coffee-table-level literature

English translation: light reading such as the books you would find on a coffee table

03:16 Sep 3, 2019

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Poetry & Literature

English term or phrase: coffee-table-level literature

Later sentences also refer to the literature as high level, easy reading, and casual.
Does this mean "light reading?"

Aya Kaisumi Kimura KudoZ activity Questions: 1 (none open) Answers: 0 Japan
Local time: 13:43

Selected answer:light reading such as the books you would find on a coffee table

Explanation:
that's it

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Note added at 33 mins (2019-09-03 03:50:38 GMT)
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such as travel books with nice pictures

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Note added at 35 mins (2019-09-03 03:51:56 GMT)
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nothing too demanding and just a nice read with glossy pictures etc

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Note added at 1 hr (2019-09-03 04:18:33 GMT)
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the sort of thing you read while waiting for the dentist etc.

Selected response from:

David Hollywood
Local time: 01:43

Grading comment

Regarding to the later expressions on the literature, this answer seems to suit the best on this particular case. Thank you for your answers and discussions.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +5

Books intended to impress by their appearance, rather than to be read.

B D Finch

5 +1

light reading such as the books you would find on a coffee table

David Hollywood

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

26 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

light reading such as the books you would find on a coffee table

David Hollywood
Local time: 01:43
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 118

Grading comment

Regarding to the later expressions on the literature, this answer seems to suit the best on this particular case. Thank you for your answers and discussions.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Tony M: With the emphasis here, perhaps, on glossy brochures and glowing descriptions, without much actual factual technical content.

3 hrs

-> thanks Tony and surprised that this has come up against such a furore ... can be books, magazines, brochures etc. but well that's the way it goes :) we mustn't forget that the asker used the term "literature"

neutral

Yvonne Gallagher: no, not magazines at all and not for reading as such

6 hrs

-> thx Yvonne but "literature" as asked in the source is pretty all-encompassing

neutral

David Moore (X): I almost disagreed (again) - to me, coffee-table books are as described by Anne and BDFinch, so I'm not at all sure I'd describe them as "light reading", much less as brochures! And your last comment: the dentist/doctor etc. usually has (old) magazines.

6 hrs

-> nice of you not to David and ok

neutral

philgoddard: Some of them can be anything but light reading - art criticism, for instance.

8 hrs

-> ok Phil but the asker would like an explanation and I think mine is ok, as does Tony whom we all know knows his onions

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

Books intended to impress by their appearance, rather than to be read.

Explanation:
Coffee table books are books that people leave out on their coffee table or in similarly obvious places to impress visitors. Their function is to provide a talking point or something undemanding for visitors to leaf through while the host is out of the room. They are generally expensively bound books or books with opulent dust jackets and plenty of high quality photographs or illustrations, so that they can be enjoyed as expensive-looking objects without actually being read.

This is not dentist's waiting room literature, which is generally dog-eared magazines, but which is also intended to be a photo-rich, undemanding distraction.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 06:43
Does not meet criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 84

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you for your detailed answer and discussions. They helped me understand the situation the term is mostly used.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Yvonne Gallagher: I just wrote much the same in the Dbox

1 min

-> Thanks Yvonne. I saw that after I posted this, so we must have been almost simultaneousl

agree

David Moore (X): And with Yvonne

9 mins

-> Thanks David

agree

philgoddard

3 hrs

-> Thanks phil

agree

Tina Vonhof (X)

4 hrs

-> Thanks Tina

agree

Christine Andersen: Mine are usually catalogues from the Photographer of the Year exhibition in London and a museum of glass art (English translated by me :-D ) or other glass art... We do actually ´read´ them, however.

21 hrs

-> Thanks Christine. Yes, I think mine is worth reading too. ;) One does sometimes leave a book out because you want to dip in and out of it, rather than read it in one go.

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English translation: light reading such as the books you would find on a coffee table

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