c/cat-coffee-table-books

My $14 garage sale cat history book changed how I see everything

I picked up this beat up 1980s book about cats in ancient Egypt at a garage sale in Portland last month, just because it was cheap and had cool photos. Honestly I expected it to be a boring museum piece, but the stories about cats guarding grain stores were so specific it felt like reading a diary. I used to think coffee table cat books were just for laughs, but now I get why people collect these weird little time capsules. The book claims cats were worshipped because they killed snakes, not because of cuteness, and that flipped my whole brain. Now I'm looking for more history based cat books, not just funny ones with chubby tabbies. Has anyone else found a cat book that made them look at the whole genre differently?

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rileygonzalez•5d ago

Just realized my $15 thrift store cat book beats my $50 art one

I've got this fancy hardcover cat photography book from a museum gift shop, all glossy and artsy. But last week I picked up a beat-up 1970s book called "Cats on the Couch" at a Goodwill in Boise, and it's got these ridiculous captions under every photo that make me laugh out loud every time. That $50 book has never once made me smile, so does anyone else judge cat books by how often they actually get picked up off the coffee table?

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lilymurphy•9d ago

That $80 cat fashion book I laughed at is now my favorite

Bought "Cats in Hats" at a used sale in Portland for $8, figured it was a gag gift. Then I actually flipped through it and the photos are stunning, some of the best lighting I've seen in any book. Anyone else pick up a joke cat book and get surprised by the quality?

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hall.quinn•11d ago

Tried photo stacking for cat fur details, got hooked

I used to think those fancy macro shots of whiskers were just luck, then I spent 20 minutes shooting my tabby's nose with a cheap extension tube and free stacking software. The first result looked like a hairy moon landing and I laughed, but the third attempt actually caught every tiny fur strand perfectly. Anyone else get obsessed with a technique they swore they'd never touch?

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patricia_rodriguez•12d ago

Serious question, why do so many cat books skip the rescue story angle?

I was at a bookstore in Portland last weekend and flipped through like 8 different cat coffee table books. Every single one was either fancy purebreds in studios or meme cats doing silly things. Not one of them had a section on shelter cats or the before and after rescue photos. My own cat came from a hoarding situation and the transformation shots are the most moving thing I own. I know the funny ones sell, but don't you think a chapter on strays would make these books feel more real? Has anyone else noticed this gap or is it just me?

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spencer_bell•13d ago

Visited the Minneapolis book fair and saw two very different cat book camps forming

So I went to this book fair in Minneapolis last Saturday. There was a table with these huge glossy photo books of cats in sweaters and poses, all $60 plus. Next table over had these handmade zine style cat books with like crayon drawings and printing smudges for $8. People were literally arguing near the checkout about which one counts as a real coffee table book. One guy said a coffee table book needs to be heavy and fancy or it doesn't count. Another woman said if it sits on your coffee table and makes people laugh, that's all that matters. I picked up a $25 one from a local artist that's just cats photobombing neighbors' yard signs, and honestly it got more table talk than any of the expensive ones. So which side are you on? Does a coffee table book need production quality, or is the content what makes it earn that spot?

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rowangonzalez•13d ago

Chose the 5-pound 'Cats of Instagram' over that tiny 'Cats in Art History' book

Got a gift card for my birthday in June and stood in the bookstore for 20 minutes weighing both. I picked the big Instagram one because it felt like a real coffee table presence, but now I'm stuck with 400 pages of basic tabby selfies. Does anyone else regret going for size over substance with cat books, or am I the only one who noticed the small one had way better weird cat facts?

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victor_carr54•13d ago

Beware the giant novelty cat book\u2019s binding glue

My 12 pound \u201cBig Book of Grumpy Cats\u201d from a Portland flea market lost 14 pages on day three because the cheap glue dried out, so check the spine flex before you leave and ask the seller if it\u2019s ever been stored near a heater, has anyone else had a coffee table cat book fall apart like that?

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robinwalker•15d ago

Serious question, do cat books belong on the actual coffee table or just near it?

My neighbor in Austin said her $60 cat photography book lives on a shelf because guests kept spilling wine on it, which made me wonder if the whole point of a coffee table book is to be risky, so has anyone else made that call?

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jessel35•16d ago

Picked the giant cat atlas over the tiny photo zine, zero regrets

At a used book fair last month I had to choose between a 5 pound atlas with cat breeds from every country and a pocket sized zine of street cats in Lisbon. I went with the atlas because it had these wild historical paintings of Egyptian cat gods. My coffee table looks way more serious now and guests actually flip through it for 20 minutes. Anyone else faced a hard choice between a big showy cat book and a cute small one?

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the_logan•18d ago

The $85 cat book at that Portland bookstore made me wonder if pricey ones are actually better

I saw this massive hardcover with studio portraits of strays for $85, but the $12 used one with blurry barn cats felt way more real, so which does this community actually care about, the pretty photos or the genuine cat energy?

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corad84•18d ago

Pro tip: check your coffee table book for booklice before it spreads

Last week I pulled my 'Cats of Instagram Volume 2' off the shelf and saw tiny brown specks crawling along the spine. At first I thought it was dust, maybe cat litter. Then I looked closer and realized it was booklice, probably from the damp corner near my radiator. Three years ago I bought a beautiful vintage book called 'Victorian Cats in Portrait' from a flea market in Portland and it had the same problem, but I ignored it. That one spread to two other cat photography books on my shelf before I finally threw it out. Now I've got a ziplock bag around the affected book and silica packets tucked between pages. Has anyone else dealt with this, and did freezing actually kill the eggs for you?

