Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books

Unpacking My Library

by Leah Price

As words and stories are increasingly disseminated through digital means, the significance of the book as object—whether pristine collectible or battered relic—is growing as well. Unpacking My Writers and Their Books spotlights the personal libraries of thirteen favorite novelists who share their collections with readers. Stunning photographs provide full views of the libraries and close-ups of individual first editions, worn textbooks, pristine hardcovers, and childhood companions.

In her introduction, Leah Price muses on the history and future of the bookshelf, asking what books can tell us about their owners and what readers can tell us about their collections. Supplementing the photographs are Price's interviews with each author, which probe the relation of writing to reading, collecting, and arranging books. Each writer provides a list of top ten favorite titles, offering unique personal histories along with suggestions for every bibliophile.

Unpacking My Writers and Their Books features the personal libraries of Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Díaz, Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messud and James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, and Edmund White.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Writing, Art, Photography, Essays, 21st Century

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Leah Price is an American literary critic who specializes in the British novel and in the history of the book. She is Professor of English Literature at Harvard University, where at the age of 31 she became the first female assistant professor ever to be promoted to tenure.

Reviews

[Jola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding out that there are more people totally obsessed by literature and shamelessly addicted to buying books is always a sheer, comforting pleasure for me but I have the impression that this collection of interviews could have been better.
Review to come.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book. My only real issue is the writers they chose to interview. Other than Alison Bechdel, the others were mostly literary fiction or critics of the stuffy variety. As more of a genre reader as I am, I found it difficult to care for what they offered. Having said though, the book is an easy read. You get a look into the books, their shelves, and the ways these folks think about books, how they relate to books. That part I did find interesting. The photography is very good by the way, which is another reason I liked the book. If you like books about books and reading, this is a pretty good one to pick up.

Now, if it had been me, these are people whose shelves I would love to see and who I would have loved to hear about their books and their reading:

*Gabriel Garcia Marquez

*Mario Vargas Llosa

*Neil Gaiman

*John Scalzi (I like his blog, so I imagine he would have good insights given some of the things he has said already).

*Alan Moore

I think this might make a good exercise. If you were to do a book like this one, which authors would you want to include. These are just five of my favorites, but there could be a few more I would not mind including. Anyhow, food for thought.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good idea for a book. I would say that it could only be done once, but I notice in my most perfunctory search of the title that there is at least another. UNPACKING MY LIBRARY heralds the shelves of books that writers collect. The thriteen writers featured here, talk about their reading tastes and discoveries. Then, their personal reading spaces and the collections of books they are reading, have read, or want to read, are depicted photographically. Unless the writers are in a group of two, each writer is alloted eight pages showing their shelved books. A person could spend hours looking at the battered and the beautiful volumes on these shelves. Another bonus is that each writer gives a list of their 10 "top" books. There are three couples in this group and two of them cite the work of the other in their most important ten. The diversity of the tastes of these thirteen are reflected in the things on the shelves. Everything from Ace Comic books to a run of the HBO series THE SOPRANOS; also small animal skulls; vases; toys; seashells and family-type pictures. Somehow each series of shelves gives us a small portrait of the author. I was also interested in the lighting that each library used, since a good light to read by and find a book by is essential to the bibliophile. As for recomendations, I noted that Elizabeth Bishop's collected poems were given in three different "top" lists. A biographical sketch of all of the writers whose shelves we puruse concludes this informative and stimulating work.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

While preparing for my seventh move in a decade in January I sold, gave away, and donated about 1100 of my books. (I still kept five full shelves.) I picked up this little volume with my bookstore credit, intending to cut out some photographs to frame and hang on the bare walls of our new place. ~ A sort of funny referential joke for myself, about what's missing. Alas, I don't feel like doing that anymore. These authors' books and bookcases are personal, and eccentric, and look nothing like my own. And that is the point, of course! Reading it was still a pleasurable experience.

[So why didn't a snap some pictures of my own books before the great culling of 2016? I know why. I wanted to be free of their weight, their dust, and (some) of the accumulated memories or aspirations those books represented. And I'm wary of spending too much thought second-guessing my decision.]

