Written by Paddy Maddison in Books on the 7th March 2017

No man’s lounge can be considered complete without a coffee table and no man’s coffee table can be considered complete without a stack of interesting books. We think that you can tell a lot about a person by the books they have lying around and a few good ones scattered around your table make a great talking point. Whether you’re interested in music, art, fashion, film or anything else, there are heaps of beautiful hardbacks out there just waiting to be flicked through on your sofa. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourites.

Covert to Overt: Shepard Fairey  

Through photographs and words, seminal artist, Shepard Fairey, details his rise from underground, skateboarding graffiti tagger to globally recognised artist. During his time Fairey has produced some of the most iconic images of the past several decades, including Barack Obama’s famous ‘CHANGE’ campaign poster.

Terry Richardson: Portraits and Fashion 

Terry Richardson is one of the most celebrated fashion photographers of his time and this book compiles over twenty years-worth of his work, showing the influence he has had over the industry.

Cabin Porn  

Amazing photos and stories of over 200 remote handmade cabins, built by people in the middle of nowhere, using whatever they could find. You’ll be wanting to head into the woods with your axe after a quick flick through this one.

Long Live Southbank 

A collection of amazing photos from the Undercroft area of London’s South Bank – an area that has long been famous for skateboarding and youth culture.

The Monocle Guide to Better Living 

Monocle’s first ever book is an informative and entertaining guide to the places, ideas and products that are promoting better living all over the world. It features written passages and original photography printed on super-high quality paper.

Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living 

Take a look inside some of the world’s most iconic designs. Complex everyday items such as cameras, typewriters and computers are dismantled and laid bare for us to see in their simplest forms.

Berghain: 10 

The world’s most iconic and mysterious nightclub celebrated its 10th birthday by commissioning works of art to be painted on its walls. This book features photographs from the exhibition taken by infamous Berghain bouncer Sven Marquardt and details 10 years of the world’s most famous nightclub.

We feature Terry Richardson: Portraits and Fashion, Long Live Southbank and The Monocle Guide to Better Living in our guide to the top 7 Perfect Coffee Table Books for Men.