Why?: Books I Strongly Advise Against

So far i have presented you guys with the best of what I can find. But in my journeys there are way too many coffee table books that I come across and ask the universe: "WHY?" Thanks to the suggestions of my lovely friends I will be picking out the worst of the worst and strongly advise you to stay very very far away.

PART 1

Cacas: The Encyclopedia of Poo by Colors Staff, Oliviero Toscani,  is a book about poo. If you are particularly interested in poo, I don't know what to say to you, but I strongly advise against having anything on your coffee table that has any connection to poo. Coffee is dark, poo is generally dark -- you and your guest should be able to eat chocolate without looking down at your coffee table and having the urge to spit it out.

Of course I am not the absolute voice on this. An Amazon customer review states: "This is certainly a coffee table book that will break the ice and get people talking...It is interesting to see droppings from giraffes, monkeys, etc." She also mentions that she wished there was some discussion on human poo... I just have to ask WHY?

Internationally Loved: So You Can't Go Wrong

Photography  courtesy yours truly

I was at my boyfriend's Aunt's house this weekend and I saw this big, beautiful book on her coffee table with a very striking image of  Nelson Mandela.  My boyfriend immediately picked it up. Let me tell you something about my boyfriend - I have never seen him even notice a book, let alone pick it up.

Mandela: The Authorized Portrait is a timeless treasure - visually striking and graciously allows the reader a peek at one of the (if not the) most important democratic transformations of the 20th Century.

First published at $100 a piece - you can now place it on your coffee table for just $30 (plus shipping and handling of course).

Here Today Gone Tomorrow :(

This past Earth Day was a real bummer as all major publications highlighted the many ways in which human beings have led to the destruction of our beautiful mother earth.Global Warming is drastically changing the world before our eyes and sooner than we think places are going to start to disappear -- visually at least because of the ice caps melting and higher sea levels etc. So while the world is the beautiful place that we know it to be, lets get to know her better -- then maybe we might start to appreciate her beauty and treat her better.

And so I present to you 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear. This beautiful documentation of the world's most wonderful natural treasures and even some of our own back yard (*coughs Battery Park) are in danger of extinction.

I highly recommend this book for anyone concerned about the environment or with any appreciation for the Earth's natural beauty. Help change attitudes by placing this gem on your coffee table, if only for a couple minutes as your comrades gasp at Mother Earth's awesomeness.

For a sneak peak of what to expect in this book check read more at Aol Travel News.

If you want to learn more about the book itself and message check out 100places.com.

The BIG WHAT?!?! (NSFW)

So in my class someone brought up that there exists a coffee table book that focuses on the enormity of a certain organ. Well I would like to inform that person, and everyone else that may be interested, that there are a set of these books that each focus on a private body part (*giggles).

I know you are intrigued....

More ART for Your Money

A friend of mine, Greg, is thinking about moving to a studio apartment and needs to get rid of some stuff. He specifically is thinking of getting rid of this really old but really cool side table (not quite a coffee table but a definite substitute) which our friends have taken to carving their initials and reminders that they "wuz here." I convinced him that it was not junk but a great work of art as instead of sumping it he should simply remind his friends to lay off his stuff or at least get something to put on the table to distract them -- a coffee table book maybe ;)

So I took him to Barnes and Nobles, Union Square to check out what they had. He immediately complained about not wanting to spend a lot of money on books so we headed to the bargain wall and were surprised at what we found.

Kirby: King of Comics, brand new (covered in plastic and everything) on sale at $9.98. Originally priced at $40 and on Amazon for $26.40. This beautifully illustrated book journeys the life and career of revolutionary comic book artist, Jack Kirby. The later is responsible for creating iconic characters for the Marvel and DC enterprise.

You absolutely can't go wrong with a huge coffee table book such as this one for less than $10. Comic book buffs and cool people alike are all familiar with characters such as Spider Man (illustration below) and it is sure to catch his friends attention.

It was a success because, Greg ended up getting three books, each for under $20. He is camera shy but see me below expressing his utter joy at great coffee table art books and money well spent.