[Nicholle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been SO much better - better edited, better photographs, more detail, more insight.

I once saw a man's 2 personal libraries in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming 30 miles from Cody that put all of these to shame. I'll never forget them.

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A confession - I'm a bibliophile. And so I devour books like this one, where people discuss books that matter to them. But even though it's easy for me to love this kind of a book, still this particular one is a standout. I love that it's about books people actually own as opposed to generally read and that it discusses book storage and collecting as well as their content, thus treating books as precious physical objects too (and in itself this book is a charming object with beautiful images and lovely-to-touch paper!). The 13 writers chosen for this book were all erudite, interesting and diverse in their tastes (I particularly enjoyed Gary Shteyngart's collection), the bookshelf photos are lush and delightful both visually and in content, and I found quite a few new books here to add to my to-read wish list. So what's not to like??

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an urge to peek into the libraries of some famous writers, and this scratched that itch.

After each writer's interview, they listed the top ten favorite books in their collection. In the interview, they talked about why they chose that list and how books became important to them.

I enjoyed reading Unpacking My Library but I'm not sure it's something I would recommend to everyone. If you want an amazing look at personal libraries, I'd recommend Bibliostyle instead which I read earlier this year and absolutely loved.

[Kathy McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book with a fascinating premise and unusual illustrations. Price interviews thirteen writers (most were unfamiliar to me) and discusses their book collections and the insight to people that their bookshelves provide. The photos of each author's bookshelves add an interesting dimension to the overall impact. Price encourages the reader to consider the question, "What does your book collection tell people about you and your past?

"What seems unlikely to change is our curiousity about what friends and strangers read- or what others will make of our own reading"
"The Kindle prompted the NY Times to predict that literary tastes would go underground. No longer would strangers strike up conversations about the paperbacks poking out of their pockets."

Junot Diaz told the author, "Books are for me many things: they are friends, they are companions, they are mentors, they are warnings, they clown, they entertain, they hearten, and they make me stronger."
Truer words were never spoken!!

[Celtria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this two stars - it was okay - but it got bumped up to three for the photography, which is excellent.

Of the thirteen writers included, I've only heard of three (nobody's fault but my own). The interviews are interesting but I would have preferred to have 'heard' more from them or, better still, to have had a wider range and number of writers.

The photographs allow browsing their shelves which adds an extra dimension of interest but not enough to keep me engaged.

I was left with the feeling this is a good idea for a could-have-been-better book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept. I would love to see the libraries of writers that I am more familiar with. The folks in this book are extremely established and classy writers, don't get me wrong...I don't feel like I read a lot of writers that draw on Chekov and Blake for inspiration. Very cool book though.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a delightful short read. Price interviews 13 authors about their libraries and how each author feels about books versus electronic books, about lending books, about discarding books, about annotating and marking books, etc. The range of personalities will make the reader smile.

[Jeff Bursey · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a full review, go here:

http://www.raintaxi.com/online/2012sp...

[Nisah Haron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peluang meninjau apa yang ada di dalam perpustakaan penulis lain, akan menimbulkan rasa kagum atau mungkin cemburu. Di dalam buku ini, ada 13 orang penulis yang berkongsi imej foto perpustakaan masing-masing. Bukan soal sama ada pengarang ini dikenali atau tidak, yang penting ialah sesuatu yang sinonim antara pengarang dengan buku-bukunya. Setiap pengarang ada buku yang menjadi kegemaran dan inspirasinya. Lebih lusuh sesebuah buku, lebih banyaklah kenangan dan manfaat yang telah dialir keluar kepada si pembaca.

Setiap pengarang bukan sahaja menjawab soalan-soalan berkaitan dengan buku, pembacaan dan juga penulisan masing-masing; mereka harus memilih senarai Top-10 buku pilihan dan jelaskan mengapa buku ini menjadi kegemaran dan signifikan kepada pengarang. Cuma yang kurang menarik, soalan-soalan yang dikemukan kepada setiap pengarang hampir sama. Saya percaya setiap pengarang itu ada keunikan masing-masing. Hal ini tidak mungkin terserlah dengan baik, jika soalan yang dikemukakan itu menyerupai satu sama lain.

