These Compact Coffee Table Books
Are As Cool As They Come

I never pass up a Taschen store—from California to New York, even on a quick trip to London, I found myself perusing the German publisher's fastidiously stacked shelves. I love a good coffee table book, and Taschen makes some of the best, but I'll be honest, I've never purchased a book in person from one of their stores. And that's because the books are really freaking heavy. After all, this a publisher that specializes in wild, limited-edition books and oversized tomes so monumental they come with their own stand.

The Polaroid Book, $11.63; 1000 Record Covers, $17.99

The Polaroid Book,
$11.63

1000 Record Covers,
$17.99

But on a recent visit to their Miami shop, I discovered something really cool. The brand has started making smaller scale versions of some of their most popular coffee table books. The gorgeous covers, lush imagery and voluminous pages—they're all still there, just now shrunk down to the dimensions of a hardback novel. Thankfully, the price has been shrunk down too. They still look damn sharp on a coffee table. Plus, since they're so easy to handle, you and your guests will pick them up and flip through them much more than you would the hulking standard size books.