Monday, October 4, 2010

Collecting and Decorating with Books

A portrait of Chattie Salaman by Duncan Grant

I love my books and although I know I will someday purchase a Kindle, I am still a book girl and continue to purchase them, doing my part to help preserve our independent bookstores. As an English major at UCLA, I discovered Virginia Woolf and she is still my favorite writer.  In 1975 my mother-in-law gave me the first volume of "The Letters of Virginia Woolf" and I proceeded to devour all six volumes.  That beloved first copy, which sits proudly in my library with the other five volumes, inspired my passion for colletcing old and sometimes rare editions of my favorite books. 




For me nothing makes a room warmer than a personal collection of books.  I love going into someone's home and seeing their books displayed.  Here are some of my favorites that I've displayed around my house.



These wonderful books, one by Vita Sackville-West, the other by Edith Sitwell, are from the "Britain in Pictures" series.


Another one by Elizabeth Bowen.



Some special books published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press.


 On the right is an American edition of "Seducers in Ecuador" by Vita Sackville-West.


Yesterday I made a book store run to our neighborhood Diesel Books looking for "My Hollywood" by Mona Simpson.  It was sold out (yay, Mona!) and instead bought this luscious looking stack of books: "A Gate at the Stairs" by Lorrie Moore, the new translation of "Madame Bovary," and "The Cookbook Collector" by Allegra Goodman.


 How beautiful is this dust jacket for  Lydia Davis' new translation of "Madame Bovary."


And finally what could be a cozier sight than a special nook in your kitchen for all your favorite cookbooks!


12 comments:

  1. These pictures are so beautiful, ciao domenica! They make me want to open every book and read all the pages inside...so excited to see more!

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  2. Amazing, 3 Taylor women are now blogging! What's up next T?

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  3. Love to see my sister displaying her passions for all the world to see. Looking forward to your next blog, sis. xoxo

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  4. literally couldn't love this more. sooooo cozy.

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  5. i love love love this!! i'm adding your link on my blog. xo

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  6. Sunday,

    What an enticing introduction to your blog through all these photos of your incredible book collection! I have the first volume of Virginia's letters and raced through it -- didn't know there were FIVE more -- this will make going to used bookstores even more fun now. Your home looks so inviting and cozy...can't wait for the next post! xx

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  7. Sunday so happy to discover your site!! It is truly wonderful I adore your book collection!

    xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

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  8. I grew up in the Bay Area and absolutely loved Diesel books...how funny that there's on in L.A. as well! I think my hold list at the library mimicks your book purchasing almost perfectly...how lovely to find a kindred literary spirit!

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  9. Dear Sunday...What a wonderful combination of the verbal and the visual...I love this! I can't wait to find out whether you've read certain books on the path we seem to have in common, and if so to discuss them, and if not, to recommend them...Aren't the Mapp and Lucia books astonishingly funny?!? What a gift, to be able to elevate ordinary village goings-on into the material of highly polished comedy without ever losing the joke of the disproportion. Look forward to reading and talking about more.

    Jamie

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