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paul_lane80•20d ago

Unpopular opinion: coffee table books should have real stories, not just pretty photos

I picked up a new cat book at a shop in Portland last month, paid $45 for it, and every single page was just a close-up of a tabby staring at something. There was no text, no history, no funny captions. My favorite book from 2018 had little blurbs about each rescue cat's personality, like the one who stole socks or the blind Maine Coon. That is what makes a coffee table book worth leaving out for guests to browse. Has anyone else noticed publishers are skipping the writing part entirely these days?

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harris.vera•20d ago

Am I the only one tired of cat books that skip the strays?

I read a glowing review of a new glossy book about show cats and it didn't feature a single alley cat or rescue. My favorite coffee table book is a 2019 one with 80 pages of scrappy street cats in Lisbon, and it feels way more real. Anyone else prefer the imperfect cats over the fancy breeds?

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stella279•22d ago

My cat knocked a $60 art book off the shelf and it landed open on the perfect page

Picked up this big glossy photography book of street cats in Istanbul last Tuesday, and my tabby decided to use it as a launching pad mid-zoomies. It crashed to the floor open on this hilarious shot of a cat sleeping on a produce scale, and honestly now it's my favorite page. Has anyone else had an accident create a better coffee table book moment than the curated spreads?

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diana_park•1mo ago

My auntie tore apart my cat book collection and I changed everything

So my aunt came over last week for dinner and saw my coffee table stacked with those big glossy cat books. She picked up one about Persian cats and just went off on me. She said the photos were nice but the text was all fluff and no real info about cat behavior or care. At first I was mad but then I looked at what I had. Seven books and none of them talked about why cats do weird stuff like kneading or knocking things off tables. I returned three of them and traded for ones that actually have chapters on cat psychology and health. One even has a section on how to read tail movements. Now my table has fun pictures plus stuff I can actually use with my cat Milo. Has anyone else gotten harsh feedback on their cat book choices that made you rethink your whole shelf?

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sarahh81•1mo ago

Swapped my $40 cat photography book for a $12 thrift store find and never looked back

I used to buy those glossy new cat coffee table books from Barnes and Noble, spent about $40 each on average. Then last spring I found an old 1992 book called "Cats of London" at a thrift store for $12, and the black and white photos completely changed my view. The older book has these candid street shots that feel more real than the staged studio portraits in my newer books. Has anyone else shifted to collecting older or used cat books over new ones, and did you notice a difference in quality?

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valgibson•1mo ago

Regret buying that $40 cat yoga book

Fell for the cute cover on 'Paws and Poses' but it's just blurry photos of cats on mats, zero actual yoga poses. Anyone else been burned by a cat book that looked way better than it was?

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iris_stone28•1mo ago

That lady at the used bookstore who judged me for buying 'Cats in Art'

I was at Powell's in Portland last Saturday grabbing a vintage copy of Cats in Art and the clerk goes 'oh, one of those people.' She actually sneered at me. I just wanted a book with old paintings of cats, why do people have to make it weird? Has anyone else gotten side-eye for their cat book habit?

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benbrown•1mo ago

Picked 'Cats in Windows' over 'Sleeping Cats', best choice ever

I was at a used book store and had to choose between two cat coffee table books. One was all about cats lounging in windows, the other was just cats sleeping everywhere. I went with the window one because each photo had this cool city backdrop. My friends actually flip through it more than I expected and point out the different buildings.

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grayw32•1mo ago

My cousin swore 'Staring Cats of the World' would be a hit at parties

So my cousin Ryan brought over this coffee table book called 'Staring Cats of the World' for game night last month. He kept saying people would flip through it and laugh for hours. Turns out he was right - four of us got stuck on a page with a Scottish Fold giving this deadpan look for like 10 minutes straight. Has anyone else found a cat book that unexpectedly stole the spotlight at a gathering?

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leeknight•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: I think over-designed cat books miss the whole point of cats

I was at a friend's house last weekend flipping through some glossy $60 cat coffee table book they bought from a fancy store. Every photo looked like it was staged in a studio with perfect lighting and the cats were all cleaned up and posed like models. It felt fake to me, like looking at a catalog instead of actual cats. I told them I preferred the beat-up copy of 'Cats in Sinks' I found at a thrift store for $3, where half the cats are blurry and there's a coffee ring on page 42. They got a little defensive but I stood my ground. Am I the only one who thinks these expensive books take the messy, real life out of cats?

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diana_park•1mo ago

Debate: is a cat coffee table book ruined if your cat actually sits on it and leaves claw marks, or does that make it more authentic?

I was at my friend's place in Portland last Tuesday showing off my new copy of Cats in Space when her orange tabby leaped onto the table and dug right into the cover, leaving three deep scratches through a photo of an astronaut cat, and now I can't decide if it's destroyed or if that makes the book a real artifact of cat ownership - which side do you land on?

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diana_park•1mo ago

Friend told me my cat book collection was just clutter, so I changed everything

I used to just stack any cat coffee table book I found cheap at thrift stores. My friend came over and said it looked like a messy library, not a curated display. She told me to pick 5 books max and arrange them by color and size on my actual coffee table. I got rid of 12 books, kept only the ones with unique photography or funny captions. Now I swap them out every 3 months from the ones I stored. Has anyone else had to downsize their cat book collection after getting harsh feedback?

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cora_martinez•1mo ago

My sister's fancy cat photo book vs my thrifted cat meme book...

Last month my sister bought this really expensive coffee table book called "Elegant Felines" with all these black and white artsy cat photos. Cost her like $45. I found a beat-up book called "Cats Being Derps" at a thrift store in Portland for $2.50. People come over and they always grab my book instead. It has this one photo of a cat stuck in a paper bag with its butt hanging out. My sister's book is nice but everyone wants to laugh. The difference is humor wins every time for a coffee table book. Has anyone else had a cheap book beat out an expensive one?

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