My Ideal Bookshelf [Hardcover]

Thessaly La Force (Editor), Jane Mount (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2012

The books that we choose to keep --let alone read-- can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In MY IDEAL BOOKSHELF, dozens of leading cultural figures share the books that matter to them most; books that define their dreams and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world. Contributors include Malcolm Gladwell, Thomas Keller, Michael Chabon, Alice Waters, James Patterson, Maira Kalman, Judd Apatow, Chuck Klosterman, Miranda July, Alex Ross, Nancy Pearl, David Chang, Patti Smith, Jennifer Egan, and Dave Eggers, among many others. With colorful and endearingly hand-rendered images of book spines by Jane Mount, and first-person commentary from all the contributors, this is a perfect gift for avid readers, writers, and all who have known the influence of a great book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A perfect gift for avid and reluctant readers alike--a celebration of the depth and breadth of the written word's shaping of our lives that will guide readers to new favorites while simultaneously causing them to think about their own ideal bookshelves." (Shelf Awareness )

"The books we cherish speak volumes about us, and the delightful new hardcover My Ideal Bookshelf offers a peek at those that have shaped the lives of dozens of celebrities, including rocker Patti Smith, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and skateboarder Tony Hawk, who says his choices 'are about pushing the boundaries of the mainstream.' Charmingly illustrated by Jane Mount, this is a book to savor and share." (Parade )

"A bibliophilic feast for the eye, mind, heart and soul." (Kirkus )

"a perfect coffee table book. . ." (Publisher's Weekly )

"the 100 writers, designers, chefs, artists, musicians, and others collected here turned in titles that, taken together, conspire to form the ultimate creative person's reading list." (Vogue )

". . . so addicting and thoughtful it makes a solid mainstream case for bookshelf porn." (-Chicago Tribune )

". . . the colorful, wonderful new offering edited by Thessaly La Force and illustrated in bookish splendor by Jane Mount." (- New York Daily News )

About the Author

Jane Mount is an artist and illustrator. Her paintings of bookshelves have caught the eye of media outlets like The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Daily Candy, and InStyle, among others. She lives in northern California with her husband and two cats.

Thessaly La Force is a writer and editor who has worked at The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and the New York Public Library. She is currently attending the Iowa Writer's Workshop and is working on a collection of short stories about objects and aesthetics. Thessaly divides her time between Iowa City and New York City; she also has two cats and shares a birthday with Jane.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition edition (November 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316200905
• ISBN-13: 978-0316200905
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 0.9 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Books & Reading > General
  • #61 in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Publishing & Books
  • #64 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Journalists

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Charming Illustrations, Pointless Pseudo-Interviews November 20, 2012

By Bitter Lawyer

Format:Hardcover

DISCLAIMER: I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes.

My Ideal Bookshelf is an interesting thought experiment. A great deal of the pleasure in reading it comes from spotting a familiar title on one of these imaginary bookshelves, then scanning your own real world library and seeing a physical copy of it nestled between bookends. It's also great fun trying to create your own list of essentials. What books changed you as a person, formed you into the embittered attorney or giddy anesthesiologist or cheeky carpenter you are today? Which novels or essays do you carry around inside your skull?

The range of people who answered these questions is interesting, but narrow. Most are familiar names from the worlds of writing, film, and art. The book goes through them alphabetically and assumes you know who each person is, although you will find single paragraph micro-biographies at the very back of the book if you find yourself asking, "Who?" There's no explanation as to why this particular set of folks was chosen, which suggests convenience and cooperation as the motivating factors, but you should be able to find at least two or three who grab your attention, no matter what your interests.

The real strength of this book is the illustrations. Each book spine is beautifully detailed and painstakingly accurate. You will be surprised by how a font or particular shade of orange will instantly call up a memory of the novel before you even look at the title. Book covers are designed to seize hold of your eyes as you scan a crowded shelf, and the drawings here display the many different ways publishers have tried to make their products stand out. Simplicity, explosions of color, delicate linework, or blocky leaden letters.... Mount's art style captures all of these techniques, while adding her own distinct fingerprint to them. Something about the slightly wobbly outlines of the novels lends them a childlike charm, no matter how adult the words inside the covers.

The written portion of the book is less successful. Each participant discusses their selections, but they're given very little space to do so. Almost every person picked ten or more books to line their imaginary bookshelves but were only given four to six brief paragraphs to explain their choices. This means they either ignore most of their selections and talk about only one title or spit out one sentence summaries that don't add all that much. I understand the desire to match a page of text with a page of illustration, but if you're only going to allow a person twenty seconds to describe a lifetime of passion for reading, what comes out is inevitably going to be shallow and rather pointless.

