It’s always been a habit of mine; I visit a friend or acquaintance and can’t help myself. I scan their bookshelves to see what they read, or at least, what they own. Equally important is how they have their books shelved. Sometimes there are no bookshelves to scan and I wonder what they do at night or if they realize how empty their house feels without books. Sometimes there is a wealth of riches and I can find unknown titles to consider.
In these pandemic times, we have a unique opportunity to do this with a range of people whose homes we would never have the chance to visit otherwise. I’ve been following a New York Times series about celebrity bookshelves; clearly, I am not the only reader who secretly delights in bookshelf voyeurism.
NYT has published a couple columns over the past few months:
July 27, 2020: a look at the shelves of Tom Hanks, Regina King, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Penn, Charlamagne tha God, Yo-Yo Ma, Patti LuPone, Colin Powell.
April 30, 2020: a look at the shelves of Cate Blanchett, Stacy Abrams, Prince Charles, Andy Cohen, Amy Poehler, Anna Wintour, Jane Goodall, Carla Hayden, Paul Rudd.
I find myself inspired to try some new titles. Courtesy of Yo-Yo Ma’s shelf, I now have The Black Count on my to-read list and thanks to Tom Hanks, The Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson, Volumes 1-3 on my “someday” list. Watching Judy Woodruff some nights on NPR reminds me I need to get going on Ron Chernow’s magisterial biography Grant.
Mostly, I find myself wanting to organize their shelves, though. Look at all those different genres, tilted right up against each other. Art books next to biographies. Fiction side by side with fashion. My inner librarian itches to visit and set their collections to rights.
My inner reader asks harder questions. Do they actually read these titles? Has Sean Penn ever taken one of the Encyclopedia Britannica volumes off the shelf to look something up? While I can imagine Gwyneth has at least skimmed Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture, I have a hard time believing Cate Blanchett takes the time to peruse all 20 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary (or maybe that’s just envy that she has the complete set).
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Bookshelf voyeurism, yes! My interest piqued too by the seemingly unrelated photos and beach rocks strewn between, atop, what selection process was used, how do these specific items fit? If anything like mine, they don’t necessarily: a photo of my brothers and me, MIL’s pink and gold teacup with broken handle, Mom’s Irish lady music box, a cup full of pens. Enjoyed reading your piece, makes me want to sit with my books, make sure that the massive table book on the Civil War is not butted up next to Sylvia Plath.
Thanks Ricci. The beach rocks at the top sort of represent my meanderings through life, books, writing.