The Bookshelf Detective
No, ‘The Bookshelf Detective’ is not the title of a new book. It is a person the New York Times has designated to examine the bookshelves of people while they are being interviewed remotely from home–sometimes on talk shows or news hours or the like. I can only suppose that these ‘detectives’ take still shots and enlarge them enough to see the titles of books on the shelves in the background.
Of course, this trend is the product of Covid-19. Somehow, it became fashionable for a person to sit directly in front of a bookcase, preferably at a desk with the computer facing them and therefore the bookcase in the background, while appearing on TV. I have noticed that those people in my Zoom book groups and meetings have adopted the same practice. People that have no proper bookcase have managed to miraculously install a backdrop from various locales–mountains, Paris, etc.
All of this explanation leads me to reveal to you what some of the detectives have found on the shelves of famous people. Some of the ‘famous people’ mentioned in the articles are unknown to me, but I thought you might be interested in hearing about some obvious ones. For example, Tom Hanks’ bookshelf has, front and center, The Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson, Volumes 1-3. Gweneth Paltrow’s book case includes books entitled French Riviera: Living Well Was the Best Revenge and Louis Vuitton Art, Fashion and Architecture. Prince Charles collects novels about horses, and a book on how to overcome stage fright was spotted on Yo Yo Ma’s shelf. One of the more interesting titles is from Amy Poehler’s books. The title is Blitzed, by Norman Ohler, and is a history book claiming that most German Nazis were high on crystal meth during the war–housewives, factory workers and soldiers in the army. Who knew?
What would your bookshelf reveal about you? How do you have the books arranged? Alpha by title or author? Genre? Or maybe you don’t save books or even read actual paper books anymore. I’ll try to keep you posted if the detective reports anything else interesting.
Enjoyed the bookshelf detective column. My bookshelves have no specific organization. Since the bookshelves are different heights, often a book goes where it fits in height. I do have certain places on the bookshelves where there are a group of books of poetry but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t find another poetry book somewhere else on the shelves. Same for biographies of people I admire or want to know more about. Many of my graduate school textbooks are on the shelves. And all of my Adrian McKinty police procedurals set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. I’m guessing somewhere on the shelves (both sides of the room floor to ceiling) is at least one book from most Dewey Decimal system major categories. (Maybe not mathematics now that I think about it.) I do cull books every few years and keep what is still meaningful or satisfying to me. I am happy to pass on books to others by donating to a charity that sets up a book sale every year in our convention center.
I’d like to see a photo of your bookshelves!! They sound very full. Are you sure you cull them?
Please tell us more about Adrian McKinty. Why do you like this series and what led you to read the books in the first place?