Happy Tuesday, sweet friends! I hope you all had a great weekend and are feeling well rested and excited for a fresh week. This weekend, I spent most of my time relaxing and resetting my home. I’ve been in a cleaning rut lately and after over a week of not making my bed and PR boxes piling up (think a tornado went through my apartment…twice), I finally tackled the mess and feel 110% better. There’s still some work to be done in the closet, as always, and reorganizing in the bathroom but this weekend was a great start.
Whenever I share my living space on Instagram, I get a ton of questions about my table book collection, tips on purchasing and how to style. Up until a few months ago, my collection was in two stacks on the table. Since then, I’ve spread and styled them across the glass table. Since one of the reasons I, like many of you, purchase tables is pretty covers, I figured I should probably show them.
PS: majority my table books are purchased from Bookoutlet! (All the sources I use for books on a budget are in this blog post: here) They have an incredible selection and you can get books at such a fraction of the list price. I wish this was an ad because of how much I love to share about Bookoutlet, but it’s not – pinky promise. I found this website last summer and since then, I have raved about it to everyone. There’s a 110% chance that I’m obsessed and will forever get my table books from there as well as books for local Free Little Libraries 🙂 They don’t have options for fast shopping like A**zon BUT the prices are worth waiting 3 extra days for them to arrive. Use my discount link to get $10 off $25 off your first order!
Top row:
1 | Whitney: Tribute to an Icon by Pat Houston
2 | Harry & Meghan: The Royal Wedding Album by Halima Sadat
3 | Habitat: The Field Guide to Decorating by Lauren Liess (under the flowers)
4 | The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant
5 | Unseen: Unpublished Black History from New York Times Photo Archives
I try to mix up the type of table books I have between true photo books, modeling/fashion, storytelling and inspiration. I love true photo books like Unseen: Unpublished Black History from NYT and the jumbo corner photo book of Whitney Houston. Both are so beautiful to look through and no matter what page you turn to, you will find a picture that you haven’t seen in major media. For kids, I love the Glory photo book. This book is beautiful and filled with images of Black children as magical symbols, historical figures and everything in between. It’s truly one of a kind.
Next are my modeling table books: Supreme Models and The New Black Vanguard. Both were books I saw at release and knew I wanted them. However, I couldn’t see myself spending $50-$60 each. I waited some time then snatched them up when they were available on Bookoutlet. Supreme Models stays fairly stocked on the website unlike The New Black Vanguard which goes in and out of stock. To be honest, I hadn’t ever seen table books that had such rich and celebratory images of Black models and art before these.
Bottom row:
1 | Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty by Kahran Bethencourt
2 | We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacyc/o by Natalie Baszile
3 | Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion by Marcellas Reynolds
4 | Woman of Color by LaTonya Yvette
5 | The Unqualified Hostess by Whoopi Goldberg
6 | The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion
by Antwaun Sargent
I also love table books that tell a story. The Woman of Color book introduces readers to 50+ different women and their stories. Women of all shapes and sizes, backgrounds and interests, in their own way. The Harry & Meghan wedding album not only shares photos of the big day, but tells you their love story and some of the prep that went into the royal wedding *This is a Meghan Markle STAN blog – okay?!*
Last section I would consider my table books to be part of is inspiration. For example, I had no idea Whoopi Goldberg had a table book and now I can’t stop flipping through. It’s titled the “The Unqualified Hostess” which is totally what I consider myself. I loved putting together table settings during the spring and have found that mix and matching as well as thrifting unique pieces are my favorite. My small space makes me feel unqualified but Whoopi’s book shares inspo for large and small spaces alike.
Similarly, Habitat by Lauren Liess is full of inspiration. I consider my personal and home style to be maximalist but I so enjoy looking at more neutral and natural interiors. There are sprinkles of colorful and bold style throughout the book as well which is really fun. I am always inspired after looking at the homes and think daily about the future library, outdoor entertaining space and entryway I plan to have when I hit the lottery and can actually buy a home without having to sell an arm, kidney or leg 😉
Even though I have a ton of table books *understatement of the year* I just purchased two more: Obama: An Intimate Portrait AND Obama: The Historic Presidency of Barack Obama (Update Version). After these two, I’ll for sure be done for a while. I had been waiting for them to go on sale because how could I have a coffee table of (majority) Black books without any representation of the first US Black president?! On my under tv console, I have a Michelle Obama table book that show images of her time as First Lady. I can’t wait for the next one that I’m sure will detail her life as a “private” citizen and her philanthropy around the globe! I say private in quotations because could you really have a private life after being President, First Lady/Gentleman, Vice President or Second Lady/Gentleman? Nope!
On my under tv console, I have 6 table books (& a few magazines)
Stack one: Serena: A Graphic Biography of the Greatest Tennis Champion
Stack one: Women of the 116th Congress
Stack one: Design Wise by Vern Yips
Stack two: Go High: The Unstoppable Presence of Michelle Obama
Stack two: Organizing Your Life
Stack two: Home (Ellen DeGeneres )
Well friends, almost 1000 over 1100 words later & we’re F I N! I absolutely adore a coffee table full of books and small treasures. Along with my books, I keep a coaster, framed photo from high school, flowers, a candle and candle tools. It’s a colorful table that brings me nothing but complete joy 🙂 If you have a favorite table book, I would love to know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading -xo, Azanique <3
These all look so good how you’ve styled them!! I haven’t used Bookoutlet but that sounds right up my alley!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Thanks so much, Annaliese 🙂