Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books (Unpacking My Library… (edition 2011)

"Tell me what you read, and I'll tell you what you are". Pleasant voyeurism, for armchair psychologists or those who are curious about other people's libraries. ( )

Fun, but nowhere near as compelling or gorgeous as My Ideal Bookshelf. I found the interview format dull, but I did love the shelf voyeurism in the photos. Plus, I sort of love Philip Pullman now. ( )

I wonder how often writer couples cite their lover's books in a top ten list of favorite books. Would be an interesting case study.

A great afternoon read. ( )

This is more a book to dip in to than one for a straight-through reading, or a book for fans of one or more of the rather small number and somewhat odd assortment of writers included.

Each is asked several of the same questions as all the others, but fortunately, not all give direct answers. They also list their top 10 books, and an eclectic assortment it is.

For that home-magazine voyeur, the subjects are photographed in their libraries and some of the titles on their shelves are shown as well. These are rather hard to see in some cases; I more enjoyed the shots of the often well-worn books in the writers' favorites lists.

Among the marvelous quotes from those interviewed for "Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books":

Stephen Carter, on not remembering books he has read: "Sometimes a book persisted as a coloured shadow at the edge of sight, as vague and unrecapturable as something seen in the rain from a passing vehicle: looked at directly it vanished altogether."

Lev Grossman, on keeping the books he has read, mentions that his ailing father's library was sold, and "it was like they were breaking up his brain, the same way the Alzheimer's was doing."

Until I added this to LibraryThing, I didn't know it was part of a series that also includes a book on architects. Wonder what's next? Probably not engineers, but I would like to read that one. ( )

This is a fun book with interviews of various writers about their reading habits & libraries with accompanying pictures of their bookshelves. It's always fun to see people's somewhat serendipitous collections of book & also to recognize one's own volumes on their shelves. ( )