Chicks On Lit discussion

I bought a coffee table type book the other day called Waterside Cottages and I love it. Beautiful book and I like that it satisfies my interior design side I'm having fun with lately.

Can anyone else recommend any others? And where do you normally purchase your coffee table books? Where can you get the best deal?

The Power of Art by Simon Schama is a wonderful coffee table book. I got mine for Christmas around 4 years ago and I still love picking it up alongside the one everyone seems to own...The Art Book by Phaidon Press - love that one too!

Art seems to make for great coffee table books! - although some may say I ought to seek out the 'real thing' in galleries...

Ally

LOL! Thank you so much Ally.. I will check them both out.

My brother bought me Rainforest for Christmas last year. I love looking through coffee table books- they're like picture books for adults- but I don't buy many myself because they are really expensive.

We have coffee table books of all sorts. Movie poster art from Drew Struzan - Drew Struzan: Oeuvre - one of Acadiana, the area of Louisiana that I am from - Our Acadiana - one on the Ice Storm that hit Ontario in the early months of 1998 and coincided with my first visit to Canada - The Ice Storm: An Historic Record in Photographs of January 1998.

I hope my next acquisition will be The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe The pictures are gorgeous and I love how he brings the Periodic Table and the elements to life, the real one that we live everyday.

Holli do you like to cook? I'm going through Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinentand it is beautiful - not only of the food, but also people and land as well.

Love to cook Erika!!! Thank you for the suggestions everyone... I'm adding stuff to my list as I type.. I appreciate the help a lot.

I don't really have coffee table books, probably because I don't really have a coffee table, but I do have this HUGE hardback book, the name escapes me now, but it's about cruises and there are these gorgeous pictures of islands, boats, et cetera.

Actually probably good it's not out there for me to pick up regularly because I'd be booking holidays left, right and centre!

That's another thing, when I do book holidays I like to spread out my travel magazines and brochures.....ah, maybe I'll just pick up some more for fun ☺

Hey Mandy... I want that one... when you remember the name let me know!!

Okay, I found it:

Voyages: The Romance of Cruising

Actually wasn't that hard, it's a big book and underneath quite a lot of others but I could read the spine ☺

Perfect, thank you!

Ooo - love coffee table books - one of my favorites is Meetings with Remarkable Trees

omg that tree book looks amazing Nancy! i think it might go on my list of gift ideas for the hubby. the robin hood in him would LOVE it. ;)

That's really neat!!

When I was a kid, my mom always wore an apron when cooking. Then, when the meal was ready, she would change from her work apron to a nice hostess apron. She had this amazing collection. I loved them. When I found this book, Aprons: Icons of the American HomeI just had to send it to her. She keeps it on the end table in the family room, and it's quite a conversation piece!

I like to display different books with the seasons or holidays. I'll be getting out This Land is Your Land, America the Beautiful: The Stirring True Story Behind Our Nation's Favorite Song and The Star-Spangled Bannernow that it's time for the patriotic holidays.

Good idea AngieA and what a great story about your mom...

Angie - loved the story and the apron book sounds priceless. I think I might have seen it. My cousin's wife collects old aprons and has the coolest 'display' of them in one of her guest bedrooms. I need a bigger house for all the misc. stuff I wish I had! As if I don't have enough. Dang...

And being an elementary music teacher, I've got all those great 'lyrics' books sitting at school. I should have thought to use them that way at home. Hmmm

I love the idea of displaying a collection in the guest room! Nancy, I know what you mean about a place for stuff. If I displayed all my stuff, my house would look like some kind of odd museum. Fortunately, my collections lean toward the seasonal; scarecrows in the fall, angels and nutcrackers in December, snowmen in the winter(thru Valentine's Day).