Celebs, They’re Geeks Like Us: Libraries of the Rich and Famous

Celebrities may live glamorous lives, but at the end of the day, we’d like to think that a good number of them curl up at home with a good book. And that’s why it’s so gratifying to learn that a completely unexpected famous person possesses a ton of books. We gained newfound respect for Karl Lagerfeld, for instance, when the Observer published a photo of his enormous (and, of course, gorgeous) home library. Curious to find out which other celebrities are bookworms behind closed doors, we rounded up ten photos of famous bookshelves, from Woody Allen and Oprah to Greta Garbo and Michael Jackson.

Karl Lagerfeld [via]

Rod Stewart [via]

Michael Jackson [via]

Diane Keaton [via]

Woody Allen [via]

Joan Rivers [via]

Frank Sinatra [via]

Greta Garbo [via]

Kelsey Grammer [via]

Oprah [via]

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[...] via via via Veröffentlicht in Brustwarze, Kultur, Kunst / Art, Life, Sexy, Style, VJ LIVE, [...]

[...] Libraries of the rich and famous. [...]

[...] well-documented obsession with books — he apparently owns 300,000 of them, and photos of his library have been making the blog rounds for months — has inspired him to create a new, book-scented [...]

[...] Libraries of the Rich & Famous [...]

I wish John Larroquette was included. He is a huge bibliophile and collector of 1st editions. I'd love to see what his library looks like.

I have a very tiny bookshelf full of books. I read 2-3 books per week and obtain all of my books from my free local library. A photo can no longer tell us whether a person is well-read.

you think that anyone has touched half of these books?

I agree that most of these I wouldn't consider libraries, but bookshelves. I definitely have a dream library. Big, big, big!

An interesting look at some celeb's libraries. I think mine looks most like Sinatra's - a bit messy but comfortable and well read books!

I think the best library so far was MJ. It wal well-mannered and in order, the way it represent the filing from the ceiling and have a god ambience too for relaxing. Wow! beautful & pleasant to look, easy to find. It shows how intelligent he was and loves much of art and history..imagine.....Gosh! wish i could turn up to his neverland someday..godbless!

Garbo's library may actually look the way it does because, for a time, it was fashionable for the well-heeled bibliophile to order custom clamshell cases to keep books free from dust and sunlight - and they look pretty good on the shelves that way, too. It's an idea I've toyed with myself. It was also fashionable in Garbo's day for people to send entire collections out for custom rebinding. From a special collections history standpoint, clamshells and rebinding were popular back when collections became an actual *legacy* in and of themselves - these days, however, even famous collections become scattered to the winds once the creator dies, and finding 99.9% of particular editons is as easy as clicking a button on a website. And what do you do with a person's entire collection? Libraries no longer have the space, heirs aren't interested, and even very beloved collections now get little use. (I should know, I administer one that is little more than a reliquary, though I try to use the books when I can.) Collecting is less and less of an art and a challenge, though I'm perfectly fine with that since the tradeoff is better access.

MJ’s library is exactly how I always pictured one. It must have been really relaxing enjoying a glass of wine and a good book by the fire place. Although I am sorry you couldn’t find a better picture to illustrate Michael’s passion for books. Interesting post.

It is obvious from Michael Jackson's way of thinking, his diction and personal demeanor what a cultured and well read man he was. His sensiivity to local culture, human and especially children's needs abundantly prove him to be one of the most profound, spiritual and cultured people in the world. Hopefully his library would one day be open to visitation.

Great Garbo must have actually said " I vunt to be a lawyer'n "

now all those library's combined can be read on your smartphone or reader. no need to kill all those trees to have the library on congress now....

thank you, Bubba, and others, for pointing out that many of these aren't Libraries - they're intellectual decoration. Everyone has books. Oprah's shelves have color coordination to match her couch's skirt.... "library"? hardly.

I too like Karl Lagerfield's library. Wonder if I would have space that big :)

I want Stewart's library, but I'm afraid my bookshelves look more like Sinatra's. Still, either are better than Garbo's. God knows she was an intelligent person, but I've never seen so many books look so un-LIVED in!

I'd kill to have Lagerfeld's :-)

Why all of the snarky comments? It's fun looking at other people's libraries, without speculating about what they've actually read. And there are more ways to shelve books than what you see at Barnes and Noble. A few factoids: (1) in medieval libraries, books were stored flat (see Lagerfeld); up until the mid-sixteenth century, books were shelved with the fore-edge (not the spine) facing out (that's why they're called the fore-edge and spine); (3) shelving books by size was a common practice in libraries up until the nineteenth century, because it uses space more efficiently; (4) the famous English diarist Samuel Pepys not only shelved his books by size, he put little pedestals under them so that the top edges were in a straight line (books for looks?); (5) up until the seventeenth century, most books had few, if any, identifying labels on the outside - often they were marked only with their location coordinates in the library (bookcase or bookpress number, shelf number, position on shelf); (6) in early libraries it was a common practice to bind multiple books into a single volume (a sammelband), which then might be shelved either by size, or date of acquisition, or some other scheme completely unrelated to subject or author.

