Coffee table books, in all of their illustrative, photographic and literary glory, display a wealth of insight about their owner through a choice curation. Resting on living room furniture, these objets d’art simultaneously rouse conversation while also symbolizing a person’s interests sui generis. Whether a personal investment or a gift for a dilettante, these magnificently presented publications evade dusty bookshelves or being crammed in bankers boxes buried within closets, they demand to be showcased. S/ has rounded up a list of the most compelling coffee table books detailing unique cultural subject matter—from fashion to art—that will enliven any living room.
Scroll through the gallery below for more.
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Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation 
Ed Ruscha: Eilshemius & Me 
Francois Halard: A Visual Diary 
Frank Gehry: Catalogue Raisonné of the Drawings Volume One, 1954–1978 
Nan Goldin: The Other Side 
Naomi 
Resident Dog 
The New Woman Behind the Camera 
Fluence: The Continuance of Yohji Yamamoto 
Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists 
Kara Walker: A Black Hole Is Everything a Star Longs to Be









