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.

Role in popular culture

In a well-known story arc of the American sitcom Seinfeld, Kramer conceives an idea for a "coffee table book about coffee tables", featuring such subjects as "the history of coffee tables" and "celebrities and their coffee tables".

When Elaine Benes's employer, Pendant Publishing, has agreed to print the book, Kramer takes it on a promotional tour. During an ill-fated appearance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, he demonstrates his book's built-in cupholder and collapsable legs, which allow it to unfold and "become" a coffee table.