Sometimes the smallest of details can make the biggest impact. And that’s certainly true about the way coffee table books freshen up any interior. Stack a few volumes with bright jackets on a side table in your living room for a pop of color or style your favorite titles with flowers and candles in a serving tray for an elegant look.
Related: 20 Travel-Themed Books by Black Authors That Will Fuel Your Desire to See the World
Of course, coffee table books are so much more than just eye-candy. And with our travel options limited right now, a beautiful book with stunning images capturing some of the world’s most beautiful spots can serve as the ultimate escape.
So if you are looking to add a few volumes to your coffee table book collection, there are going to be plenty of great options this fall. For foodies, two new tomes—one on Greek cuisine and one on sushi masters—promise to satiate your hunger for adventures and delicious food while yoga fans can update their travel wishlist with a few retreats.
Related: The Best Books for Armchair Travelers
Keep scrolling for a list of the best coffee table books we can’t wait to add to our libraries this fall.
A Taste of Greece
With 117 stunning photos celebrating Greek people, nature, and cuisine, the updated edition of A Taste of Greece is a feast for the eyes. Co-authored by HRH Princess Tatiana of Greece and writer Diana Farr Louis, it includes stories and favorite recipes by various prominent figures who share what makes the Hellenic republic so special to them.
© A Taste of Greece Revised Edition by HRH Princess Tatiana of Greece & Diana Farr Louis, to be published by teNeues in October 2020, $35, teneues.com
The World
German photographer Michael Poliza has traveled through more than 160 countries capturing remotes areas, dramatic landscapes, and intact nature reserves. The World is his “grateful homage to all that glorious diversity.”
Each of the 200 photographs transports you to a different corner of the globe—be it Myanmar, Australia, Tanzania, or Vietnam—that will leave you in awe but most of all, inspired to do your part in preserving the natural beauty of the planet.
© The World Trade Edition by Michael Poliza, to be published by teNeues in October 2020, $75, teneues.com
Surfing
This was supposed to be surfing’s big year as the sport made its debut as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics. So while we will all have to wait until 2021 to see the best surfers compete in Tokyo, for some 20 million people around the globe paddling out and catching waves is an integral and regular part of their lives.
This tome, dubbed “the most comprehensive visual history of surfing to date,” is the product of three years worth of research and documents the origins of surfing and surfing culture both on and off the water.
It features glorious photographs of some of the sport’s most notable figures taken in the most stunning corners of the world (Hawai’i, French Polynesia, Australia) as well as essays from top sports journalists.
Surfing, Jim Helmann, $80, taschen.com
Great Escapes Yoga — The Retreat Book
Let Angelika Taschen guide you through some of the most beautiful and relaxing yoga retreats in the world. From a beach resort in Tulum, Mexico to a former tea plantation in Sri Lanka and Europe’s top destination for Vinyasa Yoga, you’ll want to put each one of these restorative retreats on your bucket list.
The book also includes texts by Berlin-based yoga instructor and editor-in-chief of Yoga Easy, Kristin Rübesamen.
Great Escapes Yoga — The Retreat Book, 2020 Edition, Angelika Taschen, $60, taschen.com
Marrakech Flair
Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent credited Marrakech with introducing him to color. He was captivated by the vibrant hues of the flowers in its gardens, its people, and culture. This book celebrates the cultural richness of Marrakech—from the iconic La Mamounia hotel, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, with its stunning architecture and Arabic-Andalusian interiors to its riads and the museums of the city that house magnificent examples of Moroccan photography, art, and crafts. Marrakech Flair gives you a visual tour of one of the world’s most colorful cities as seen by actress Marisa Berenson, one of Saint Laurent’s muses.
Marrakech Flair, Marisa Berenson, available in October 2020, $95, assouline.com
Paris Chic
Go inside some of Paris’s chicest homes and their residents. Writer Alexandra Senes and photographer Oliver Pilcher capture life in the French capital away from its famous museums and monuments. It’s about the quiet streets, the neighborhood bistros, and artists’ studios that you won’t find listed in any guide book.
Impossibly romantic, this volume paints a charming portrait of the City of Light and its unique characters and hidden gems.
Paris Chic, Photography by Oliver Pilcher, Text by Alexandra Senes, available in September 2020, $95, assouline.com
Sushi Shokunin
Food as art is not a novel concept but in Japan, only a handful of chefs have mastered both the cooking techniques and creative skills necessary to elevate sushi to culinary art. These chefs are called shokunin and in this stunning volume, author and James Beard Award-winning photographer Andrea Fazzazi profiles 20 of them. Meet some of Japan’s most innovative sushi chefs and learn all about their philosophy and aesthetics.
Sushi Shokunin, Andrea Fazzari, available in October 2020, $95, assouline.com
