They had better turn this into a museum when Silverblatt is gone. Now that's a campaign I could get behind

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I’ll support that petition!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Nope, neither.

This is so wonderful. Michael Silverblatt is a lovely man. We spoke on the phone once a few years ago. I was twenty at the time, and he was so gracious, so unbelievably kind, and so interested in me as a person. I cherish that memory, and appreciate you giving us a glimpse into the ultimate personal library.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

He truly is. I am very thankful. And it is a pleasure to share this with you.

I am embarrassed to admit how much I enjoyed this. I could recall the, to me, legendary interviews as you scanned the shelves. Wallace and Gass... if only McCarthy wasn’t such a recluse. Bookshelf voyeurism is a concealed but deeply satisfying pastime of mine. I’m glad this community understands. Thanks, Chris.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, dude-we totally get it. Bookshelf voyeurism is a real thing. It’s serious. I agree that all of his interviews are legendary.

Leaf by Leaf, you now have over ten thousand subscribers! Wow! I wish you even more success!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

It’s crazy! Makes me so happy to know so many people care about literature! Thank you so much!

Long long livr Silverblatt. Im so haopy hes still here😊

@LeafbyLeaf

18 күн бұрын

I wholeheartedly agree!

Thank you for introducing me to Michael Silverblatt.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome!

I hope Michael is doing well. I read a while ago that he is apperantly dealing with some health issues but I hope that he can come back and continue to do what he loves. He's a great guy

Glad to see you got the chance to meet the man himself - you've definitely earned the literary respect.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

🙏

Thank you very much for the tour. It is so good to see two people who share the love of knowledge, books and reading come together in such an unemphatic way.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

🙏🙏🙏

what an amazing experience! so glad you got to do this man

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I’m still reeling from it!

That was so much fun. Thank you so much for taking us on this incredible tour. ❤️📚!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

I am jealous. Your videos discussing Vollmann helped me get back to where I left his work years back. Anyways, good videos.

@LeafbyLeaf

6 ай бұрын

So thrilled to hear you're back to Vollmann!

Thanks so much for sharing! Very lovely to see. And much much luck with your channel going forward!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

I wish all personal libraries were documented in this way, since they eventually become dispersed. I did a proto-video showing my media/book collection on my channel but really need to hone it just to highlight the books, of which there are thousands covering all genres. This video inspires me to do it. Awesome job, Leaf Man.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I agree! Please, please share the link when you’ve made that video. In the same way, I want to go back to Silverblatt’s and slow way down and really focus on every spine.

7:57 Love this video, and can I just say thank you for finally showing me how to pronounce this fella's name. lol

@LeafbyLeaf

5 ай бұрын

My pleasure!

Amazing! Bookworm is by far my favourite literary podcast

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Same here!

Oh wow. That is amazing. Thank you for sharing with us…👌👏😀

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

This is book heaven 😍 It reminds me in some ways of my favorite book shop in Edinburgh, Armchair books, and knowing this is a personal collection just blows my mind. Love it! And I am so happy you filmed it, Chris 😊

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely book heaven! I’m so happy to share this with you!

Thank you so much for this, Chris! It is simply unbelievable! What a collection- those Pynchon Notes! **swoons** Carson IS wonderful. Awesome to see that Silverblatt and I have something in common. We both love Calvino 😎

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Noah! I’ve got an overlooked Carson in the works.

@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf oh yeah! Very cool to hear

What an opportunity. Thanks for posting.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I’m still reeling from the week. It’s my pleasure to share this.

I can only imagine how much time and people will be needed to cart away the books after the owner dies. There is a guy in California with a library of 72,000 books. I know a guy in Buffalo who has 14,000 books. So it can become an obsession. At one time I had over 9,000 books. I have moved a few times since then and sold off many of those books simply due to space.

Amazing! Could watch for hours.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I’m hoping to go back and make a longer, slower, more thorough version.

incredible! Seems like Mr. Silverblatt shares my affinity for hardbacks!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Same here. Though he has had the privilege of being alive to procure a lot of these first edition hardcovers when they first released!

I love your library! I hope one day my bookshelf becomes alike to your amazing setup. I'm glad I found your channel. Thank you

Thanks for sharing this, an amazing opportunity.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

Thank you brother, for sharing a lost bookshelf!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

What a fantastic video Mr Chris Via! Strangely enough I was searching around youtube in hopes of finding a Michael Silverblatt library tour....Weird how things come about, eh? Now, here's to hoping that there is some recordings of the conversation between you and Mr. Silverblatt, what a joy it would be to hear that conversation...✌

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Glad you found the video! All I can say is that there is a collaboration in the works.

What a literary paradise. Truly inspiring! ....now opening my Kindle...YOUR LIBRARY it says...oh dear... Greetings from NZ (and a big thank you for your superb channel !)

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Hahah! Thanks! All my best to you!

That's a wonderful library. Great video.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Oh man, I'll be pausing this video every few seconds to make myself some lists. Lucky you and hope that you had a great trip.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I figured people would wear their space bar out on this one! 😜

Absolutely love Kings Road Cafe. I had my first “good coffee” experience there as a teenager, and went many times when I lived in LA. Small world. Thank you for the video!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

It was delicious! I had the avocado toast, steel-cut oatmeal, and coffee.

wow, book lover's paradise right there, that's great you were able to document and share it! later did you get to test drive his reading chair? :)

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Actually, he does most of his reading in bed-all of his other sitting places are overtaken by stacks of books!

