Let's be real: Coffee table books are really just age-appropriate picture books, but that doesn’t make us love them any less. Filled with glamorous and enviable photos, they are the perfect conversation starter in a living room. Even when unopened, they still bring something to the table — quite literally. The outsides are typically just as beautiful as the inside, which is why they double as decor on your actual coffee table or bookshelf.
Don't know which one to pick up? A good rule of thumb is to choose a topic that you already love or something you want to learn more about, to have as a reference book on hand. From fashion to food to travel, here are seven of the best coffee table books to suit every interest.
For the Travel-Obsessed
Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World's Most Amazing Places
Jetsetters will love having this book on hand to plan their next vacation. Throw caution to the wind and book a flight to the first page you turn to — you probably won’t be disappointed. This book by National Geographic features 320 pages of some of the world’s most captivating sites. From natural wonders to man-made works of art, there is something for everyone in this book to lust over. You won’t only get a snapshot of the great places you can see but pretty much an entire itinerary of what your trip could look like. It is full of tips about when to go, where to eat, where to stay, and what to do.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $40, now on sale for $27.
For the Ultimate Host
A Visual Guide to Drink
Every great host knows that libations are an essential part to any at-home soiree. This coffee table book is here to help with that part of party planning. Not only is this book full of recipes, it uses maps, graphs, and charts to tell the history, geography, and culture behind various wines, beers, and spirits all with fun Pop Chart Lab illustrations. While you’re pouring one of the book’s recommendations, your guests can flip through to find drink facts that can easily be turned into trivia.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $30, now on sale for $19.
For the Chef
Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat
This coffee table book might just be the most practical and pretty. Not only is it chock-full of recipes for you to try for every possible occasion, but it’s filled with pics of the author, model and mogul Chrissy Teigen, and perhaps even more enticing — it's filled with gorgeous food pics. The book is essentially her Instagram feed come to life. You can finally whip up all the meals she shows off on social media for yourself and really test them out.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $30, now on sale for $21.
For the Fashionista
Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent
Coffee table book, but make it fashion. Following Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and now the head of CR Fashion Book, this is a complete history of the stylist’s work. The book features 250 magazine tear sheets and covers from editorial shoots and advertising campaigns that Roitfeld has worked on. While this gives a look back at her 30-plus-year career, it also serves as a timeline of style and evolving fashion.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $100, now on sale for $68.
For the Interior Designer
Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves
This book will not only help you style your home, but it doubles as your first item to style. While you’ll learn to put together large spaces from author and interior designer Emily Henderson, in this book you will also figure out what in the world to do with small areas too. Styling the perfect shelfie or coffee table is an entirely separate art. Both call for a good decorative book, so you’re already a step in the right direction.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $33, now on sale for $26.
For the Photographer
Photography: The Definitive Visual History
Whether you’re just getting into photography or you’re a pro yourself, this book by award-winning photographer Tom Ang is sure to delight. It’s much more than just a collection of his own notable work. It captures the people, the photographs, and the technologies over the past 200 years that have shaped the photography industry. From the first photo to Pulitzer-Prize-winning prints, this book is a look at how far the craft has come and what the future could hold.
Shop Now: Originally on sale for $50, now on sale for $27.
For Pop Culture Junkies
Cool: Style, Sound, and Subversion
Forget what you think you know about what’s popular. This coffee table book has a lesson to teach you. It takes what we have accepted in mainstream culture over the years to be “cool” and looks behind the curtain at the subcultures that actually influenced them. Looking at the fashion, the art, the films, the books, the music, and historical context of some of history’s biggest style movements, the book picks apart how it all came to be with illustrations by the author Greg Foley, and music playlists to really set the scene.
