7 glam coffee table books

7 Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power, Motion, Colour, Everything by Stephen Bailey

Price: $50

Details: The pleasingly dappled neutral taupe covers of this weighty book on automobiles come tucked neatly in a black holder. It won’t stay closed for long, though, as this book is a guaranteed icebreaker -- one of those irresistible coffee table fixtures guests will pore over and chat excitedly about. Billed as "a love letter to the most beautiful 86 cars ever manufactured," car columnist Stephen Bailey takes the reader through designs from the Ford Model T to a swinging-Sixties Jaguar to a smoking hot latter-day BMW. Owing to its thick but relatively traditional look, Cars can be stacked up with other, more colourful books, yet can hold its own as part of a coffee table vignette.

Who will love it: Cars has a surprisingly universal appeal and will inspire envy in nearly every reader. Automobile fanatics are an obvious fit, but just about anyone, from kids to grandmothers will enjoy flipping the pages and either drool or reminisce.

 

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