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118 reviews for:
My Ideal Bookshelf
Thessaly La Force, Thomas Keller, Nancy Pearl, Miranda July, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman, Jonathan Lethem, Alice Waters, James Franco, Alex Ross, Patti Smith, David Chang, Maira Kalman, David Sedaris, Nico Muhly, Jennifer Egan, Thurston Moore, George Saunders, Rosanne Cash
3.71 AVERAGE
118 reviews for:
My Ideal Bookshelf
Thessaly La Force, Thomas Keller, Nancy Pearl, Miranda July, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman, Jonathan Lethem, Alice Waters, James Franco, Alex Ross, Patti Smith, David Chang, Maira Kalman, David Sedaris, Nico Muhly, Jennifer Egan, Thurston Moore, George Saunders, Rosanne Cash
3.71 AVERAGE
I'm always looking for book recommendations, so when I picked this up at the local library, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. And I did, sort of. Great idea, this book, but it could have been much better executed.
The editor asked several creative people which books they would put on their ideal bookshelves. Some of these creatives are household names. Many of the bookshelves belong to people who are, apparently, hipster friends of the editor, maybe? Most of the contributors are conveniently located in east coast cities and several seem to write/illustrate for the New Yorker, where the Le Force is also an editor. God knows, that's not a bad thing! It just seems that she chose people who were incredibly easy for her to get a hold of and talk into writing a couple hundred words. She must be some sort of gourmand because there are a LOT Of chefs who have bookshelves in here. Mark Bittman has a very interesting, decidedly non-cookbook shelf. A few actors/directors--Judd Apatow make an appearance. Also, a legal scholar or two (I'm sure they're very creative somehow). The president of Harvard weighs in with her bookshelf, as well.
An illustrator was dispatched to paint the spines of recommended books, as if they were on a bookshelf. The creative people were pressed upon to write a brief essay on, at least most of the time, the role of books/reading in their lives. Or not. Some essays are just pointless exercises in narcissism. I'm imagining the editor saying, "just write about, you know, whatever." Fortunately, several of the essayists expound on the importance of at least a couple of the actual books they list on their shelf. In the introduction, the editor states that some bookshelves were not created for the content of the book at all. Some designers paid a lot of attention to the way the spines of the books would look in the illustration. You can't even read the titles of some of the books on the shelves because the bookcloth on the spine has simply worn away.
The contributors' bookshelf titles are all included after their microbiographies at the end of the book, but the editor simply didn't bother to include authors or years of publication. Or maybe she left that practical, helpful stuff out because it didn't look "designerly" to include it--too many changes from italics to regular type involved in giving a standard bibliography? Too many words cluttering up the page, maybe? I'm not sure why.
In spite of these editorial flaws, I still found some of the essays really thought-provoking (this means you, Malcolm Gladwell), and I found some books I'd never heard of on the shelves, and that I am definitely going to read. Also, I want to check out some of the works of the writers whose bookshelves were on display. They sound like interesting people. In sum, this is a very uneven book whose editor didn't do it any favors, but there are many pearls in the mud here.
The editor asked several creative people which books they would put on their ideal bookshelves. Some of these creatives are household names. Many of the bookshelves belong to people who are, apparently, hipster friends of the editor, maybe? Most of the contributors are conveniently located in east coast cities and several seem to write/illustrate for the New Yorker, where the Le Force is also an editor. God knows, that's not a bad thing! It just seems that she chose people who were incredibly easy for her to get a hold of and talk into writing a couple hundred words. She must be some sort of gourmand because there are a LOT Of chefs who have bookshelves in here. Mark Bittman has a very interesting, decidedly non-cookbook shelf. A few actors/directors--Judd Apatow make an appearance. Also, a legal scholar or two (I'm sure they're very creative somehow). The president of Harvard weighs in with her bookshelf, as well.
An illustrator was dispatched to paint the spines of recommended books, as if they were on a bookshelf. The creative people were pressed upon to write a brief essay on, at least most of the time, the role of books/reading in their lives. Or not. Some essays are just pointless exercises in narcissism. I'm imagining the editor saying, "just write about, you know, whatever." Fortunately, several of the essayists expound on the importance of at least a couple of the actual books they list on their shelf. In the introduction, the editor states that some bookshelves were not created for the content of the book at all. Some designers paid a lot of attention to the way the spines of the books would look in the illustration. You can't even read the titles of some of the books on the shelves because the bookcloth on the spine has simply worn away.
The contributors' bookshelf titles are all included after their microbiographies at the end of the book, but the editor simply didn't bother to include authors or years of publication. Or maybe she left that practical, helpful stuff out because it didn't look "designerly" to include it--too many changes from italics to regular type involved in giving a standard bibliography? Too many words cluttering up the page, maybe? I'm not sure why.
In spite of these editorial flaws, I still found some of the essays really thought-provoking (this means you, Malcolm Gladwell), and I found some books I'd never heard of on the shelves, and that I am definitely going to read. Also, I want to check out some of the works of the writers whose bookshelves were on display. They sound like interesting people. In sum, this is a very uneven book whose editor didn't do it any favors, but there are many pearls in the mud here.