Imej-imej foto buku, susunan buku di rak dan imej perpustakaan itu sungguh mengujakan. Bukan semua pengarang menyusun buku masing-masing dengan elok di rak. Ada yang tersusun di atas lantai juga, maklumlah, kehabisan ruang. Itu perkara biasa kerana susunan sesebuah buku dalam perpustakaan pengarang, pastilah mengikut susunan yang paling praktikal. Ada buku yang dekat dengan meja tulis kerana kerap dirujuk, ada yang disusun pada aras mata kerana buku itu mungkin sedap mata memandang atau memberikan kepuasan kepada pengarang; ada pula yang diletakkan jauh sama ada atas sekali atau bawah sekali kerana paling kurang dirujuk.

Setiap pengarang ada alasan masing-masing. Hal ini menjadikan mana-mana pencinta buku jadi teruja dengan buku-buku yang diperagakan ini.

[Dick Loftin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read books for different reasons: for pleasure, to learn, to go somewhere else and return home again. But there are other books we own for the pure joy of owning them—photography, art, vintage cars, collectibles. We spend time with these books when we want to relax and let our mind rest—they are companion books.

If you love buying, collecting, reading and keeping books as much as I do, you will enjoy a great little book I recently discovered. “Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books,” edited by Leah Price, and published by Yale University Press. It is a follow-up book to “Unpacking My Library: Architects and Their Books,” published in 2009 and edited by Jo Steffens.

Imagine being able to browse through the libraries of thirteen writers of fiction. “Unpacking” features interviews with each writer, a Top Ten list, and great color photographs of the writers in their libraries. Some of the libraries are straight and orderly—like they are barely used—while others are helplessly piled, cluttered, smothered with books. The cluttered folks are my kind of people. They clearly can’t help buying and keeping books. The most fun about looking in the bookshelves of other people is finding books you have in your own shelves. Let the bonding begin.

Some of the writers were unfamiliar to me, but this is part of what makes “Unpacking” so great. Being introduced to a new writer–anyone, for that matter–through their books is what reading is all about—enlarging your book view. Their collections, and their Top Ten lists especially, will have you headed to the nearest bookstore.

[Review by Dick Loftin from EndpaperReview.com]

[Derrick Jeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting read. Thirteen writers take us into their libraries and give a gander at the books on their shelves. The writer selections range from the famous (Steven Pinker and Philip Pullman) to a Pulitzer winner (Junot Diaz) to the obscure (Alison Bechdel and Edmund White). With a series of questions, we learn what makes these writers tick, how they organize their books, and whether they get rid of old books. Each writer has also selected ten recommendations.

If you're a writer and have a bit of the voyeur in you--you're one of those who peruses through other people's books when invited over for dinner--or are interested in the creative process, then this book will serve as a nice primer.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does Alison Bechdel’s library look like? How did Junot Diaz catalogue his books? Where did Gary Shteyngart get his shelving? Leah Price has artfully photographed the personal libraries of thirteen of our favorite novelists, supplementing the beautiful images with an interview with each author and a list (readers LOVE lists!) of their top ten favorite titles. Along the way the writers remind us of the value of the book as an object that is to be revered, respected and loved. Other writers include Stephen Carter, Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Massud and James Wood, Philip Pullman and Edmund White. Every bibliophile should have this book in their collection.

[Magda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something of a guilty pleasure read, rife with pictures of bookcases. Little more than that, though, at least to me. I hadn't heard of most of these authors (one I had heard of and didn't like), and couldn't really relate to the books that they liked ... but I could relate to how they liked the books they did.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interestingly different! 10 authors talk about their home libraries picking 10 of their favorite books followed by 4or 5 pages of pictures of those libraries. If you are a book list reader, you will enjoy this quick "read"!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and quick peek at 13 authors' personal libraries. I love perusing other people's bookshelves! I wish the author interviews had been a bit longer.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if not all that informative. None of the collections featured are especially notable, but I like looking at other people's books.

[Merrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great cover. It would have been more interesting if the authors she chose to interview were more mainstream. I love to peek at what other people display on their bookshelves though.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring white people talking about boring white people.

[Lizzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I class this with the coffee table book, and I was never much cop with those. Came for Bechdel, stayed for Pullman: one star apiece.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read this sort of book [1], you likely know what kind of person you are.  To be sure, in reading this book I saw plenty of kindred spirits.  You know the type--people whose living places are buried in books, whose noses are buried in books, people who, like Beauty & The Beast's Belle are such notorious readers that their studiousness is confused with incivility and whose reading habits are so prolific that they make others feel a bit daunted in discussing books and reading, which many people may discover boring.  Few people are likely to read a book like this without being readers themselves, and likely writers as well, and those writers who do read this book will likely find the interviews between the editor and the various writers chosen in what appears to be a convenience sample to hit close to home at times [2], and will also likely find that the pictures of the sprawling libraries shown may share many similarities to one's own libraries, as is the case with me, it must be candidly if uncomfortably admitted.  If this book is somewhat slight in terms of its ambitions, it nevertheless manages to convey to the reader a sense that to become a writer depends on being a great reader, and that the two tasks feed into each other like a serpent devouring its own tail.

The roughly 200 pages of this unusually shaped book are divided into ten chapters where the editor has an interview with one (or two) writers and where pictures are shown of the libraries of the person or people being interviewed.  These chapters are framed by an introduction and by a list of contributors to the book, in which the authors whose libraries are examined are given credit as well for their responses.  The writers chosen in what appears to be a convenience sample of New York-based writers includes the following people:  Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Diaz, Rebecca Goldstein & Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman & Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messud & James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, and Edmund White.  To be perfectly honest, I am familiar with only a few of these writers, and not necessarily in a complementary sense.  Many of these writers, it should be noted, are most famous for their participation in decadent and corrupt contemporary cultural politics or abusive anti-religious attitudes, or political activism of some kind or another in favor of some supposed subaltern group.  Even so, despite the fact that I am not inclined to be very favorable to the worldviews of many of these authors, I found them to be reasonably close to my own views when discussing books and their importance and the enjoyment of reading them, hoarding them, giving them away, and writing as a result of what we have read in them.

Ultimately, those of us who both read and write often find it necessary to feel ourselves part of a greater community of people who are literate to the same degree (or greater) than we ourselves are.  Whether we are primarily engaged in reading or writing, both tasks are engaged in a great battle against the approaching darkness of despair.  To write is to attempt to communicate over an immense chasm, to hope against hope that our thoughts and feelings can be conveyed to others in such a way that we might ourselves be understood and respected, and that may be able to build a bridge to other beings not unlike ourselves.  To read, and to enjoy what one has read, and to wish to know the people who write better, is in some ways to gratify that hope of being appreciated and understood that is one of the reasons why so many suffering and tormented souls are compelled to write despite the fact that those who often read the most and best are those who write themselves, and so add to the mass of books that remain so frequently unread within the cacophony of voices that can be found.  Hopefully those who read this book can appreciate the authors and their sincere struggle against silence and against their own fears, and appreciate as well the fact that they give honor to those books that have inspired and encouraged them.  For truly anyone who has ever picked up a pen or sat down at a keyboard to write knows that those who write need all the encouragement and inspiration they can get, whether from books or from wherever such encouragement and inspiration may be found.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

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[2] See, for example, the following quotes:

"I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without books.  All that deprivation and pain--abuse, broken home, a runaway sister, a brother with cancer--the books allowed me to withstand.  They sustained me.  I read still, prolifically, with great passion, but never like I read in those days: in those days it was life or death." - Junot Diaz, p.45

"To encourage intellectual depth, don't rail at Power Point or Google.  It's not as if habits of deep reflection, thorough research, and rigorous reasoning ever came naturally to people.  They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism, and debate.  They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet." - Steven Pinker p. 72

