Favorite Coffee-Table Books, Part 1

When I was a child, I remember sitting on the sofa looking at large hardcover books with many fascinating pictures. In the mid-fifties, one well-known book was about World War II. Not understanding the harsh side of war, the book kept me captivated for hours.

Over the years, I’ve collected a number of coffee-table books. The topics vary in the four books I list here, as does their size and depth, but they are all treasured. These books are favorites on cold winter nights when I fix a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, huddle under a warm afghan, and spend a few hours lost in the glorious photos and words contained in these special treasures.

Listed in no particular order, all have traveled with me over the years no matter where I’ve lived.

Simpler Times by Thomas Kinkade. Harvest House Publishers, 1996. With his stunning paintings, quotes, and down to earth prose, Mr. Kinkade takes us to a way of life that lives on only in our memory – a life of simpler times. He talks about peace, nature, balance, and choosing simplicity in a complex age. One could spend hours looking at just the paintings, but his words, spoken in a soft voice, are soothing to the spirit in troubled times.

Haiku-Vision by Ann Atwood. Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY, 1977. In October 2006, my sister and I were on a road trip heading north from St. Louis on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. We drove through a quaint town that was advertising a used book sale at the local library. On our return, we decided to stop at the sale. This is the only book I purchased, but since I was writing Haiku at the time I felt very lucky to have found it. I don’t believe in coincidence. It was there for a reason.

The Last Two Million Years. A Reader’s Digest History of Man. 1973. This huge book starts from the beginning of our planet and is a history of the world. Fascinating book and every time I pick it up I find something new. I love to read about history, especially from creation to our present time. To see the continuity of time in the illustrations takes me out of my small world view into the immense concept of time and creation.

The Illustrated Rumi – a Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul. The Book Laboratory, Inc. 2000. A book by a thirteenth-century Sufi mystic. Fascinating pictures, poems, and stories will keep you enthralled for hours. Deep spiritual meaning applicable to life today will keep any reader thinking about lessons gleaned long after closing the book.

Next time I will share four more books. They are an eclectic lot, I realize, but that’s what makes them so fascinating.

Do you have any coffee-table books? What are your favorites? Share them if you like in the comments.