This is a coffee table-style book, with illustrations of 100+ "ideal bookshelves" from different writers, artists, etc. The opposite page includes an excerpt from their interview with the authors. The part I loved (which you might resent, depending on how you view it) is that this probably doubled my to-read list. The part which frustrated me is that, about half the time, the text had nothing to do with the bookshelf the person chose. I was interested in why they chose the books they did, not random anecdotes about themselves or their career.
I haven't heard of most of the people compiling bookshelves, but in a peoplewatching sense, I did enjoy most of what they had to say about their choices. I wish sometimes they would mention certain titles over others. For example, The Queen's Gambit made it onto someone's shelf, still years before it made it onto Netflix. But this book did give me a lot of inspiration for future reading, which seems like a decent outcome.
Interesting concept for a book, but perhaps is more sentimental than useful in identifying new books to read. The essays are short (one page) and succinct and the book's layout is very attractive.
A great many of the books mentioned are old which means most libraries and book stores don't carry them any more though you could probably find a copy with diligence. Quite a number of titles are specific to an industry such as food preparation. Quite a few "classics" are listed which I always question seeing because too many classics are simply no fun to read at all. Perhaps the book they "really loved" was something like "The Flame and the Flower" (racy) by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Finally, who are these people? They are not your average person on the street and a great many have nothing to do with writing. That somehow comes through to disadvantage.
A great many of the books mentioned are old which means most libraries and book stores don't carry them any more though you could probably find a copy with diligence. Quite a number of titles are specific to an industry such as food preparation. Quite a few "classics" are listed which I always question seeing because too many classics are simply no fun to read at all. Perhaps the book they "really loved" was something like "The Flame and the Flower" (racy) by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Finally, who are these people? They are not your average person on the street and a great many have nothing to do with writing. That somehow comes through to disadvantage.
The concept of this book is so great: creatives in various fields are asked to pick their "Ideal Bookshelf" of books that represent who they are or what's important to them or books that have impacted their lives or careers, books that if a person looked at them, they would understand exactly what the person is about. I felt like this book gave readers a private look into the heart of each of the contributors, and I adored every second of it. I also loved seeing how many books were repeatedly chosen and which books were only brought up once. I'll say that my reading list expanded a lot after this book!
At the end of the book, La Force provides space for readers to contribute their own list. This exercise is so difficult for me to even imagine having to do! But if I had to give a list, I think this would be mine:
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Dry, Augusten Burroughs
Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Tracey Chevalier
Ar'n't I a Woman? Deborah Gray White
Milk and Honey, Rupi Kaur
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nahisi Coates
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
The Price of Salt, Patricia Highsmith
Finding Your Religion, Scotty McLennan
Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
The Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Barry Lord
The Black Unicorn, Audre Lorde
The Secret Garden, Frances Hadgson Burnett
Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience, John H Falk
The F-Word, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
The Collected Poems of Rumi
American Slavery, American Freedom, Edmund S Morgan
The AA Big Book
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
At the end of the book, La Force provides space for readers to contribute their own list. This exercise is so difficult for me to even imagine having to do! But if I had to give a list, I think this would be mine:
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Dry, Augusten Burroughs
Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Tracey Chevalier
Ar'n't I a Woman? Deborah Gray White
Milk and Honey, Rupi Kaur
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nahisi Coates
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
The Price of Salt, Patricia Highsmith
Finding Your Religion, Scotty McLennan
Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
The Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Barry Lord
The Black Unicorn, Audre Lorde
The Secret Garden, Frances Hadgson Burnett
Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience, John H Falk
The F-Word, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
The Collected Poems of Rumi
American Slavery, American Freedom, Edmund S Morgan
The AA Big Book
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Nice illustrations and nice comments from famous writers.
Bei disegni e bei commenti da parte di scrittori famosi.
Bei disegni e bei commenti da parte di scrittori famosi.
I will sum this book up in a single word: wonderful. The paintings of each bookshelf are beautiful and the essays are fascinating. I have gone back and forth through this book several times, marking books I'd like to read, finding bookshelves that are most similar to mine, and assembling my own ideal bookshelf on my head.
The artwork is more intriguing than the short essays that accompany each "shelf." The essays are often bland and give no real explanation as to the reasoning behind the person's book selections. It is a book with an intimate intent, but that falls short and leaves the reader feeling teased and unfulfilled.
On the plus side, my bookshelf is the soulmate of James Franco's. Perhaps they should get together sometime.
On the plus side, my bookshelf is the soulmate of James Franco's. Perhaps they should get together sometime.
I received this book as a First Reads giveaway in December. Although it took me some time to really enjoy the book and write the review, I finally did! You can read the review here: http://ireadborrowedbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/my-ideal-bookshelf/
This is somewhere between 2.5 stars and 3 stars.
The artwork is fantastic!
The content was a bit "meh" for me because I was not familiar with most of the people surveyed, which had an impact on my enjoyment.
The artwork is fantastic!
The content was a bit "meh" for me because I was not familiar with most of the people surveyed, which had an impact on my enjoyment.