"My mother used to work at a bookstore with a location on Rodeo Drive. It was very common for celebrities to order “books to look good on 25 feet of bookshelves” or some such similar order." Several of the larger and more high-end antiquarian bookshops in Britain sell books "by the foot". This is essentially a service for people who have got a big library with empty shelves and just want them to look impressively full. What tends to happen is that books that have attractive tooled bindings but few other points of interest get set aside and are then bought up en masse to look good on the shelf. In fairness, I'd say most of the pictures above look like working libraries that have undergone a vigorous tidy in anticipation of the photographer pitching up, rather than anything else.

Its a shame so much now is being said about the legendary king of pop the right hon mj.To become such a wonderful user of the language he has to be a book worm. He is simple the great. His understanding of things and his songs says it all. Long may his true legacy live from generation to generation.

Pictures of wealthy persons' abundant libraries don't mean those people ever cracked any or all of the books. Like as not, the library is the work of a well-paid interior decorator

My mother used to work at a bookstore with a location on Rodeo Drive. It was very common for celebrities to order "books to look good on 25 feet of bookshelves" or some such similar order. Lots of books owned does not equate with lots of books read, except for those of us who buy books we canb't afford because we love them.

Greta Garbo and...Oprah? Both had "books for looks". I guess Oprah only reads a couple of REAL books a year, and then goes and makes their authors super rich and famous...if they aren't already. Karl Lagerfeld seems to shelve books willy-nilly, since some of 'em don't even appear to be spine out. If you saw the documentary on him you'd know that in fact he probably has as many iPods (and white collars...and black boots...and heavy-ass rings) as he does books. And Diane Keaton seems to have arranged many of her books by size.

You really need to correct that --- it's JIMMY Stewart's library -- not Rod's! Fix, please!

The Joan Rivers "library" consists of little more than an entertainment center reworked and shelves added.

You didn't do Michael Jackson library justice. Books were a big passion of his. And me thinks Oprah's complete library looks a lot different than the little part displayed on the photo. Karl Lagersfeld's library looks like it consists of nothing but paperbacks. Most book-lovers opt for hard-bound editions of the books they love most, since they last longer.

strange article. why didn't you talk about or show the actual libraries? i seen it reported in several places that michael jackson owned a million volumes, and could talk about every book in his collection. tom messerau has talked about his collection as one of the biggest in the world. jackson often wiped out the entire inventory of rare book dealers. so why just the shot of the den at neverland? weird.

Michael Jackson was a voracious reader- he had over 10,000 books in his library-one of his friends talked about how well read he was and how many of the books were dog-eared and well worn.

I have personally toured Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch Library. It is filled with volumes of well-read books and beautiful antique model sailing ships. I hope some day Michael's children, members of the public, and I, are allowed to tour Michael's beloved Library at Neverland, again. In the meanwhile we can read and search for the meaning of these quotes from the well-read Michael Jackson: "In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe." "The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation."

Simply gorgeous! I'm sure the brighter rooms are better for reading but there's something so welcoming about the dark woods.

So it would appear that Keith Richards is a lot better-read than Woody Allen... http://ourlibrary.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Page/images/KeithRichardsLibrary.jpg

typo...that's JIMMY Stewarts's house not Rod Stewart

Warehouses of mostly unread books, no doubt. (You're damn right I'm jealous.)

Looks like Lagerfeld is a librarian's worst nightmare...organizes his according to size and color rather than topic or author :)

MJ's looks like the Time-Life collections... :)

Those are case law books on Greta Garbo's shelves. She must have spent many a leisurely afternoon perusing them :)

Garbo's and Oprah's look like they were designed to look good on shelves rather than to read (though obviously Oprah reads books). I just lament that the pictures aren't big enough to read the titles. And when it comes to bibliomania, well, I know a thing or two: http://www.lawrenceperson.com/?p=595

Woody's is the only one I would like to browse.

quantity does not equate to quality. and anyways,you can't judge a person by one photo anymore than you can judge a book by it's cover...just sayin...

Kelsy Grammer is not at all intelligent. He's a "conservative."

I wonder what kind of sex dungeons are located behind the trap door libraries.

Kelsey Grammer only has a handful of books on two bookshelves...you'd have to get all of your books on loan from Karl Lagerfeld.

