The Ideal Bookshelf
I’m working on a book with the artist Jane Mount called The Ideal Bookshelf. It will be published by Little, Brown this November, 2012.
For the last couple of years, Jane has been painting people’s bookshelves. Not too long ago, she realized that people were choosing their favorite books for the painting: books that had changed their lives; books that had helped shape who they are today; books that were given to them by someone special. She began to call the project The Ideal Bookshelf.
Jane asked me to work with her on the project. We got along terrifically. It even happens that we share the same birthday!
Our book will be 100 bookshelves of 100 creative types—writers, artists, actors, filmmakers, chefs, graphic designers, and many more. Jane will paint their bookshelves, and I’ll interview them. Some of the folks? Jonathan Lethem, Alice Waters, Thomas Keller, Junot Diaz, Tauba Auerbach, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leanne Shapton, the Rodarte sisters, Jane Mayle, Maira Kalman, and Mira Nair, just to name a few.
Jane has a wonderful Web site where you can custom order your own Ideal Bookshelf. We’ll start blogging more about the project as it develops.
