Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cutting across the disciplines of art, music, food, and literature, the celebrities interviewed here share the books that have mattered most in their lives. Their preferred titles reflect career choices (Hugh Acheson, a Southern chef whose bookshelf holds food-related tomes) or the books that influenced their childhood (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author who read British literature growing up but grew to love novels by Chinua Achebe and Jamaica Kincaid). Through glimpses into these personal libraries, editor LaForce and illustrator Mount hope to expose their audience to a vast variety of literature. Indeed, the layout of the book contributes to creating a sense of cultural diversity; the alphabetizing of the contributors leaves chefs next to authors next to musicians. The beautiful and brightly colored images of book spines that accompany each interview evoke the whimsy of a personal library on a quiet, rainy Saturday with a couch and blanket nearby. The brevity of the interviews and dynamic illustrations make this a perfect coffee table book: easily skimmed and a happy and inspiring conversation starter. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
This is a charming and whimsical look at the favorite books of a wide selection from today's creative community. Editor La Force contacted and interviewed notables from the worlds of food (Alice Waters, Mark Bittman), music (Patti Smith), books (Junot Diaz, Mary Karr, Malcolm Gladwell), movies (Judd Apatow, Mira Nair), and fashion (Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte), among others, and each sent a list of their favorite books along with their thoughts on what their shelves revealed. For some, their reading is often focused on their work, but for others, like Rosanne Cash, "I was one of those kids who asked my mom to drop me at the library on Saturdays. That was where I spent my weekends." These intimate glimpses are accompanied by Mount's painted representations of each contributor's bookshelves. VERDICT This book will be a pleasure for anyone who loves books, reading, and memoirs as it is both a quick peek into the reading lives of others and a source of new reading ideas. Good either for circulation or to give as a gift.-Catherine Gilmore, Tigard P.L., Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An illustrated compendium of first-person musings by writers, artists and other creative types about the books that inspired them and helped shape their identities. When writer/editor La Force and illustrator Mount decided to put together this delightful collection of essays, it wasn't simply to express their love of reading and the written word. They sought to make the statement that "in an era when digital technologythreatens irreversibly to change our reading experience, there is nothing that parallels the physical book." They chose friends, acquaintances and people whom they "admired from afar"Jonathan Lethem, Jennifer Egan, Alice Waters, Mira Nair and Patti Smith, among othersand asked them to pick the books that most influenced them. La Force pairs each of the 100 essays she gathered from personal interviews with images Mount painted of the books (specifically, their spines) each participant chose for his or her "ideal bookshelf." The pieces are as unique as the people they represent and reveal the particular relationships participants have with the texts they mention. Lethem calls his choices "eccentric," a reflection of a "decrepit attraction" to old books and the "literary history that lie[s]waiting to be discovered" in early editions. Chef and restaurateur Alice Waters identifies her bookshelf as commemorating the texts that started her on her epicurean journey. Nair spotlights choices that not only introduced her to English, Urdu and Hindu poetry, but also to the writer who later became her husband. La Force and Mount's joint efforts do "sentimentaliz[e] the book as object," but what they achieve clearly demonstrates that, despite the encroachments of computers and the Internet, books still matter. Other contributors include Chuck Klosterman, Dave Eggers, David Sedaris, Michael Chabon and Judd Apatow. A bibliophilic feast for the eye, mind, heart and soul.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
