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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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 This was from a dressing gown worn by Nicola Copland, aka Penelope Featherington.
00:04 But what makes this really special is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevore and 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.
00:19 One of the most exciting things for me about being an author is seeing my books translated
00:26 into so many different languages and so I keep a lot of them on the bookshelf here and it's
00:31 just so much fun for me. This is Danish. These are some new collections in French.
00:36 Back here, well actually this is Dutch. This is a box set for Brazilian Portuguese.
00:42 I've got some Spanish here and then these are just some very special English editions that I have
00:47 and we've got Thai and Korean and Japanese. So I'm going to share with you one of my most
00:53 prized possessions. This, yes, it's The Duke and I which I wrote but this is a very special copy
01:00 because for one, my bookmark is a scrap of fabric from the actual show. This was from a dressing
01:07 gown worn by Nicola Copland, aka Penelope Featherington. But what makes this really special
01:12 is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevore and Regé-Jean Page.
01:18 So sometimes you buy a book just because you see it in the bookstore and it totally cracks you up
01:23 and that is why I have purchased Crap Taxidermy. This book is so funny. I could open to any page
01:30 and it will just make you die laughing. It's just the world's worst taxidermy.
01:35 My entire family adores it. My mom just cleaned out her basement and we found one of my favorite
01:41 books from when I was growing up. It is Louisa Alcott, Girl of Old Boston. It is a biography of
01:48 Louisa May Alcott and it is so much fun to look through because you can see my old address I wrote
01:53 in. That's my handwriting from when I was a little kid. And it's just it's so beautifully illustrated.
01:58 I have to find one for you. All in these great silhouettes. I read this book so many times as a
02:06 child, far more times than I actually read anything that Louisa May Alcott wrote herself. I love graphic
02:12 novels and graphic memoirs and one book that I have purchased so many times recently because I've
02:17 given it as a gift to just maybe not dozens of people but a lot of people is they call this The
02:23 Enemy by George Takei. It is a memoir of his time in an internment camp during World War II and it
02:32 is just so moving and told in such an accessible manner. Everybody should read this book. This is
02:39 one of my most treasured possessions. It is an autographed set of March which is a three-part
02:46 graphic memoir by Congressman John Lewis and I met him at the American Library Association
02:53 conference a few years ago and he signed this for me. I think everybody should have some comics in
02:57 their collection. Certainly we all need a little Kevin and Hobbes but one that I really like is
03:02 by Grant Snyder, I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf. It's a collection of comics about books and reading
03:09 and they're just so much fun. I often share these on social media and so when I saw that he was
03:14 having a collection I knew I had to buy it. I actually read books both paper and electronic
03:21 and it's actually kind of funny because there were some books I wanted to recommend and I
03:25 searched my whole house to find a copy and then I realized it was on my e-reader. So for example
03:30 Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. I love that book so much especially because Seattle,
03:36 my city, is such an important part of it and she gets everything right but I don't have it to show
03:41 you because it's on my e-reader. Here's another author I really love. I think I've read everything
03:46 that she's written. It's Jenny Lawson. She has a blog called The Blog S but she also writes books
03:52 and this is her most recent one. I think it just came out this year, Broken, in the best possible
03:56 way. She is so funny. 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 the things that
04:08 they give her grief about and she has a number of chronic conditions both mental and physical
04:13 and it just really gets you in the heart and I just I think she's so smart and so wise
04:20 and I would really like to meet her someday. I love to read romance novels. That goes without
04:26 question. I write historical romance. I love historical romance. If you follow me on Facebook
04:31 I actually recommend a historical romance every single Monday but here are two authors who have
04:35 new books out that I just happen to have here that I love. This is Sarah McClain with Bombshell
04:41 and she writes books. They're just so fierce and feminist. I love them and then I've also
04:46 gotten one by Julianne Long who's one of my favorite authors. She's so underappreciated.
04:51 I don't know why everyone isn't reading her. You really should. Now I also read contemporary
04:56 romance and one of my favorites is The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and this is going to be a
05:02 major motion picture soon so read the book now before you watch the movie. My father was also a
05:07 writer and he wrote for middle grade readers and he wrote this wonderful book called Cheesy Mac
05:14 which is so smart and so funny and so my dad and this was the first book and this was
05:23 I think this was the last and he passed earlier this year and I am so grateful that
05:32 kids can still get a taste of the type of person he was through the books that he wrote
05:37 and we keep these books on a very special part of my bookshelf here which is just a section where
05:43 I've got a lot of people who are important to me. I think that no library would be complete without
05:48 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Careful readers know that this is one of my favorite
05:52 books. If you read and romancing Mr. Bridgerton I have a little homage to it in there. Yes,
05:57 in Regency Romance I managed to reference The Hitchhiker's Guide. So like every book lover I
06:03 know I buy more books than I'm able to read in a timely manner so this is just one stack of books
06:09 I purchased in the last month that I have not read yet but I will or at least that's what I'm
06:15 telling myself but I have Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin. Super excited about
06:19 this one. I love her books. This one was recommended to me. I don't know that much
06:24 about it except it sounds really cool. Finding the Mother Tree. Discovering the Wisdom of the
06:29 Forest. I've also got Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I love the Martians so I'm really excited
06:34 to try this one. And then from Daniel James Brown who also wrote The Boys in the Boat.
06:41 Facing the Mountain. A true story of Japanese American heroes in World War II and this has a
06:46 big Seattle component to it which I'm excited about because I live in Seattle. And then finally
06:53 The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel because we all love Alison Bechdel.
06:58 So this is one of my favorite books of all time. The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. It's an
07:04 epistolary novel which means it's written in letters and telegrams and ticket stubs and
07:09 bar mitzvah programs. It's set in the early 1940s in Brooklyn and it stars a wisecracking young 12-13
07:18 year old boy named Joey Margolis and the all-star third baseman for the New York Giants, Charlie
07:24 Banks. And they end up becoming friends in this kind of bizarre way and it is funny and heartbreaking
07:32 and it's this this great example of how you can write a novel in such a different manner and have
07:39 it be just perfect. Thanks for watching Shelf Portrait and don't forget to subscribe to Marie Claire.
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