Prepare to fall in love with Julia Quinn's book collection. The romance novelist gave Marie Claire a look at her bookshelves, stuffed with memorabilia from the Bridgerton set and several of her favorite authors including Jenny Lawson and George Takei.
Quinn's book narrated by Lady Whistledown, The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton.
Quinn's book narrated by Lady Whistledown, The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton.
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00:00 This was from a dressing gown worn by Nicola Copland, aka Penelope Featherington.
00:05 But what makes this really special is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevore and
00:11 Regé-Jean Page.
00:12 Hi, I'm Julia Quinn, and I'm inviting you in to see my personal library.
00:17 This is Shelf Portrait for Marie Claire.
00:22 One of the most exciting things for me about being an author is seeing my books translated
00:26 into so many different languages.
00:28 And so I keep a lot of them on the bookshelf here, and it's just so much fun for me.
00:32 This is Danish.
00:33 These are some new collections in French.
00:36 Back here, well actually this is Dutch.
00:38 This is a box set for Brazilian Portuguese.
00:41 Got some Spanish here.
00:44 And then these are just some very special English editions that I have.
00:47 And we've got Thai and Korean and Japanese.
00:51 So I'm going to share with you one of my most prized possessions.
00:54 This.
00:55 Yes, it's The Duke and I, which I wrote, but this is a very special copy because for
01:01 one, my bookmark is a scrap of fabric from the actual show.
01:05 This was from a dressing gown worn by Nicola Coughlin, aka Penelope Featherington.
01:10 But what makes this really special is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevore and
01:17 Regé-Jean Page.
01:18 So sometimes you buy a book just because you see it in the bookstore and it totally cracks
01:22 you up.
01:23 I have purchased Crap Taxidermy.
01:26 This book is so funny.
01:28 I could open to any page and it will just make you die laughing.
01:33 This is the world's worst taxidermy.
01:36 My entire family adores it.
01:38 My mom just cleaned out her basement and we found one of my favorite books from when I
01:42 was growing up.
01:43 It is Louisa Alcott, Girl of Old Boston.
01:46 It is a biography of Louisa May Alcott and it is so much fun to look through because
01:51 you can see my old address that I wrote in.
01:53 That's my handwriting from when I was a little kid.
01:56 And it's just so beautifully illustrated.
01:58 I have to find one for you.
02:00 All in these great silhouettes.
02:04 I read this book so many times as a child.
02:08 Far more times than I actually read anything that Louisa May Alcott wrote herself.
02:11 I love graphic novels and graphic memoirs.
02:14 And one book that I have purchased so many times recently because I've given it as a
02:18 gift to just maybe not dozens of people but a lot of people is They Call This the Enemy
02:24 by George Takei.
02:25 It is a memoir of his time in an internment camp during World War II and it is just so
02:34 moving and told in such an accessible manner.
02:38 Everybody should read this book.
02:39 This is one of my most treasured possessions.
02:41 It is an autographed set of March which is a three part graphic memoir by Congressman
02:48 John Lewis.
02:50 And I met him at the American Library Association conference a few years ago and he signed this
02:54 for me.
02:55 I think everybody should have some comics in their collection.
02:58 Certainly we all need a little Kevin and Hobbes.
03:01 But one that I really like is by Grant Snyder.
03:04 I will judge you by your bookshelf.
03:06 This is a collection of comics about books and reading and they're just so much fun.
03:11 I often share these on social media and so when I saw that he was having a collection
03:16 I knew I had to buy it.
03:17 I actually read books both paper and electronic and it's actually kind of funny because there
03:23 were some books I wanted to recommend and I searched my whole house to find a copy and
03:27 then I realized it was on my e-reader.
03:28 So for example, Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.
03:32 I love that book so much especially because Seattle, my city, is such an important part
03:38 of it and she gets everything right.
03:40 But I don't have it to show you because it's on my e-reader.
03:43 Here's another author I really love.
03:45 I think I've read everything that she's written.
03:47 It's Jenny Lawson.
03:48 She has a blog called The Blog S but she also writes books and this is her most recent one.
03:53 I think it just came out this year, Broken, in the best possible way.
03:57 She is so funny.
03:59 I mean shake the bed funny but at the same time she's incredibly moving.
04:04 There's a section where she writes an open letter to her insurance company about all
04:07 the things that they give her grief about.
04:09 She has a number of chronic conditions both mental and physical and it just really gets
04:15 you in the heart and I just I think she's so smart and so wise and I would really like
04:22 to meet her someday.
04:23 I love to read romance novels.
04:25 That goes without question.
04:27 I write historical romance.
04:28 I love historical romance.
04:30 If you follow me on Facebook I actually recommend a historical romance every single Monday but
04:34 here are two authors who have new books out that I just happen to have here that I love.
04:39 This is Sarah McClain with Bombshell and she writes books.
04:43 They're just so fierce and feminist.
04:44 I love them.
04:46 And then I've also got a new one by Julianne Long who's one of my favorite authors.
04:49 She's so underappreciated.
04:51 I don't know why everyone isn't reading her.
04:53 You really should.
04:54 Now I also read contemporary romance and one of my favorites is The Hating Game by Sally
04:59 Thorne and this is going to be a major motion picture soon so read the book now before you
05:05 watch the movie.
05:06 My father was also a writer and he wrote for middle grade readers and he wrote this wonderful
05:13 book called Cheesy Mac which is so smart and so funny and so my dad and this was the first
05:22 book and this was I think this was the last and he passed earlier this year and I am so
05:30 grateful that kids can still get a taste of the type of person he was through the books
05:36 that he wrote and we keep these books on a very special part of my bookshelf here which
05:41 is just a section where I've got a lot of people who are important to me.
05:45 I think that no library would be complete without The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
05:49 Careful readers know that this is one of my favorite books.
05:52 If you read and romancing Mr. Bridgerton I have a little homage to it in there.
05:57 Yes in Regency Romance I managed to reference The Hitchhiker's Guide.
06:01 So like every book lover I know I buy more books than I'm able to read in a timely manner
06:07 so this is just one stack of books I purchased in the last month that I have not read yet
06:12 but I will or at least that's what I'm telling myself but I have Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes
06:17 by Alexa Martin, super excited about this one I love her books.
06:22 This one was recommended to me I don't know that much about it except it sounds really
06:25 cool Finding the Mother Tree Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.
06:30 I've also got Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
06:33 I love the Martians so I'm really excited to try this one.
06:37 And then from Daniel James Brown who also wrote The Boys in the Boat Facing the Mountain
06:42 a true story of Japanese American heroes in World War II and this has a big Seattle component
06:48 to it which I'm excited about because I live in Seattle.
06:51 And then finally The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel because we all
06:56 love Alison Bechdel.
06:58 So this is one of my favorite books of all time The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger.
07:04 It's an epistolary novel which means it's written in letters and telegrams and ticket
07:08 stubs and bar mitzvah programs.
07:11 It's set in the early 1940s in Brooklyn and it stars a wisecracking young 12-13 year old
07:18 boy named Joey Margolis and the all-star third baseman for the New York Giants Charlie Banks
07:24 and they end up becoming friends in this kind of bizarre way.
07:29 And it is funny and heartbreaking and it's this great example of how you can write a
07:35 novel in such a different manner and have it be just perfect.
07:41 Thanks for watching Shelf Portrait and don't forget to subscribe to Marie Claire.
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