"But that's not a reason not to have objects made of paper and glue.  Doesn't anybody but me ever imagine an apocalypse after which there is no electricity, no computers?  Or even the simple and constant problem of the obsolescence of technology, that makes information hard to hold onto over time?  The notion that we can do without knowledge on glue and paper--and that we wouldn't want the many pleasures of objects made of glue and paper--is, to me, absurd.  Anybody who thinks books are dispensable is someone entirely lacking in appreciation of sensual pleasure.  I pity such a person." - Claire Messud, p.131

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unpacking My Library is a collection of interviews on the bookish habits of thirteen contemporary writers, accompanied by pictures of their libraries. It's a small book, perfect gift size, about 5 3/4 inches high by 8 inches in wide, and 201 pages.

In her introduction Price writes that as a teenaged babysitter, when the parents left the house she went straight for the books—snooping in various places people keep/hide books before eventually making it to the official living room shelves. She offers a brief history of the bookshelf and attitudes towards books and collecting, but doesn't mention why these particular writers were chosen. If you’re that much of a book geek that when you visit someone's house your eyes keep straying past your host to their books, you’ll probably enjoy looking through this book.

The authors included are an interesting mix:

Lola demanding a catch break.
Alison Bechel
Stephen Carter
Junot Diaz
Rebecca Goldstein & Steven Pinker
Lev Grossman & Sophie Gee
Jonathan Lethem
Claire Messud & James Wood
Philip Pullman
Gary Shteyngart
Edmund White

Each writer answered some questions posed by Price about their books such as acquisition habits, organization, how they treat their books when reading, and whether or not they loan books. Most of the writers do underline, dog ear, and write marginalia. Some are pack rats who hold onto just about every book they read, whereas others let books come and go, keeping a core of beloved books.

I enjoyed reading each writer's response to Price's questions as well as the pictures of their bookshelves and books. It was neat to see book I've read, various editions of well-loved books, and hearing about some that were new to me. I was curious about how everyone organized their books Even those who don't organize their entire collection have some books that are grouped together. Each writer also lists ten favorite or influential books.

Below are some of the quotes from various writers that spoke to me:

Bechdel: “I do lend my books, but I have to be a bit selective because my marginalia are so incriminating.” (12)

Carter on Mannheim’s Ideology and Utopia: “To this day, I have yet to encounter a better statement of the many ways in which ideological commitment puts at risk the entire project of the Enlightenment—and therefore of liberal democracy” (29).

Price asks Pinker about this quote of his: “To encourage intellectual depth, don’t rail at Power-Point or Google. It’s not as if habits of deep reflection, thorough research, and rigorous reasoning ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism, and debate. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away be efficient access to information on the Internet.” Pinker flips between reading “a single book in iPhone, iPad, and paper incarnations, depending on where I am at the time” (72).

Pinker is unsentimental about books and refers to himself as someone “who loves technology and does not fetishize the physical medium of books” (73).

In contrast to Pinker is Lev Grossman who, although he doesn’t have his original childhood books says, “since I left college, books have been the one thing, the one class of object, that I’ve assiduously hung on to, through literally dozens and dozens of apartments. The idea of needing a book and not having it immediately to hand is strangely horrifying to me” (87).

Lethem: “People sometimes act as though owning books you haven’t read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me, there’s a lovely mystery and pregnancy about a book that hasn’t given itself over to you yet—sometimes I’m the most inspired by imagining what the contents of an unread book might be” (113).

Lethem: “My books are always organized, arranged, and always being rearranged, too—a constant process” (114).

Lethem: “I hate lending, or borrowing—if you want me to read a book, tell me about it, or buy me a copy outright. Your loaned edition sits in my house like a real grievance. And in lieu of lending books, I buy extra copies of those I want to give away, which gives me the added pleasure of buying books I love again and again.” (115).

