Sunday, July 22, 2007

Libraries of the Rich and Famous

I really enjoyed this article in yesterday's New York Times Business section. It's nice to see that the libraries of Steve Jobs and Michael Moritz have more than Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in them. Poetry is the choice of Visa's founder, Dee Hock! Gives me hope.

I love the quote from the bookseller:

a bookseller in Hadley, Mass., says it is impossible to put together a serious library on almost any subject for less than several hundred thousand dollars.

But, of course! What else is an independent bookseller going to say to someone with a bazillion dollars - I have a couple of used paperback copies of that. What do you need a leatherbound edition from 1850 for?

If Oprah is giving books a boost - think what a television show entitled Libraries of the Rich and Famous would do! Although perhaps others don't have the obsession with creative spaces that I do. I guess I consider libraries creative spaces and not refuges.























































I'll add some pictures of writers' workspaces below just for fun.

David Lodge:

A. S. Byatt:


The pictures above are taken from a feature The Guardian ran for a while entitled Writers' Rooms.

3 comments:

Imani said...

Hahaha. The used paperbacks wouldn't look half as good to the visiting guests though. ;) I loved that writer's room feature on the Guardian. And Byatt's was one of my favourites! It looks so charmingly cluttered.

Ted said...

I think writers' and painters' spaces are so romantic.

Anonymous said...

What a fun article - I just hope they read all the books they collect ;-)