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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00:00This was from a dressing gown worn by Nicola Coughlin, a.k.a. Penelope Featherington.
00:05But what makes this really special is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevor and Regé-Jean Page.
00:12Hi, I'm Julia Quinn, and I'm inviting you in to see my personal library.
00:17This is Shelf Portrait for Marie Claire.
00:22One of the most exciting things for me about being an author is seeing my books translated into so many different languages.
00:27And so I keep a lot of them on the bookshelf here, and it's just so much fun for me.
00:32This is Danish. These are some new collections in French.
00:36Back here, actually, this is Dutch. This is a box set for Brazilian Portuguese.
00:42We've got some Spanish here.
00:44And then these are just some very special English editions that I have.
00:47And we've got Thai and Korean and Japanese.
00:51So I'm going to share with you one of my most prized possessions.
00:54This. Yes, it's The Duke and I, which I wrote.
00:59But this is a very special copy because, for one, my bookmark is a scrap of fabric from the actual show.
01:05This was from a dressing gown worn by Nicola Coughlin, a.k.a. Penelope Featherington.
01:11But what makes this really special is that it is signed from both Phoebe Denevor and Regé-Jean Page.
01:18So sometimes you buy a book just because you see it in the bookstore, and it totally cracks you up.
01:23And that is why I have purchased Crap Taxidermy.
01:26This book is so funny.
01:29I could open to any page, and it will just make you die laughing.
01:33It's just the world's worst taxidermy.
01:35And my entire family adores it.
01:38My mom just cleaned out her basement, and we found one of my favorite books from when I was growing up.
01:43It is Louisa Alcott, Girl of Old Boston.
01:46It is a biography of Louisa May Alcott.
01:49And it is so much fun to look through because you can see my old address I wrote in.
01:53That's my handwriting when I was a little kid.
01:56And it's just, it's so beautifully illustrated.
01:59I have to find one for you.
02:00All in these great silhouettes.
02:04I read this book so many times as a child.
02:07Far more times than I actually read anything that Louisa May Alcott wrote herself.
02:11I love graphic novels and graphic memoirs.
02:14And one book that I've purchased so many times recently because I've given it as a gift to just,
02:20maybe not dozens of people, but a lot of people,
02:22is They Call This the Enemy by George Takei.
02:26It is a memoir of his time in an internment camp during World War II.
02:32And it is just so moving and told in such an accessible manner.
02:38Everybody should read this book.
02:39This is one of my most treasured possessions.
02:41It is an autographed set of March, which is a three-part graphic memoir by Congressman John Lewis.
02:49And I met him at the American Library Association conference a few years ago.
02:54And he signed this for me.
02:55I think everybody should have some comics in their collection.
02:58Certainly we all need a little Kevin and Hobbs.
03:01But one that I really like is by Grant Snyder.
03:04I will judge you by your bookshelf.
03:06It's a collection of comics about books and reading.
03:09And they're just so much fun.
03:11I often share these on social media.
03:13And so when I saw that he was having a collection, I knew I had to buy it.
03:17I actually read books, both paper and electronic.
03:21And it's actually kind of funny because there were some books I wanted to recommend.
03:24And I searched my whole house to find a copy.
03:27And then I realized it was on my e-reader.
03:29So, for example, Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.
03:32I love that book so much.
03:35Especially because Seattle, my city, is such an important part of it.
03:38And she gets everything right.
03:40But I don't have it to show you because it's on my e-reader.
03:43Here's another author I really love.
03:45I think I've read everything that she's written.
03:47It's Jenny Lawson.
03:48She has a blog called The Blog S.
03:51But she also writes books.
03:52And this is her most recent one.
03:53I think it just came out this year.
03:54Broken in the best possible way.
03:57She is so funny.
03:59I mean, shake the bed funny.
04:02But at the same time, she is incredibly moving.
04:04There's a section where she writes an open letter to her insurance company
04:07about all the things that they give her grief about.
04:11She has a number of chronic conditions, both mental and physical.
04:14And it just really gets you in the heart.
04:17And I just, I think she's so smart and so wise.
04:21And I would really like to meet her someday.
04:23I love to read romance novels.
04:25That goes without question.
04:27I write historical romance.
04:28I love historical romance.
04:30If you follow me on Facebook, I actually recommend a historical romance every single Monday.
04:34But here are two authors who have new books out that I just happen to have here that I love.
04:39This is Sarah McClain with Bombshell.
04:42And she writes books.
04:43They're just so fierce and feminist.
04:45I love them.
04:46And then I've also gotten a new one by Julianne Long, who's one of my favorite authors.
04:50She's so underappreciated.
04:51I don't know why everyone isn't reading her.
04:54You really should.
04:54Now, I also read contemporary romance.
04:56And one of my favorites is The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.
05:00And this is going to be a major motion picture soon.
05:03So read the book now before you watch the movie.
05:06My father was also a writer, and he wrote for middle grade readers.
05:12And he wrote this wonderful book called Cheesy Mac, which is so smart and so funny and so my dad.
05:21And this was the first book, and this was, I think this was the last.
05:26And he passed earlier this year.
05:28And I am so grateful that kids can still get a taste of the type of person he was through the books that he wrote.
05:37And we keep these books on a very special part of my bookshelf here, which is just a section where I've got a lot of people who are important to me.
05:45I think that no library would be complete without The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
05:50Careful readers know that this is one of my favorite books.
05:52If you read in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, I have a little homage to it in there.
05:57Yes, in Regency Romance, I managed to reference The Hitchhiker's Guide.
06:01So like every book lover I know, I buy more books than I'm able to read in a timely manner.
06:07So this is just one stack of books I've purchased in the last month that I have not read yet, but it will.
06:14Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
06:16But I have Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin.
06:19Super excited about this one. I love her books.
06:22This one was recommended to me.
06:24I don't know that much about it, except it sounds really cool.
06:26Finding the Mother Tree, Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.
06:30I've also got Project Hail Mary by Andy Ware.
06:33I love The Martian, so I'm really excited to try this one.
06:37And then from Daniel James Brown, who also wrote The Boys in the Boat, Facing the Mountain,
06:42a true story of Japanese-American heroes in World War II.
06:45And this has a big Seattle component to it, which I'm excited about because I live in Seattle.
06:50And then finally, The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel, because we all love Alison Bechdel.
06:58So this is one of my favorite books of all time, The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger.
07:03It's an epistolary novel, which means it's written in letters and telegrams and ticket stubs and bar mitzvah programs.
07:10It's set in the early 1940s in Brooklyn, and it stars a wisecracking young 12, 13-year-old boy in Joy Margolis and the all-star third baseman for the New York Giants, Charlie Banks.
07:25And they end up becoming friends in this kind of bizarre way.
07:28And it is funny and heartbreaking, and it's this great example of how you can write a novel in such a different manner and have it be just perfect.
07:40Thanks for watching Shelf Portrait, and don't forget to subscribe to Marie Claire.