19 Books That Would Make Great Wedding Gifts

Sometimes all that's left on the registry are the dregs. Why not let a big, beautiful book commemorate your friends or love ones' marriage in a way that will last?

1. For food lovers.

modernistcuisine.com

This is the more approachable — and way more affordable — version of Nathan Myhrvold's iconic and monstrous Modernist Cuisine. It approaches food in a way that is at once scientific and creative.

Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet, $86.49 on Amazon.

2. For travel lovers.

covers.booktopia.com.au

This is not the sort of travel guide you'd want weighing down your backpack. It profiles a walloping 229 countries, offering advice about where to go, what to do and see, and gorgeous photography. It will hopefully inspire jet setters on many future trips.

The Travel Book by Lonely Planet, $50.00 at Lonely Planet.

3. For rock lovers.

amazon.com

Jim Marshall is the rock star of rock photography, and he was there to capture some of the genre's most iconic stars — including the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones — at some of their most iconic moments.

Not Fade Away: The Rock & Roll Photography of Jim Marshall by Jim Marshall, $150.00 on Amazon.

4. For graphic novel lovers.

chipkidd.com

This was one of the most talked-about graphic novels to come out in years — and for good reason. The box contains 14 differently sized and bound components that together tell the story of a three-story Chicago brownstone — and the complicated lives it contains. It's sad, funny, beautiful, and incredibly unique.

Building Stories by Chris Ware, $32.49 on Amazon.

5. For nature lovers.

architecturaldigest.com

Andrew Zuckerman photographs the natural world in ways that surprise and shock us. In this, his newest collection, he takes on flora. You could also make a set by bundling this, Bird and Creature.

Flower by Andrew Zuckerman, $46.77 on Amazon.

6. For photography lovers.

cdn.allwomenstalk.com

This book features 200 of Arbus's most captivating images — some of which were never before seen — along with essays on her career and its effects on both her medium and the way we see difference.

Revelations by Diane Arbus, $62.97 on Amazon.

7. For city lovers.

taschen.com

Taschen's "Portrait of a City" series takes you to some of the world's most beloved cities, like New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Berlin via photograph. Select the one from where the couple live or met or fell in love.

New York: Portrait of a City by Reuel Golden, $69.99 at Taschen.

8. For comics lovers.

i.walmartimages.com

It's a magical world...

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, $53.85 at Amazon.

9. For wine lovers.

jancisrobinson.com

Written by two of the beverages' most decorated experts, this frighteningly comprehensive tome features hundreds of full-color maps of every significant wine producing region on earth. An updated seventh edition comes out this October.

The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, $97.99 on Amazon.

10. For astronomy lovers.

amazon.com

Author and filmmaker Michael Benson assembled some of the most incredible images of outer space for this collection, which shows our universe in surprising and astounding ways.

Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle by Michael Benson, $33.49 on Amazon.

11. For art lovers.

blogger.com

A gigantic, captivating ode to American Modernist Charley Hopper's six-decade career. There's also a more affordable "Popular Edition".

Charley Harper – An Illustrated Life by Todd Oldham, $195.00 at Charley Harper Prints.

12. For fashion lovers.

media.npr.org

Published in conjunction with his Met retrospective, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty includes some of the late designer's most visionary — and daring — designs.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by Andrew Bolton, $32.49 at Amazon.

13. For hip-hop lovers.

frolab.com

This oral history features interviews with LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Jay Z, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Rihanna, Ashanti, Kanye West, founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, and much more.

Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label by Bill Adler and Dan Charnas, $38.49 at Amazon.

14. For design lovers.

rejuvenation.s3.amazonaws.com

Top designers like Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler, and Jonathan Adler share 1,000 tips in this must-have for a stylish couple moving into their first home.

Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room of Your Home by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick, $23.49 on Amazon.

15. For geography lovers.

global.oup.com

Oxford updates this atlas annually, making it is the most accurate — and most spellbinding — look at our planet in print.

Atlas of the World, $199.00 at Oxford.

16. For jazz lovers.

images.amazon.com

That all-star list of names on the cover are some of the writers who contributed to this biography of one of the most influential jazz musicians in history.

Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History, $28.57 on Amazon.

17. For cocktail lovers.

assouline.com

Created by three-star Michelin mixologist Brian Van Fladern and photographed at the Carlyle Hotel, this gorgeous guide gives a history of and instructions for creating classic cocktails at home.

Vintage Cocktails by Brian Van Flandern, $50.00 at Assouline.

18. For letter-writing lovers.

handwrittenletterproject.com

This epistolary volume gathers together letters and other handwritten ephemera. It's an ode to those (supposedly) bygone days of slow, personal correspondence.

The Hand-Written Letter Project by Craig Oldham and 100 or so others, about $50 at the project's website.

19. For literature lovers.

Why not buy the newlyweds signed copies or first editions of their favorite books? Abe Books has the best online market for such rarities around. (Though realistically, you're not spending $80,000 on this first edition Salinger.)