10 coffee table books every pop culture fan should give—or get—this holiday season

The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus Vol. 1: Scary Tales And Scarier Tentacles 

Price: $32.99

Woo hoo! This “ominous omnibus” is the first of three planned volumes from Abrams collecting every Treehouse Of Horror story published by Matt Groening’s now-defunct publishing house, Bongo Comics. The ideal gift for any Simpsons superfan, Scary Tales has plenty of laughs, gags, and big-name authors from comics (Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, Mike Allred) and the wider entertainment world (Mark Hamill, Patton Oswalt, Lemmy)—plus the requisite appearances from Kang and Kodos, of course.

Minari Screenplay Book 

Price: $60.00

No surprise that purveyor of quality films A24 also offers excellent merch, including this elegant companion to the award-winning Minari. Serious cinephiles will appreciate not only the full screenplay (in both English and Korean) but also the foreword by actor Steven Yeun and director Lee Isaac Chung’s annotated personal photos. Spoiler alert—the original script, included in this tome, has a different ending than the movie itself. Other excursions in print excellence from A24 this year: Florida! and The Lobster Screenplay Book.

BTS Recipe Book: Book Of Tasty Stories

Price: $29.72

Featuring 15 BTS-favorite recipes from Korean cuisine, from kimchi-bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice) to galbijjim (braised ribs), the Book Of Tasty Stories is augmented with cooking tips and tidbits on the band (Jimin drinks soju with his pajeon). With behind-the-scenes photos and QR codes leading to short videos, it’s perfect for the ARMY member in your life who’s hungry for more BTS content now that the septet has gone on hiatus.

100 Movies Of The 2010s

Price: $38.99

The most recent decade in Taschen’s series for film buffs covers 2011 through 2020 (a period when movie-watching habits and platforms changed drastically, as the introductory essay notes) and includes every Oscar bestpicture-winner from that decade, with the exception of Green Book. Quibbling over the other selections—from foreign animation to indie darlings to blockbuster franchises—is part of the fun, but the detailed and insightful commentaries for each entry make for an illuminating (and nearly 900-page) read.

Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle

Price: $39.25

A feast for the eyes and mind, Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle is the exhibition book of the first solo museum show dedicated to the work of designer/performer Matthew Flower (aka Machine Dazzle), whose voluble costumes burst with energy and meaning. Photos of his go-big-or-go-home aesthetic are accompanied by expository material, including pieces from Mike Albo and Madison Moore and a Q+A with Mx Justin Vivian Bond.

Steven Klein

Price: $189.50

Fans of fetish and fashion photography have found their top entry for this year’s holiday wishlist in Steven Klein’s 460-page first monograph, published by Phaidon and bound, appropriately, in white leatherette. Klein’s voyeuristic, boundary-pushing body of work features much nudity and pulses with sexual energy; his editorial work often situates celebs (Brad Pitt, Kim Kardashian, and Madonna, to name a few) in seedy setups, to great visual effect.

Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History 

Price: $71.02

Longtime music writer Vikki Tobak takes a loupe to hip-hop bling in this photo-rich volume, examining the roots of the sparkling status symbols in pop culture as well as the artists who fuel its ever-changing landscape. From heavy dookie ropes, bust-down Rolexes, and tight Cuban links to the jewelers who design them and performers who commission them, Tobak provides fine detail as well as general context. Hypebeasts and historians alike will find something to love here. With contributions from A$AP Ferg, Slick Rick, LL Cool J, and more.

Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments

Price: $35.99

Over the course of a decade, photographer Carell Augustus recreated dozens of iconic film scenes and images to feature Black performers. The result is Black Hollywood—Vivica Fox as Veronica Lake, Vanessa Williams as Cleopatra, Omari Hardwick as James Bond, Blair Underwood in The Shining, and more than five dozen other reimaginings. A guaranteed conversation-starter, the book opens with a foreword from Forest Whitaker and closes with an afterword from Niecy Nash. (A 2023 calendar version is available as well.)

The Kick-A** Book Of Cobra Kai

Price: $29.99

Go behind the scenes of the “Miyagi-verse” in this entertaining compendium that documents and celebrates the unlikely creation of the hit show Cobra Kai. Featuring a smart write-through and interviews with actors (Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Elisabeth Shue, and more), the book also includes set photography and remarks from the show’s composers, production designers, and stunt coordinator, as well as a list of Easter eggs. Fans of the series (and of ’80s nostalgia) can’t go wrong with this under the tree.

Annie Leibovitz, XXL edition

Price: $115.59

Publisher Taschen has translated its super-oversize 57-pound, $7,500 “sumo” edition of celeb photographer Annie Leibovitz’s work into a more affordable (not to mention liftable) 13-pound, $150 “XXL” edition that still clocks in at more than 500 pages. Across four decades of Leibovitz’s lenswork, the eponymous coffee table book is chock full of lush images of luminaries, superstars, and other folks of note, from Queen Elizabeth II to Nic Cage to Arlo Guthrie, with commentary from Graydon Carter, Steve Martin, and more.