Messud: “Owning books has been only intermittently of importance to me. At one time, collecting books that were my own, feeling I had my own intellectual and literary trajectory visible before me, seemed necessary and meaningful. But now, in midlife, I feel that my tendency to acquire books is rather like someone smoking two packs a day: it’s a terrible vice that I wish I could shuck. I love my books, and with all their dog-ears and underlinings they are irreplaceable; but I sometimes wish they’d just vanish. To be weighed down by things—books, furniture—seems somehow terrible to me. It’s important to be ready to move on” (130).

Wood tells this story: “A few years before his death, Frank Kermode was moving house and had some boxes of his most precious books out on the street, ready for the movers. Alas, the garbage men came by and mistakenly took them away, and compacted them. In a stroke, he lost all of his first editions and most prized dedication copies; he was left with only his cheapest paperbacks, and his collection of literary theory. There’s a parable lurking there” (136-37).

Pullman: “I still have that set of once highly celebrated Alexandria Quartet. Reading it now, it’s hard to see why it went out of literary fashion; but it’s not hard, either, to see why it was the perfect reading for the sort of teenager I once was. I don’t believe in dissing books I used to love, and I always suspect the moral judgment of people who sneer at the taste of the reader they used to be: ‘I know thee not, old book’” (152).

While this isn't a book I'd buy for myself, I'd have considered it a charming gift had it come into my life in that manner. I think it's safe to say that most book lovers would enjoy reading and/or flipping through this book. It would make a great gift for a bibliophile whose reading tastes are unknown.

[Rose-Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this book about the same time as "My Ideal Bookshelf" edited by Thessaly La Force.
This book compared the bookshelves of 13 successful writers plus one cartoonist. I read a lot, and I have never encountered these writers or the books they wrote. But anyway. . .
The editor asked the writers these questions:
* How do they organized their books?
* Do they write in their books?
* How far back does their collection go?
* Describe the Top 10 Books that you chose for this volume.
* Do you keep your books that you've finished, or how do you dispose of them?
* Do you read books on an e-reader or on your phone, or listen to audiobooks?
* What are your bookshelves made of?
* Do you lend your books?
There are wonderful photographs of every shelf of every bookcase that each writer would allow.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok I admit that I didn't read every word, even though it's short.

If I actually was a fan of any of these authors, these superficial anecdotes would be more interesting. But this is like a poppyseed muffin: pretty, a treat, but forgettable, and ultimately unworthy. If your library, like mine, tempts you with a "For Bibliophiles" display, take a look. But unless you absolutely love several of the authors and want to know the minutiae of this aspect of their lives, do not buy this.

If you want an atypical sample chapter, read Junot Díaz. He actually reads some contemporary fiction and has a few interesting things to say about books as physical treasures.

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent quick read, kind of an interesting sifter. I enjoyed seeing the breadth of books recommended by the interviewed luminaries. Some of those interviewed treated books as fetish porn-- over the top-- leaving me with an impression of the Onion posting a fake interview with an intellectual elite writer.

I preferred those who were more down to earth. If short on time, read the interview with Steven Pinker. While not lacking confidence, he carries a clear POV that counters some of the fetish platitudes expressed by others. He also gives the practical advice to use bookshelves from www. smartfurniture.com/smartshelves.

A few people recommended Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. I plan to pick that book up.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

P86: Lev Grossman: “Library as maps of the brain, look around somebody’s personal library, you can actually see, physically, instantiated as objects, a map of that person’s interests, preoccupations and memories. When you stand inside somebody’s library, you get a powerful sense of who they are, and not just who they are now but who they’ve been.”

Interview questions/answers with the authors, book structure and the photography within are a tad bland, are authors bland? When they show their library, do they edit their shelves?

This book as a series has the potential to be more engaging with a diverse and eclectic range of featured authors. More spontaneous and less systematic editing.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant, small book to satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies to look at the personal libraries of writers and professors. At first I was disappointed with the amount of pictures, but coupled with the writer's responses I think it all works together nicely.

One thing I will say is that I felt the book lacked a broader age range. The general ages are from 45 (Sophie Lee) to Edmund White (79) with the average being in their early to mid-fifties. I would have been curious to see how the responses would have been with authors in their 20s or 30s. I think an interesting opportunity was missed.