remove all the books from table.

Display the books. It's a nice gesture.

Put it out there, it would be a compliment and also be a topic of conversation about what it took to write the book and what might be done different given the opportunity. A large part of this person is in this book. Relax and don't worry about it once you have made your decision.

Let your guest see that you appreciate the books. Any writer is pleased when someone acknowledges that their material is read and purchased. Flaunt it!

Thanks for your feed back.

I will be flaunting away .

I've come to feel that it is a nice gesture and agree it is a great way to segway into an engaging conversation about her work, which I greatly enjoy to read and see.

Thanks to all.

Mich

Stack them on the table, and ask the author to sign them for you. That will get away from any awkwardness, as the author will be pleased, and you will not be perceived as having displayed them just to curry favor.

Hope you don't have the same experience I had, Mich. The author of two then well known guides to plants stopped by the nursery one day. Once I realized who he was I asked him to autograph my copies. As he was signing his name he quietly announced that he always felt guilty. Seems he had his grad students do the leg work, photography and writing. He simply organized the data and put his name on the final product.