Coffee table book

A coffee table book is a style of hardcover book designed to rest on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus provoking conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for portability.

Subject matter is generally confined to non-fiction, and is usually visually-oriented. Pages consist mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text. History, art, entertainment, and biography are popular genres. There is even a coffee table book about coffee tables called [1]The Coffee Table, Coffee Table Book by Alexander Payne.

Role in popular culture

• Season 5 of the American sitcom Seinfeld featured a story arc involving Kramer wanting to write a coffee table book about coffee tables. Hilarity ensues.