulet Books released the fourth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series—Dog Days—and our marketing department went all out promoting the book, even organizing a cross-country ice cream truck tour to get kids excited about the book. One day that summer, all Abrams employees walked into their offices to find a bright yellow Dog Days t-shirt on their desk. Just a little gift to get the whole company excited about the book. And truly, I thought it was a very sweet gift. But deep down, I felt a little bit guilty because, well…I don’t wear t-shirts. Pretty much ever…

Marketing Manager Ashley Rich takes a much needed vacation and had the chance to take a peek at the incredible Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier show now on view at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. The exhibition will debut in the U.S. at the Dallas Museum of Art in November.

Rebecca Kaplan, senior editor, takes a look back on her work on our brand new Vogue: The Covers book. And do be sure to check out our book launch party at Burberry on 57th Street for Fashion’s Night Out. Author Dodie Kazanjian and Hamish Bowles will be on hand for the signing.

Marketing and Publicity Assistant Maya Bradford introduces us to the must-reads, according to the core members of the Abrams ComicArts Graphic Novel club.

In the fall of 2009, Abrams started its very own graphic novel reading group. Two years later the group still has monthly meetings and has read and discussed almost 20 graphic novels. One of the very first books picked for the graphic novel club was Abrams ComicArts’ own Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow! Below are accounts from a few graphic novel club members about their favorite reads from club, including founding member and Abrams ComicArts designer, Neil Egan…