The editor of LAW magazine John Holt shows us around his book collection

Where some printed publications shy away from British culture as it exists beyond Union Jack flags and Yorkshire tea in floral china, LAW Magazine, which stands for Lives and Works is already knee-deep in the grit and the grime. Now in its fifth issue, the staple-bound bi-annual describes itself as a platform for “the beautiful everyday… A window into the world of the current undercurrent that nobody is catching and which is therefore of greater importance to document.” It’s a kind of Britishness so ubiquitous that you’d have to be wandering the streets with your head in a bag to miss it – one defined by full-suspension mountain bikes, Sunday League referees, Hackney estate maps and Vauxhall Novas.

Won over by the consistency of LAW’s crisp visual aesthetic and the unerring edge of the brand message, we spoke editor John Holt about the books that have inspired him. Here’s what he had to show us.

Stuart Griffiths: The Myth of the Airborne Warrior

My friends Edd and Anthony at The Entente designed this book. I saw it on the desk in their studio a few years ago and it knocked me out; orange and black, blacked out writing, DPM camouflage against orange bricks, censored but intimidating. It was the first time that I became aware of Stuart Griffiths’ work and I’ve been a fan ever since. This book documents the turbulent and highly volatile time that he spent as a Paratrooper in Northern Ireland during the late 80s and early 90s.

Nigel Shafran: Teenage Precinct Shoppers

This is probably my most favourite series of all time. Shot by Nigel Shafran assisted by the stylist Melanie Ward, it documents the shell suits, walkmans, high ponytails and gold earrings of teenagers around Ilford town centre in 1990.

Lucien Freud: Portraits

This is the only book I have ever felt compelled to buy after seeing an exhibition. Normally a postcard will suffice, but Lucien Freud’s show at The National Portrait Gallery in 2012 was probably the best exhibition I’ve ever seen. There’s no way that the pictures in this book can emulate the paintings that I saw on the wall that day, as the built up layers of paint protruded inches from the canvas at times, but they remind me of the magic that I saw.

The photograph of Hockney and Lucien in his studio is my desktop picture. It blows my mind to think that not so long ago I could have been walking down the street unaware that they were in a room above my head painting that.

Nina Manandhar: Money On My Oyster

I’ve admired Nina’s work since watching the early ISYS films that she made with Cieron Magat. When I moved to London two years ago one of the first things that I did was go to see their film Paved With Gold at the Tate Modern Tanks. It made me excited and proud to live here now, at this moment and I think that’s what their work does best.

This book shows Nina’s distinct ability as a photographer to capture the youthful energy of this city. London isn’t grey in these pictures, it’s bursting with smiles and smells and boys chasing girls. These images will last forever.

Spike Milligan: The Little Pot Boiler

This page reminds me not to take things too seriously, God Bless Spike Milligan.