Coffee Table Conversation Starters

When welcoming guests into your home, the living room is often a space for gathering on cozy couches and chairs centered around a coffee table.

Amid conversation, a guest might lean forward to put their drink on a coaster, their eye catching the cover of a tome with a captivating title and striking graphics or imagery. They inquire about it, and you find yourself sharing your interest in the subject matter, your affinity for the author, or quite simply, your admiration for the beauty of the book.

Coffee table books may be an asset to your library, but they don’t belong on a shelf or nightstand. These books are most often large and hardback, predominantly nonfiction and image centric. They’re meant to be admired, flipped through with interest, and returned to again and again. The nature of the book enhances the aesthetic of the room.

The staff of The Hidden Lantern Bookstore in Rosemary Beach provided  a list of six coffee table books they adore and sell in store.

Saints of Old Florida

by Melissa Farrell, Christina McDermott, and Emily Raffield

This book is the epitome of a thought-provoking title. With its embossed golden lettering and linen binding, the cover lacks imagery but is most definitely a design choice. It makes you want to open the book and explore. Featuring the towns of Port St. Joe, St. Vincent’s Island, Indian Pass, St. George Island, Apalachicola, St. Teresa Beach, and St. Marks, Florida, this book includes personal accounts from locals accompanied by artistic photography.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Clark Little:The Art of Waves

by Clark Little

Few things are more relaxing than listening to the crashing of waves. It turns out, viewing them can be an equally serene experience. Surfer and photographer Clark Little created a book that depicts the beauty and power of water in motion. Many of his shots are taken from the perspective of placing himself under the wave’s lip as it prepares to crash onto the sand.

Courtesy of Davis Brackett

Cars of 30A

by Davis Brackett

While the charcoal linen binding may not reveal much from the outside, inside, this book is brimming with colorful cars of all makes and models. This book makes the perfect gift for any car enthusiast and a great conversation piece.

Courtesy of Robert O. Reynolds

Florida’s Emerald Coast

by Robert O. Reynolds

Whether you’re a full-time resident or own a vacation home on the Emerald Coast, this one is a no-brainer for your coffee table. Through beautiful photography and detailed historical writing, Reynolds shares stories spanning from Pensacola to Panama City Beach and all the beachside communities in-between. Think of this book as an editorialized tourist guide which delves into the geography, topography, flora and fauna, species, state parks, landmarks, activities, festivities, and more that make the Emerald Coast unique and one of the most visited beach regions in the United States.

Courtesy of VIE Magazine – viemagazine.com

Cook by VIE

There’s no rule that cookbooks must stay in the kitchen. Plan dinner, then put this one on display. With creatively styled food photography accompanied by scrumptious sentences, this book is a sensory experience sure to make tastebuds tingle.

Courtesy of Bob Moody

Painting 30A in Watercolor

by Bob Moody

The cover itself is a work of art with a painting by the author, Bob Moody. In bright whimsical strokes of pinks, blues, and greens the cover depicts a familiar 30A scene of a beachside neighborhood. The book brims with over 100 watercolors with the pages opposite Moody’s watercolors left blank so readers can leave their own notes, memories, or drawings. All of Moody’s paintings are based off of photographs he took while traveling along the Emerald Coast during the pandemic.