10 Best Coffee Table Books, Ranked

Is your coffee table empty? Devoid of meaning? Does is have on it only boring things like coffee?

Do your guests silently judge you and find themselves longing for a thickly bound book about the snowscapes of eastern Europe in artistic black and white photographs or a glossy slim volume covering seventeen uses for a lemon? Alright, probably not that specifically, but you know what we mean. Here are the ten best coffee table books currently available to help you solve that problem.

10. The Photography of Game of Thrones, the Official Photo Book of Season 1 to Season 8

However you feel about the Game of Thrones TV series (divisive I know), you have to admit that the visuals are absolutely stunning. If you’re a die hard GoT fan, and not too put off by the final season, or just a lover of fantasy photography in general, The Photography of Game of Thrones, the Official Photo Book of Season 1 to Season 8 is going to be a good addition to your coffee table stack.

9. Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities

Anime has some of the prettiest background art, and if you’re like me and a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy cityscapes then Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities has got the goods you need. With art from iconic animes, including Akira and Neon Genesis Evangelion, Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities will take you through the development process behind some of the genres most influential imagery.

8. The Art of Overwatch

If you don’t play Overwatch yourself, you definitely know some who does and this book combines original art with insight into the behind the scenes process of creating one of the most popular games around. Along with high colour images there’s exclusive commentary from the development team so if you love Overwatch and learning about the creation process this one’s for you.

7. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

I love taking a serious, scientific approach to the weirder, more absurd concepts in sci-fi and as a long time fan of XKCD, Randall Munroe is exactly the person I want writing about them. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions promises a deeply entertaining deep dive on questions like “how long would we last in a robot apocalypse?” or “what would happen if the moon vanished one day?” With answers that are both scientifically literate (somehow) and intelligible to the average geek this is great for drunkenly reading out during the wind down stage of a party.

6. Anatomy in Black

For the spookier among us, or perhaps just the scientifically inclined, Emily Evans Anatomy in Black is a beautifully illustrated tome that would be right at home in a dark academia living room. The gold line art on black paper is both stunning and extremely accurate, which comes as no surprise as Evans is one of the top medical illustrators at work right now.

5. Barbie Takes the Catwalk: A Style Icon’s History in Fashion

Though the glory days of Barbenheimer may be gone they’ll never be forgotten, and what better way to memorialise Barbie’s longstanding impact on pop culture, before and after the Barbie movie, than with a book dedicated to decades of Barbie fashion? Barbie Takes the Catwalk: A Style Icon’s History in Fashion uses high quality photographs to explore Barbie’s push and pull relationship with fashion during her first forty years on the shelves.

4. Dinosaurs – The Grand Tour: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops

Don’t lie, everyone here had a dinosaur phase. Some of us are still in our dinosaur phase. Some of us will be in it for life. Dinosaurs – The Grand Tour: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops, jointly written with pioneering palaeontologist Jack Horner (the inspiration for Jurassic Park’s Dr Alan Grant), covers everything from the controversial feathers to dinosaur remains impact on mythology. Plus awesome technicolour pictures abound.

3. Star Trek – The Original Series: A Celebration

We all love Star Trek and for all its flaws The Original Series was really something, and Star Trek – The Original Series: A Celebration is exactly that. It’s got interviews with cast and crew members, previously unseen photographs and sketches, and a behind the scenes perspective on the beloved show.

2. Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe

Filled with beautiful photographs Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe takes you through the entire periodic table in order. Starting with the basic facts about each element, Theodore Grey and Nick Man go on to tell in depth stories about them, accompanied by artistic photographs that illustrate their multiple forms and uses.

1. Beautiful Lego

Getting to see some of the huge, intricate, and unhinged things Lego artists are able to do with the little plastic bricks is one of the small joys of life, and there are a number of coffee table books that showcase a selection of their work. Mike Doyle’s Beautiful Lego is a surprisingly affordable coffee table book featuring the work of 77 artists, accompanied by little bios that explain what drew them to Lego in the first place.