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raechsreads's review
3.0
My Ideal Bookshelf is an interesting collection of many people's stories of what books have inspired or just plain enjoyed. It's a good place to find new books that a reader may enjoy.
l3nduhhh's review
This was such a fun book. Lots of ideas for future reads! If I had coffee table books, this would be on it!
brontherun's review
4.0
Having this book nearby is like living in walking distance to a good gallery or used bookstore - you will return to it again and again to browse, visually consume, and be inspired. The art by Jane Mount is well done and almost whimsical at times. The collections and explanations of those choices by artists, chefs, writers, designers and others are endlessly fascinating.
Every time you open the book to a different individual and their ideal bookshelf, it feels like stepping into a person's home and getting the opportunity to peak into the books that are an integral part of who they are. Personal. Intimate. Just as in browsing a new acquaintance's bookshelf when you first visit their home, you find old favorites you have in common, new authors you had not encountered, and a visual feast of book covers and bindings.
The commentary of each shelf creator is fascinating, and there are many good observations on life, art, reading and writing. In discussing reading his ideal bookshelf, Jonathan Lethem opines, "It's like taking a long walk with a friend who's got a lot to say. There's no cumulative purpose to it - it's just an excellent way to waste your life." Sigh. Heart warms. Yes! While some explanations are serious and philosophical, others are ironic and comical. Perhaps my favorite quote was from Ayelet Waldman: "I became a writer because I failed at being a stay-at-home mother." Priceless. This peak into such a broad swath of personal bookshelves reminds us that books have power over us collectively, as well as individually. It may be worth a few inches on your own over-crowded shelf.
Every time you open the book to a different individual and their ideal bookshelf, it feels like stepping into a person's home and getting the opportunity to peak into the books that are an integral part of who they are. Personal. Intimate. Just as in browsing a new acquaintance's bookshelf when you first visit their home, you find old favorites you have in common, new authors you had not encountered, and a visual feast of book covers and bindings.
The commentary of each shelf creator is fascinating, and there are many good observations on life, art, reading and writing. In discussing reading his ideal bookshelf, Jonathan Lethem opines, "It's like taking a long walk with a friend who's got a lot to say. There's no cumulative purpose to it - it's just an excellent way to waste your life." Sigh. Heart warms. Yes! While some explanations are serious and philosophical, others are ironic and comical. Perhaps my favorite quote was from Ayelet Waldman: "I became a writer because I failed at being a stay-at-home mother." Priceless. This peak into such a broad swath of personal bookshelves reminds us that books have power over us collectively, as well as individually. It may be worth a few inches on your own over-crowded shelf.
lovegirl30's review
4.0
Previously posted on The Young Girl Who Loved Books
I honestly loved the idea of this book and its execution. I love hearing about everyone's bookshelves, I love watching book tube videos about them. I love reading about what other people love to read. I want to know everybody's favorite books. In order to find new books that I might love!
This book was perfect for me. Author Thessaly La Force asked around 100 creative people to create a list of their favorite books. Then explained that artist Jane Mount would be creating a shelf set up to display them. With a small bit about why the chose a few of their books.
Some of the names I knew were Malcolm Gladwell, Tony Hawk, David Sedaris, Patti Smith, Alice Waters, James Patterson, and lots of people I didn't know. I was surprised to see how many chefs and designers they asked. I would have loved to see more fiction than cookbooks that don't really interest me.
Honestly, I just loved all the illustrations the book included. Seeing all the books lined up was so good for my book-loving heart. I loved reading what everyone thought or why they picked certain books. I would have loved to see more classics on shelves. Sometimes I disliked the illustration and just skipped that page.
This will be any book lovers favorite book instantly. It will provide you with hours of entertainment. I kept renewing my library hold on it so I kept it for three weeks just savoring it. My to be read list has grown lots.
llkendrick's review
3.0
I was looking forward to reading this because I love to get new ideas of books to read and I'm always curious as to what are people's favorite books they've ever read. I was hoping to know who more of the people were in this book, I only knew a handful. It was also humorous to realize how much I judge a person according to their favorite books.
oohsarracuda's review
2.0
Honestly, it was much more boring than any book about books should be. I found myself impatient for it to end.
Things:
- Even writing off-the-cuff about books, Stephenie Meyer is terrible.
- Thurston Moore makes me roll my eyes even when talking about books.
- Of course David Sedaris loves Dorothy Parker and Lorrie Moore and Fran Lebowitz. (So do I, though I am rapidly becoming less enchanted with Fran Lebowitz as time passes. She's crossed that line between wittily sharp and rigidly mean.)
- It would appear that Judd Apatow mostly, if not entirely, reads men. This is in no way surprising.
- Actually, most dudes in this book OVERWHELMINGLY read other dudes.
I rather wish there existed a book like this that featured a wide assortment of people, not just an seemingly endless roster of successful people in creative fields. I want to see the curated bookshelves of mail carriers, baristas, locksmiths, plumbers, the kid who works at Papa Murphy's, social workers, bus drivers, small-town librarians, hair stylists, fry cooks, the lingerie clerk at Macy's.
Things:
- Even writing off-the-cuff about books, Stephenie Meyer is terrible.
- Thurston Moore makes me roll my eyes even when talking about books.
- Of course David Sedaris loves Dorothy Parker and Lorrie Moore and Fran Lebowitz. (So do I, though I am rapidly becoming less enchanted with Fran Lebowitz as time passes. She's crossed that line between wittily sharp and rigidly mean.)
- It would appear that Judd Apatow mostly, if not entirely, reads men. This is in no way surprising.
- Actually, most dudes in this book OVERWHELMINGLY read other dudes.
I rather wish there existed a book like this that featured a wide assortment of people, not just an seemingly endless roster of successful people in creative fields. I want to see the curated bookshelves of mail carriers, baristas, locksmiths, plumbers, the kid who works at Papa Murphy's, social workers, bus drivers, small-town librarians, hair stylists, fry cooks, the lingerie clerk at Macy's.
spiderfelt's review
4.0
Another illustrated book that grabs me as much for the pictures as for the prose. I started by flipping through to scan the bookshelves of authors I recognize and see whether we shared any common books (Michael Chabon included Cloud Atlas on his shelf). Reading it a little more deeply, it was interesting to see how various people reflected on their values and how these were reflected on their shelves.
tracie_mcd's review
3.0
I'm always fascinated by the books people read so this book was very interesting to me. I found that I have missed out on Nabokov, Tolstoy & Faulkner as so many have been influenced and touched by their novels.