Coffee Table Books

I love coffee table books, despite the fact that I currently lack said coffee table. When I move to New York, I plan to get one ASAP, in order to properly display my growing collection of coffee table books. Which, realistically, could probably just form a table themselves, but that's not the point. I don't know what it is about this kind of book that I love to collect, but the last few years have been spent carefully picking out things I feel represent me as a person, and cover most of my interests. Maybe that makes me really strange, and this post is probably completely useless to most of you, but I thought I'd take a few moments to suggest some light reading. Here are a few of the books I'm excited to display!

THE SELBY IS IN YOUR PLACE

The Selby is one of my favorite websites. I stalk it on a regular basis, and you should too. If I hadn't gone into creative writing, I'd probably have gone into design (either interior or personal style). I lived for the old days of Trading Spaces on TLC, and when I'm confronted with a new television, HGTV is one of the first channels I search for. I urge you to check out the website -- it's full of awesome interiors and design ideas. A lot of these people live in New York and have tiny apartments, so I'm definitely taking note on how they utilize their space. Plus, the pictures and interviews are great.

CAUSING A SCENE

One of the things I'm most excited about when moving to New York is the ability to finally get involved with Improv Everywhere. I think what they do is genius, and I've been dreaming of the day when I could witness - or, even better, participate - in a mission. If you haven't heard of them before, check out their website. This book is a summary of some of their greatest hits, and I laugh every time I look at it.

THE ART OF THE PRE-RAPHAELITES

Did you know I used to be a double-major? Creative writing and art history. Turns out it'd take more than five years to graduate if I wanted both, so I dropped art history. Still, I took a lot of classes on it, and my favorite was taught by Nancy Marshall on the Pre-Raphaelites. This book was actually our textbook, but I couldn't bring myself to sell it back once the class was over. I love all the images, and it's actually a good read if you like the period.

HOW TO FIND FLOWER FAIRIES

Okay, okay, hear me out. I saw this in our university bookstore my sophomore year and couldn't resist buying it. It's the most gorgeous pop-up book I've ever seen. It somehow managed to survive the Mold Incident of 2010, and is sitting on my shelf, waiting to be boxed up and moved across the country. I don't care that it's a children's book -- I still love it.

CHANEL: COLLECTIONS AND CREATIONS

I love fashion, and Chanel is by far my favorite designer. Naturally, I had to have a book on her work.

SURVEY OF HISTORIC COSTUME

Yet another textbook I couldn't get rid of. The cover is gorgeous, and I love all of the images inside. It covers clothing from the ancient world to present, and is chock full of useful information. I've definitely consulted this when writing.

AUDREY 100

My collection wouldn't be complete without a little Audrey Hepburn. She's my favorite actress, style icon, and overall hero. I'm working my way through all of her movies, but Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my top three films of all time. I also own 5TH AVENUE, 5 A.M., another coffee table book dedicated to the making of the film. AUDREY 100 is a collection of her best photos, and I stare at them endlessly.

What books do you have on your coffee table?