The world will never get enough of David Hicks, the late British interior designer who transformed English decorating in the 50s and 60s. Characteristically mixing bright colors, bold geometric patterns, and antiques with modern furniture, he designed carpets for Windsor Castle and wallpapers for the White House. But Hicks was known for more than just his exquisite sense of taste. Born and raised in an upper-middle-class family in Essex, he married Lady Pamela Mountbatten, the daughter of the last British viceroy in India and a bridesmaid of Queen Elizabeth II’s. Traveling the world, Pamela and David spent their days among international royalty and Hollywood stars. The couple’s son, Ashley, documents his father’s Technicolor life with more than 700 illustrations as well as personal archives, photographs, journals, and scrapbooks in David Hicks: A Life of Design, which, thanks to Rizzoli, is back in print for the first time in years. ($65, rizzolibookstore.com) —Jeanne Malle

It’s a fortunate coincidence that Levant is making its long-awaited arrival at the exact moment many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are yearning for a seasonal escape. Inspired by the decorative designs once seen along the Silk Road, founders Süreya Köprülü and Naz Muessel spent 18 months crisscrossing the Middle East in search of master craftsmen to perfect their debut collection of artisanal tabletop accents—and the result is nothing less than a visual feast. Think: terra-cotta serving bowls brushed with Kufic strokes, handblown glassware shaped like ancient Egyptian vessels, and Tarq linens reimagined with silver-hammered Bedouin motifs. Which is all to say that, this year, we can satisfy our wanderlust without ever leaving home. (from $80, thelevantshop.com) —Zoe Ruffner

There’s something reassuring about companies that make only one thing. If they’ve lasted for any length of time, chances are they’re pretty good at what they do. When it comes to everyday gloves that you can beat up a bit—no, we’re not talking about a $450 peccary pair to keep you from chipping your manicure—there may be no better maker than Geier Glove Company, in Centralia, Washington. We were tempted by a kangaroo pair (hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it) and bison gauntlets that look like they were snatched from a Danny Lyon photograph, but a pair in elk skin seemed better suited to our purposes, which are admittedly tame. The only catch is that Geiers are made to order and have a 55-day lead time, and you have to order through a third-party retailer such as Texas Good Gloves. But if you look at them as gloves that may well last you a lifetime, what’s a two-month wait? (from $68, texasgoodgloves.com) —Nathan King

Before Nobel Prize–winning author Gabriel García Márquez died, in 2014, he made clear to his two sons that his manuscript for Until August should never see the light of day. The sons—now Márquez’s literary executors—rejected his wishes. “In an act of betrayal,” they write in their introduction to the newly released novel, “we decided to put his readers’ pleasure ahead of all other considerations. If they are delighted, it’s possible Gabo might forgive us. In that we trust.” Until August follows a married middle-aged woman named Ana Magdalena Bach, who, each August, travels to the Caribbean for 24 hours to visit her mother’s grave and indulge in a one-night stand. Her infidelities throw a conventional domestic existence into turmoil, and sex becomes intertwined with notions of grief, loss, and aging. Until August may lack the magical realism of Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude. And yet, in its brief 144 pages, Until August displays Márquez’s lucid style and prodigious command of language. The plot weakens toward the story’s end, but the novella remains worth reading, at least as a final vignette from one of the last century’s greatest writers. ($22, amazon.com) —Jack Sullivan

Merz b. Schwanen has officially opened the doors of its New York City flagship store, on Canal Street—their first outpost outside of Germany. The once obscure heritage brand started in 1911 as Balthasar Merz’s textile factory on the Swabian Alb. Then, nearly a century later, and years after shutting down production, Berlin-based husband-and-wife fashion designers Gitta and Peter Plotnicki found an authentic Merz worker’s Henley shirt at a local flea market. “We were instantly fascinated by the unique fabric, with its authentic texture and special haptics. And on top of it all—there were no side seams,” the couple recalls. In 2011, the Plotnickis re-established the label with exceptional fidelity, using the original—now incredibly rare—“loopwheeler” machines to produce many of the superlative, side-seam-less garments. Thirteen years later, it’s truly cause for celebration that Merz b. Schwanen’s range is available Stateside, and in a beautiful space furnished in collaboration with Berlin vintage specialists Danish Apriori, no less. Fans of FX’s The Bear will be interested to know that Jeremy Allen White’s character’s favored white tee is a 215 loopwheel shirt from Merz. (merzbschwanen.com) —Spike Carter

In July 2011, the British paper News International published a full-page apology to its readers—signed by Rupert Murdoch, the owner—for illegally hacking into thousands of celebrities’, politicians’, and civilians’ phones for stories. Murdoch then promptly shuttered the paper. The long process of proving the outlet’s wrongdoing, which included bribing police, is the subject of Corruption, a new play at Lincoln Center Theater. Written by J. T. Rogers, the show focuses on Tom Watson, the Labour Party M.P. who spearheaded the investigation into the hacking scandal. Don’t let the nearly three-hour run time deter you: the audience gasped and laughed throughout the show. Rather wisely, Rogers doesn’t include Murdoch in the play, though he does loom over every scene, like a god or a ghost. (from $188, lct.org) —Jensen Davis