We love books. If you know us, you know this. Today we’re sharing some last minute, but golden, Christmas gift ideas: Great Coffee Table Books. I cherish a big and beautiful book, but it is one of those items that is harder for me to justify purchasing for myself. That means it’s a beloved gift when received!

A few things to ask yourself before you gift a great coffee table book:

1. Does your recipient live in a tiny home? If so, do not get them a book. Do not get them any items, instead take them to a nice dinner or buy an experience for them.
2. What topic or subject area does your recipient like? Start by thinking broadly by interest for instance, travel, nature, hobbies (surfing or mountainbiking?), design (interior, architectural, or graphic?) subjects (history or geology?), or artform (weaving or oil painting?) and then you can go deeper within that frame.
3. What medium do they enjoy? Photography? Illustration or painting? Maybe they’re a big reader and would like something with a robust written narritive?
4. To narrow down your choices even further, think about your answers to question 3 & 4 and travel a little further down those lanes. When thinking about someone who likes travel, do they love a particular destination? For instance, if I know someone is a Paris fanatic, I would ask myself if they also have a love for architecture, food, fashion, or maybe modern art? I would also think about their current artwork, interests and where they find inspiration to try to nail down if I’m seeking out a photography based book or something else. If I know they like street photography, Paris, and using pops of color in thier home, this book, Paris in Color, may be the perfect gift for them!

Where to buy great coffee table books:

1. Your local independently owned bookstore
2. Your local used bookstore – see why we love this option
3. An online bookseller – Here are our favorite options:
   • Bookshop.org is cool because its mission is to support local bookshops. You can select a specific bookshop to support or simply buy a book with the money going toward a pool that will be evenly distributed among independent booksellers.
   • Thriftbooks – we love Thriftbooks because of their huge selection of second-hand books at amazing discounts. They also donate books to prisons, schools, and literacy programs – we can get behind their mission of reducing landfill waste and supporting literacy!
4. Amazon – we are linking to Amazon today because we want to ensure these links continue to work (the links from the above two shops shift and change as books become available and dependent on which shop you’d like to support), but please feel free to purchase these books wherever you please!

A few of my favorite coffee table books:

You’ll see most of these books are centered around storytelling and great photographs. I’m a photographer – this should come as no surprise. If you are steeped in another medium, maybe you have a whole host of books to suggest? We would love to hear about them in the comments.

Afghanistan – Steve McCurry has curated over 140 gripping images taken in Afghanistan over the course of almost four decades. The images are striking, beautiful, and intimate. You may know Steve’s work from his most famous portrait, the Afghan Girl.

Oxford Project – Equal parts art, American histroy, cultural anthropology, and human narrative – The Oxford Project is both personal and universal, surprising and predictable, simple and profound. Travel with photographer Peter Feldstein as he visits the same town several decades apart and photographs all its inhabitants.

Snow and Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range – This book is a must-have for any Washington-state winter lovers in your life. The photographer, John Scurlock, spent nine years capturing every corner of Washington State’s North Cascade Range in winter.

Surf Tribe – Portraits of international surfing icons. If you enjoy portraits and studying photography and you like surfing or just want a cool blue book in your home – this is the one!

The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes – The book is meant to be like a bible of boho interiors. I love the images and storytelling throughout as you meet homeowners.

High Tide: A Surf Odyssey – The ultimate photography book on surfing by one of the most famous outdoor photographers in the world. This book is the perfect mix of nature, exploration, surfing, and personal narrative.

And the list goes on! There are SO many more books on my shelves that I absolutely love, but I encourage you to go get your hands dirty heavy with a big coffee table book. Visit your local new or used bookstore and find the perfect fit for your recipient.