There are two potential ways to fix this. First, let your sources talk. If you assume that readers care enough to ask what various authors, artists, and chefs love to read, then those same readers are probably patient enough to find out why. Give your participants enough time and enough pages to say something meaningful about their choices, to tell an anecdote, to gush over how dreamy Hemmingway is. Anything, really, as long as it actually adds a dimension to the discussion.

Alternatively, just publish the illustrations. Leave the book as a pure, abstract thought experiment with noteworthy figures and celebrities picking out whatever books they like and readers extrapolating the meaning behind each choice.

As it is now, the little pseudo-interview blurbs just detract from the beautiful illustrations done by Mount. They serve only to frustrate those who are looking for real insight into the people creating these imaginary bookshelves or to distract those who just want to admire artfully recreated book spines.

In short, the concept behind My Ideal Bookshelf is clever and will appeal to any bibliophile. The illustrations are slightly whimsical and lovingly rendered. Unfortunately the book is let down by its structure with the text portions squeezed into tiny spaces and ultimately into irrelevance. Read more ›

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You Are What You Read November 17, 2012

By Therese Mulvihill-Wang

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this book. Imagine your bookshelf published. You are what you read. The Ideal Bookshelf is a very interesting perspective on favorite books of people from a variety of successful, creative, artistic careers. A wide range of creativity is represented; from Tony Hawks the professional snowboarder to the poet Jorie Graham. The idea is to relay to the reader how and why certain books influenced these individuals, in their own words, and perhaps get you to ask a few questions of yourself. Do your most memorable books affect your lot in life, or does your lot in life determine what you read and relish? Is your bookshelf were to be published would you be honest, or maybe pick books that make you look deep, insightful, smart? Either way you are influenced by the books you put on your bookshelf. But would you have the confidence to make it public? These showcased individuals did. An illustration accompanies each bookshelf narrative creating a colorful picturesque coffee table book. What is on your bookshelf?

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The more you read November 18, 2012

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

I was really looking forward to this book. It has more than 100 people telling what their favorite books are. There are chefs, designers, actors; each with 2 pages devoted to them - one to the description and the next a lovely watercolour type drawing of the books.
There is an account, in the back of the book, of each contributor in alphabetical order with their professional category and the list of their books.

The problem occurs when you read their narrative; 10 books might be pictured, but they only describe a few of them. It's almost like a tease; I really was expecting a full portrayal of their perfect bookshelf, not just a sampling of a few.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Artistic and Varied -- Not Just for Bookworms November 20, 2012

By Jennifer Donovan

Format:Hardcover

I'm a bona fide bookworm, and so books about books are always appealing to me. As a bookworm, I'm not sure I got what I expected from this book, because I would have preferred in-depth discussion about specific titles that might have been familiar to me.

However, I'm still giving this 4-stars, because of the whole package. My teen daughter is an artist, and so I've become much more aware of art, and this is a BEAUTIFUL book, so it would be perfect as a coffee table book or library feature. The entry from each person appears on one side of the page, and the other side has a full-page drawing of the books (similar to the one featured on the cover).

There are quite a few authors featured, but there are also several artists -- from all sorts of fields -- chefs and professionals from other careers, so the books that are featured are not for bookworms only.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Any Reader is Sure To Love December 23, 2012

By Patricia A. Murphy

Format:Hardcover

My Ideal Bookshelf is deeply engrossing. Many of the `bookshelves' have given me so many ideas for future reading, I am wondering how I will ever find the time. Plenty of them gave me insights into individual `bookshelf' owners, and a few of them were simply so pretentious as to be laughable - books listed that you couldn't help but believe they felt should be there to reflect some deep intellect. Personally, I wasn't impressed with those. I much preferred `shelves' such as that of Paola Antonelli including such enjoyment as Gary Larson's The Complete Farside or John Jeremiah Sullivan's who named the Life of Samuel Johnson and The Swiss Family Robinson among his favorites. Too many more fascinating `Ideal Bookshelves' to list! I believe you will find among them `shelves' to feel comfortable or familiar with and some maybe not so much, but I guarantee it will lead you to construct your own `Ideal Bookshelf'. I know I'm working on mine....and unfortunately finding it to be so vast they never would have included mine, as the shelf would have to be yards and yards long. I got this book from the library and will hate to return it. I only hope someone decides to gift me with it at some point. Would make a fabulous present!