Coffee Table Books – My Five Current Favourites
First, what counts as a coffee table book, this is my definition. A large format book that has a large focus on the artwork and presentation within, they also aren’t strictly linear which means you can very easily dip in and out.
Star Wars Costumes
For any Star Wars fan this book is a must have. It covers all the costumes from the original trilogy in incredible detail, including never both seen photos as they pulled many of the original costumes out of storage (regrettably some have been lost over the years) and in depth interviews with many of the original costume designs.
You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes
Created by the incredible Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield that made headlines for covering the David Bowie song, Space Oddity on the International Space Station. This is a collection of gorgeous photos taken by him from the ISS, they show the countries and cities of the world from a unique angle. They are very humbling and do put things into perspective.
The Wes Anderson Collection
Wes Anderson is well know for the artistic styling of his films so its no surprise that this book contains a gorgeous collection of behind the scenes shots from all of his films until Moonrise Kingdom (it pre-dates The Grand Budapest Hotel). It also contain many in depth interviews with the man himself.
Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities
This is quite a unique book that doesn’t seem like much but once you pick it up you can’t put it down. It started its life as a blog where the author, Kevin Kelly, would attempt to provide a recommendation for the best version of a single ‘tool’. I put tool in quotes as it doesn’t just apply to tools in the expected sense, it covers everything from hand tools, to software, to rockets, to books, to websites. In this book you will find hundreds of interesting tools that you didn’t even know existed!
Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions
This is very similar to the Wes Anderson book in that it includes many behinds the scenes shots and in depth interviews with Guillermo del Toro, however while the Wes Anderson book focuses on the films and the process involved in making them this book focuses on Guillermo del Toro himself and the process of how he came up with the films in the first place. It also includes many shots of Guillermo’s own ‘Man Cave’ which is an incredibly curated collection of objects that he has amassed over the years, ranging from props from his own films to objects and book that inspired him to get into the film business originally.
David