Creating coffee table books that readers will love is a dream of many authors. Before you begin the planning, writing, and printing of coffee table books, understanding the popular topics for these visually stunning books, who typically buys them, and what type of content they should include will help you make your book instantly appealing to your target customers.
- 8 Interesting Topics for Coffee Table Books
- 1. Celebrity and Entertainment Books
- 2. Culinary Books
- 3. Culture and History Coffee Table Books
- 4. Design and Architectural Books
- 5. Lifestyle and Home Books
- 6. Performing Arts and Music Books
- 7. Photography and Art Books
- 8. Style and Fashion Books
- Creating Your Coffee Table Book
8 Interesting Topics for Coffee Table Books
Coffee table books are crafted to appeal to the senses. With beautiful photography at its core, coffee table books are often collected to inspire readers, promote conversations, and highlight the owner’s interests, aesthetics or values.
1. Celebrity and Entertainment Books
Society’s desire to be close to the entertainment world extends into the world of coffee table books. These coffee table books often take an in-depth look at a genre of entertainment, a behind-the-scenes look at a celebrity, or even a retrospective of a musical or movie era. Readers love to peek behind the curtain of Hollywood, see the nitty-gritty of a popular musician’s life, or learn about the real life of an iconic figure.
Who Loves Them
The buyers of this genre of coffee table books might be celebrity followers, those who follow pop culture, and anyone who is a fan of the entertainment industry.
Ways To Make Yours Appealing
The key to creating coffee table books about celebrities and entertainment is to focus on beautiful, unique photography that captures the inside story as well as fresh quotes and stories that capture the back stories that set your book apart from others on the topic. Using crisp, high-quality photography in a visually pleasing layout that highlights the perspective of your book’s topic will draw in readers and create an audience for future books you write.
2. Culinary Books
From the casual home cook to the professional foodie, readers of all levels of cooking interest and ability crave coffee table books about all things culinary. This category of books is perfect for a new author to choose from because culinary coffee table books can cover just about any area of food, eating, and culinary arts and find an interested audience. These books are typically thematic, like regional food guides or books about culinary culture, and while they may include recipes, they are more focused on the people, stories, and culture surrounding the food. Mouth-watering photography capturing the essence of the ingredients, finished dishes, and the people who make them set this genre apart from other book topics.
Who Loves Them
The audience for culinary coffee table books can be anyone who enjoys food, likes culture, or wants to learn more about cooking or the societal impacts of growing food on the family dinner table. Foodies and those who want to know more about food around the world or at the latest five-star restaurant also often seek culinary books since these frequently reflect the owner’s interests, travels, desires, or connections in the world.
Ways To Make Yours Appealing
Books that include fantastic recipes, a trek through the culture, and history of the food and gorgeous photography of the natural ingredients, the cooking process and the completed dishes will appeal to the target reader. Consider organizing the book by theme or geographic area to help bring the reader along on the gastronomic journey filled with photographs and tidbits of text to entice the reader.
3. Culture and History Coffee Table Books
Engaging stories about the past woven with historical facts and authentic pictures create a compelling coffee table tome for lovers of culture and history. These coffee table books typically focus on a period, major event, or cultural phenomenon and include all kinds of interesting and little-known details that draw in readers.
Who Loves Them
History buffs and cultural anthropologists love this genre of books, but anyone who is fascinated with a specific period in history is a potential reader for this coffee table book topic.
Ways To Make Yours Appealing
Organizing your book chronologically or thematically will engage readers. Including archival maps, artifacts, a mix of old and new photography and historical perspectives will help create an interesting experience for readers who want to learn the full picture of a historical event, time, or culture.
4. Design and Architectural Books
Books that showcase the built environment are a very popular coffee table book topic. With the surge of interest in home building and remodeling, design and architecture books are similarly popular. These books also allow readers to explore architecture from around the world as well as learn about unique architectural styles, making them an appealing book for a wide range of readers.
Who Loves Them
Architects, home builders, designers, and lovers of design elements, interior designers, and homeowners all enjoy this type of coffee table book.
Ways To Make Yours Appealing
Making the architectural design the star of the book with spectacular photography and informative content about the style, its evolution, and its cultural relevance is the best way to make this type of coffee table book desirable.
5. Lifestyle and Home Books
Books that include tips to improve your home or lifestyle or about interior design are coffee table book themes that are always in demand. These books might be informative, aiming to explore tricks anyone can use to elevate their space making design books accessible to everyone. Books that focus on interior design styles introduce readers to unusual, unique, or popular styles to emulate or just admire.
Who Loves Them
Anyone seeking inspiration for their space will love this type of book, but interior designers, homeowners, and design enthusiasts will also like this topic.
Ways to Make Yours Appealing
The key to this book theme is balancing inspirational photography and content with practical tips, DIY suggestions, instructions, and explanations that make the designs within reach of every reader.
6. Performing Arts and Music Books
Coffee table books that bring favorite artists, bands, and musical groups to life on its pages are fun to read and often reflect the interests and experiences of the book’s owner. This type of book can cover an entire genre or home in on a singular artist. Some books cover a defined period like the 50s or the 90s or even show readers content from a specific style like rock, country, or punk rock or classical.
Who Loves Them
Concertgoers and music lovers of all ages and experiences love this type of coffee table book. And music enthusiasts and anyone with a passion for the performing arts may love it, too.
Ways to Make Yours Appealing
Interesting anecdotes and photography from these exciting live events will make your book sing. Glimpses of the real artists, their behind-the-scenes life, and the historical context of your book’s content will all engage readers and leave them thrilled by your coffee table book.
7. Photography and Art Books
Often thought of as the original coffee table book, photography and art books can explore any subject through the lens of a camera or use photos to bring the beauty of physical art pieces into the reader’s home. Fine art books offer inspiration to readers while books featuring famous artists, art movements, or specific styles of art or periods are always popular.
Who Loves Them
Art aficionados and casual art lovers both equally enjoy this type of art book. Art collectors and those with an interest in art or culture often are excellent potential buyers for this type of book.
Ways to Make Yours Appealing
Thematic organization, a mix of well-known pieces and lesser-known works as well as plenty of white space will create an artistic coffee table book that art and photography lovers will want to buy.
8. Style and Fashion Books
Books that capture the history of accessories and clothing and the evolution of style and fashion are popular thematic coffee table books. Often mixing fashion photos with background content on style icons, famous designers and their celebrity clientele, these coffee table books are a visual and cultural feast for the eyes.
Who Loves Them
Style mavens collect this type of book, but casual fashion enthusiasts as well as anyone interested in fashion and style may want to collect this type of coffee table book.
Ways to Make Yours Appealing
Glossy, high-quality photographs are a must in this type of book, but including juicy details about the design houses, the models, and the rich and famous who wear the clothes and the history behind different trends all create a compelling coffee table book that fashion mavens will rush to read.
Creating Your Coffee Table Book
Selecting a topic that will attract readers and help you get your book into their hands is the important first step, so choose a topic that interests you and one that you can find compelling content for.
Choosing a topic for your book, collecting photographs, and researching content for your book all come next in creating a gorgeous coffee table book. Once your book looks great and is ready to send off to the printer, partner with Dazzle Printing so you can be sure that the book you design will look amazing when you are ready to present it to your readers.
