Don’t you love browsing other people’s book shelves? Isn’t it one of the first things you do when you go inside someone’s house or apartment for the first time? It’s the best snooping there is! And no one minds. Besides, book shelves are great conversation starters. In one of my WIPs, I use a letter in a book as a portal to the past, another way of showing that books and writing, even letters, are pure magic.
So, what happens when TV reporters, commentators, experts, and other guests find themselves unable to appear in the studio and need to broadcast from home? Well, for starters, I end up struggling (mostly unsuccessfully) to read the spines of the books on the shelves behind them. Sadly, my TV is relatively small and the background tends to be blurry on these broadcasts, but I did manage to see that some of my favorite journalists and I share similar taste in books—or at least we play in the same ballpark.
My “best friend” journalist (who I’m convinced was my boyfriend in another life), Eugene Robinson, columnist at The Washington Post, has several books about the major issues of our time, including the wars and the Cold War. I can’t be certain, but I believe I have some of the same biographies on my shelves. I was irrationally happy to discover the same odd bond of book friendship with John Meacham, Katy Kay, and Joy-Ann Reid.
More recently, I have the same feeling about several of the doctor-experts—the kind of experts I used to ghostwrite for. I admit being a little puzzled by Kasie Hunt, who seems to have her books color coded. I like Kasie, but what’s up with that? However, amidst the serious tomes, I’ve some Jane Austen, Flannery O’Connor, Nelson DeMille, and Brad Metzger. I can tell from the covers more fiction is on those shelves, but darn, I can’t quite read the covers.
When these journalists and experts first began commenting on-air through Skype or by other means, they didn’t have time to “create the set,” so their impressive book collections sometimes looked like this:
A few days later, after some fast work, their shelves look more like this:
I also noticed we book lovers tend to love our tchotchkes. Our books must be willing to share space with lots of other things. If they balk, then they’re sent into exile at a used book sale or the library collection. I tend towards mugs, postcards, some photos, and lots of stones, but I noticed some display their awards, family photos, sculpture, dried flowers in vases, and such.
Alas, leaving nothing to chance, the networks have apparently created backdrop screens for the anchors and even a screen for senators and members of Congress. Some have taken bad advice and broadcast in front of a blank wall. Where’s the sport in that? But I can see my snooping days are numbered.
Tell me, please, I’m not alone in my love of a little harmless book snooping! And please, stay well as winter passes and spring arrives—at least for some people. (Ask me about spring in Wisconsin around May 1st or so.)
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Virginia is looking forward to the August 2020 release of A BRIDGE HOME, Book 3 of her Back to Bluestone River series. It opens on Valentine’s Day—and not the best Valentine’s Day of Amy Morgan’s life. Meanwhile, books 1 and 2, A FAMILY FOR JASON and THE CHRISTMAS KISS, are available online and on the Harlequin.com website. Virginia’s other Harlequin Heartwarming books include her first series: GIRL IN THE SPOTLIGHT, SOMETHING TO TREASURE, and LOVE, UNEXPECTED. All Virginia’s stories explore themes of hope, healing, and plenty of second chances.
You can add you name to Virginia’s mailing list at www.virginiamccullough.com and visit her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginia.mccullough.7 and on Twitter: @VEMccullough
So, what happens when TV reporters, commentators, experts, and other guests find themselves unable to appear in the studio and need to broadcast from home? Well, for starters, I end up struggling (mostly unsuccessfully) to read the spines of the books on the shelves behind them. Sadly, my TV is relatively small and the background tends to be blurry on these broadcasts, but I did manage to see that some of my favorite journalists and I share similar taste in books—or at least we play in the same ballpark.
My “best friend” journalist (who I’m convinced was my boyfriend in another life), Eugene Robinson, columnist at The Washington Post, has several books about the major issues of our time, including the wars and the Cold War. I can’t be certain, but I believe I have some of the same biographies on my shelves. I was irrationally happy to discover the same odd bond of book friendship with John Meacham, Katy Kay, and Joy-Ann Reid.
