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"500 Chairs: Celebrating Traditional & Innovative Designs" (Lark Books, $24.95): Top furniture makers' works are lovingly shown in this collection of distinctive, well-designed contemporary chairs. Work by Sam Maloof, Judy Kensley McKie and Gary Knox Bennett get photo closeups. These are not ordinary chairs, of course; they bend and twist and are made of such material as bronze or walnut or tubular steel. Jon Brooks offers one called "Dodge Hill," which looks like a cross between a chair and a ladder, with antlers or tree branches completing the look. Nava Silverberg has created "Me, Myself and I," with faces carved into the sides of the seat. Susan Broidy's "Body Chair" is just that -- resting on a wooden human nude frame. Each has a distinctive look and show us furniture as artwork. Some are functional; others are just for fun. A few are not even recognizable as chairs even as they decorate the room. This book is part of Lark's 500 series featuring 500-item collections of contemporary design.

- PAM ROBINSON