Nobody represents the photobook market like Martin Parr. When Parr, "the man who matters most in the world of the photobook" (The Guardian), says a particular book is great, it's sold out almost instantly. Most "collectors" hurry to buy it without ever having seen it, not necessarily because they trust Martin Parr's judgement so much, but because it's safe to assume the book goes up in value. "Martin Parr looking at books" is a little satire about the photobook market, a good hearted attempt to start a discussion about the direction in which the photobook market is heading. Ever since it has become lucrative to collect "the right" books, it is now unprofitable to miss the year's "best ones".

The book consists of 22 found photographs of Martin Parr looking at books, taken mostly at photobook festivals, where he is being watched by almost everyone to find out what book he might buy and promote later.