More recently, I have the same feeling about several of the doctor-experts—the kind of experts I used to ghostwrite for. I admit being a little puzzled by Kasie Hunt, who seems to have her books color coded. I like Kasie, but what’s up with that? However, amidst the serious tomes, I’ve some Jane Austen, Flannery O’Connor, Nelson DeMille, and Brad Metzger. I can tell from the covers more fiction is on those shelves, but darn, I can’t quite read the covers.
When these journalists and experts first began commenting on-air through Skype or by other means, they didn’t have time to “create the set,” so their impressive book collections sometimes looked like this:
A few days later, after some fast work, their shelves look more like this:
I also noticed we book lovers tend to love our tchotchkes. Our books must be willing to share space with lots of other things. If they balk, then they’re sent into exile at a used book sale or the library collection. I tend towards mugs, postcards, some photos, and lots of stones, but I noticed some display their awards, family photos, sculpture, dried flowers in vases, and such.
Alas, leaving nothing to chance, the networks have apparently created backdrop screens for the anchors and even a screen for senators and members of Congress. Some have taken bad advice and broadcast in front of a blank wall. Where’s the sport in that? But I can see my snooping days are numbered.
Tell me, please, I’m not alone in my love of a little harmless book snooping! And please, stay well as winter passes and spring arrives—at least for some people. (Ask me about spring in Wisconsin around May 1st or so.)
**********
Virginia is looking forward to the August 2020 release of A BRIDGE HOME, Book 3 of her Back to Bluestone River series. It opens on Valentine’s Day—and not the best Valentine’s Day of Amy Morgan’s life. Meanwhile, books 1 and 2, A FAMILY FOR JASON and THE CHRISTMAS KISS, are available online and on the Harlequin.com website. Virginia’s other Harlequin Heartwarming books include her first series: GIRL IN THE SPOTLIGHT, SOMETHING TO TREASURE, and LOVE, UNEXPECTED. All Virginia’s stories explore themes of hope, healing, and plenty of second chances.
You can add you name to Virginia’s mailing list at www.virginiamccullough.com and visit her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginia.mccullough.7 and on Twitter: @VEMccullough
I love this post Virginia and can picture you getting up close to your TV to check out titles! My book club is having a Zoom meeting tonight and I’m hoping to see some book shelves in the background. Happy spring to come in Wisconsin. Ours is finally underway.
ReplyDeleteHappy snooping with your book club. Luckily, the snow we had the other day is gone now. Cold rain washed it away! Enjoy your zoom session with your reading friends!
DeleteA great post. I like shelf snooping. I think it was Connie Schultz who said she wasn't going to clean hers off anytime soon, either! :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, Connie Schultz, one of my favorite journalists/columnists. Wouldn't you love to chat about books with her?
DeleteI knew I wasn't the only person who does this. At night when I'm watching the late night talk shows, I'm interested to see what books are on their shelves. Seth Myers even did a segment last night about The Thornbirds, a book he had sitting next to him and how it seems to keep multipying until he had 4 copies of it. Books say a lot about the person who reads them.
ReplyDeleteI noticed Colbert has some books on his background shelves, too. I'm so glad to find sister book snoops here. I'll check out Seth Myers now and again to see what turns up. I've moved a lot, and The Thornbirds was left behind somewhere, but I enjoy thinking of it still hanging out on bookshelves. I loved it!
DeleteI haven't been paying attention, but I will now. What fun!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club--always room for more snoops. It's kind of addictive, though, not to mention a little frustrating when I can't quite make out the titles. Have fun!
DeleteBefore we host a holiday, someone in my family has the job of tidying the giant bookshelves in our living room. They're always a mess so I guess that means the books are well loved:-)
ReplyDeleteWell-used and well-loved. I noticed that virtually no TV commentator/journalist has showy books or a Dickens' collection with fancy bindings on shelves behind them. With most of these journalists, the books are often softcover and some have bookmarks or papers stuck in them. Like most of us!
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