Greta Garbo's look fake

Richard Burton (the actor) had a very nice library at his home in Majorca.

Actually, I'd bet Kelsey Grammer is one of the only celebs on this list who has actually read most of the books in his library. It's a lousy picture, true, but he's a smart guy.

Just because they have books doesn't mean they can read.

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  1. [...] being overrun with tacky knick-knacks, it looks like a good starting point.  I found this picture here, where you can pictures of other celebrity [...]

  2. [...] Fonte Arredamento, Real Life libreria (11), libri (15), michael jackson (21), sinatra (2), woody allen (2) Share Tweet Vote TinyUrl Effettuare il login per lasciare un commento [...]

  3. [...] friends over at Flavorwrire have compiled a commendably bookish collection of photos of celebrities’ home libraries, showing how the likes of Karl Lagerfeld (above), Rod Stewart [...]

  4. [...] estrela televisiva Oprah Winfrey, da diva Greta Garbo etc. – fotos que podem ser conferidas aqui, no link da [...]

  5. [...] cannot get enough of glimpses like these: celebrities’ libraries. Really, anyone’s library. If I walk into your house for the [...]

  6. [...] on over to Flavorwire to have a peek into some celebrity libraries. E-Verse picked its own three favorites. Thanks to [...]

  7. Shawn Hazen says:

    [...] is Karl Lagerfeld’s place. Via @kylevanblerk and Flavorpill. 0 Comments No Comments so far Leave a comment Subscribe to RSS for comments or TrackBack URI [...]

  8. [...] finally, here is an article featuring the libraries of the rich and famous, and I am jealous of [...]

  9. [...] Libraries of the rich and famous. [...]

  10. [...] To read the whole article, and view photos of the rooms please click here: [...]

  11. [...] more at Flavorwire (Thanks Christopher [...]

  12. [...] bei Flavorwire gibt es eine schöne Galerie mit Bildern von den Bibliotheken der Promis. Von Frank Sinatra, Oprah, Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson, Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, [...]

  13. [...] Libraries of the Rich & Famous [...]

  14. [...] of libraries of the rich and famous (hat tip Frank Wilson) raise questions: Have those that own these books actually read them? Or are [...]

  15. [...] knew celebrities could read?! just kidding, but on an interesting note – Flavorwire has a nice little compilation of celebrity libraries. i was surprised at the decor certain celebrities chose – i would have pegged the interior of their [...]

  16. [...] via via via Veröffentlicht in Brustwarze, Kultur, Kunst / Art, Life, Sexy, Style, VJ LIVE, [...]

  17. [...] Schaut Euch mal um … Libraries of the rich and famous [...]

  18. [...] нещодавно нам вдалося знайти підбірку фотографій, які зображають домашні бібліотеки іноземних [...]

  19. [...] Kända människors bibliotek (Flavorpil) ”Celebrities may live glamorous lives, but at the end of the day, we’d like to think that a good number of them curl up at home with a good book.” [...]

  20. [...] σπιτοσκυλοφάν Μαρία έστειλε στο σπιτόσκυλο ετούτο το post του Flavorwire με τις βιβλιοθήκες των διασήμων, και το σπιτόσκυλο [...]

  21. [...] Libraries of the Rich and Famous! #celebritiescanread [...]

  22. [...] well-documented obsession with books — he apparently owns 300,000 of them, and photos of his library have been making the blog rounds for months — has inspired him to create a new, book-scented [...]

  23. [...] favorite interior decorating piece of the week has been recent Flavorwire article showcasing celebrity libraries.  I’ve always dreamed of having a home library, and these [...]

  24. [...] to go hunting for more. We’ve already shown you a choice selection of the libraries of the rich and famous, but here, inspired by Price’s book, we’re focusing on the libraries, studies, and [...]

  25. [...] Peek Inside the Libraries of Famous Writers Libraries of the Rich and Famous Breathtaking Libraries Around the [...]

  26. [...] Der New York Observer wimdete sich am 10. Januar diesen Jahres dem “bescheidenen”, bekennenden Nichtwähler, Mode- und Leseguru Karl Lagerfeld. Anlass war das Buch “The Selby is in Your Place” von Todd Selby, der darin auch Lagerfelds Privatbibliothek ablichtete. Weitere Fotos anderer “Celebrities”-Bibliotheken u.a. von Oprah Winfrey, Woody Allen oder Rod Stewart enthält der Artikel “Celebs, They’re Geeks Like Us: Libraries of the Rich and Famous” von Judy Berman unter dem folgenden Link abrufbar: http://flavorwire.com/141846/celebs-theyre-geeks-like-us-libraries-of-the-rich-and-famous [...]