Every now and then a table of books looks technically fine and spiritually dead.
That is usually when I start reaching for the titles with more visual nerve. A good display book does not just sit there politely. It changes the mood of the whole shelf.
I notice art books first, then cookbooks with swagger, then the odd pop-culture title that feels a little louder than the rest. Not louder in a cheap way. Just alive.
Those are the books that make people stop for half a beat longer than they planned to. They are the ones that create curiosity before anyone has even read the flap copy.
I do not think every stack needs to be elegant and restrained. Sometimes a display needs one book with enough personality to make the others feel chosen instead of arranged.
That is usually the difference between a table I glance at and a table I actually remember.