Books can’t fully encapsulate the amazing, marvelous, one-of-a-kind experience that is holding a fine shoe in your hands or slipping them onto your feet for the first time (yes, I am equating Love at First Shoe with Romantic Love at First Sight with a Human), but they can preserve the memory of beautiful shoes that are no longer made, ones that you might not have ever been able to get your hands on, or ones that you’d rather look at than wear because of the Ouch Factor.

Here are some books to check out about shoes:

Vintage Shoes is historical, pretty AND practical, with descriptions of shoes by decades from the turn of the twentieth century to the present, a shopping and collecting guide, a care guide and a designer glossary.

The Art of the Shoe takes a historical, academic, artistic stance on the significance of the shoe, and rightly so, I say.

The Seductive Shoe (aren’t these names great? The authors are so reverential of the topic at hand… I mean, foot. Sorry, couldn’t resist) is also a historical tome, but with more delightful visuals.

Shoes: What Every Woman Should Know lets you shudder at the very first sagebrush sandal (must have been uncomfortable!) and learn how shoe sizing systems came about.

And last but not least, what else but … the stiletto?

And for those of you who’d rather not have coffee table books, you’ll be pleased with InStyle.com’s Ultimate Shoe Guide.

So brew some cocoa, sit by the fireplace, cozy up to all your shoes near and dear, and do some reading about the wonderful things that we walk in. And let me know your suggestions for your favorite shoe books!