How does Newton’s third law apply when a book rests on a table?

When a book rests on a table, Newton’s third law applies through the interaction between the book and the table surface. The book exerts a downward force on the table due to its weight, and the table exerts an equal and opposite upward force on the book.1

It is important to distinguish these forces from the state of equilibrium. The upward force from the table and the downward force of gravity acting on the book are equal and opposite, but they act on the same body and therefore do not constitute a third-law action-reaction pair. Instead, the third-law pair consists of the downward force the book exerts on the table and the upward force the table exerts on the book; these forces act on different bodies. The table’s surface undergoes a slight deformation under the book's weight, which generates the upward force that supports the book.12