Oh my god! All the books. This is such a dream

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know!!!

Wow, that was fun. Thanks Chris.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome!

Awesome. And a shout out to my beloved Louise and the incomparable Neruda! Love it!!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

🙌🙌🙌

What a wonderful library!

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

It is both voluminous and charming!

Fascinating! I don't think of myself as a jealous man, but this setup really catches my fancy. Ah well. My humble shelves already contain a lifetime of reading material.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

This library definitely tests my balance between inspiration and envy!

Reminds me years ago when I entered a small bookshop somewhere in northern Nevada. The bookstore was a small three bedroom house that had a lot of books in every room. The kicker about the owner of the bookstore was that she sold anything but Reader's Digest.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

ABRD--I love it! I had the same experience with a little farmhouse in the mountains of Virginia I used to visit each autumn. The whole house became a bookshop with books crammed in there everywhere. There was a bedroom upstairs so small that I had to literally lie on the floor to scan the shelves! Alas, they are closed down now. :-\

@Bookspine5

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf That's awesome.

Boy did I open KZread at the right time.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

🙏

My apartment too has been given over to books but sadly I think that's more a reflection on how tiny my apartment is rather than how many books I have

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

😜

Wow wow. This is very cool.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know!

Wow! So very privileged.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed.

8:30 damn..that Blood Meridian first edition!!

@LeafbyLeaf

5 ай бұрын

He's got some serious gems!

So cool Chris!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I'm still pinching myself!

I got a concussion when I younger at the Detroit metro library. I never liked books because they gave me headaches until I started reading Theology books and watching peoples library on youtube.

@LeafbyLeaf

5 ай бұрын

Are you serious?!

@user-tu2xf4uf3n

5 ай бұрын

We used to throw books over to the shelves and run around quickly to see who can pick it up first "goofing off". And my brothers head went down at the same time as mine did as we both went down to get it. Well in short it turned out, his head a little harder I guess.

@LeafbyLeaf

5 ай бұрын

@user-tu2xf4uf3n ouch AND lol

This reminds me of Umberto Eco's 10,000 book library. I myself just recently inventoried my own library, counting even my math and law textbooks, I only counted 280. So with that as a basis, I guesstimate this library has at least 5,000 books.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely at least 5k in there. I didn’t even get the rest of the library that had spilled over into his other apartment. I thought of Eco a lot in there. Someone else called his the West Coast Eco!

Thank you

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome!

Beautiful! Thanks for your effort. And there was also "Vilnius Poker" by R. Gavelis on a shelf. What a nice surprise.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

That Vilnius Poker jumped out at me, too!

@dcdc139

2 жыл бұрын

That's one of the titles that I wrote down. Is it any good?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

👊

You got to hang out with Silverblatt? You’re living the bookish person’s dream! Also, having a literal 2nd address for your personal library is another dream hahaha

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

It is so surreal!

Many, many thanks for your extraordinary video. I have enjoyed listening to Michael Silverblatt's "Bookworm" radio program for decades. However, I met him only once - at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to see an LA Opera adaptation of Melville's "Moby Dick." Both of us were unimpressed. Will there be a second video about your conversation with him?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

To be honest, probably no video about our conversation. It is, in a way, sacred. BUT-there is a collaboration of sorts in the works. 😉

Wow so this is what Heaven looks like.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

😁

Having that many books around would make me anxious. So many books in that collection I wouldn’t know where to start. And also realizing that I don’t have enough time to get to all of them. I’d say to myself: Rimbaud biography that looks good. But wait, the Pynchon Notes, Yes!, I should start with these….. but wait… what’s this?…. and on and on ….

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I am well acquainted with such anxieties. Whenever I'm reading a given book, my mind wants to ruminate on all the books I'm not getting around to in that moment. It's a battle, but I'm thankful to be immersed in such welcome combat.

Awesome

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed!

Very cool video man!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Helllllll yes. Nice.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

👊

Wow. What a privilege! Did it cross your mind about recording your chat with Michael? Really appreciate this upload. Your channel is an absolute goldmine! Thank you.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, yes, indeed it did! And in fact, we are talking about how to make something like that happen!

I'd always wondered what Michael's library looked like. It's not far from what I imagined. Maybe I missed it but I would have liked to see if he had all of Vollmann. I also noticed Roderick Random by Smollett with Barth's books. I remember him saying he read Smollett on Barth's recommendation so I wonder if he puts writer's recommendations with the writers' books themselves.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Good eye! I'll try to remember to ask him about that (the Smollett). I forgot to mention it, but there's another section of the library that has spilled into his apartment proper (including the Vs), and I did not feel at liberty to film in there. Maybe one day...

Incredible - thanks for this Chris! What was his Wallace collection like?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

It is a glaring omission but a lot more books had made their way to his other apartment. But I didn’t feel right filming in there.

Shelves full of beckett and bernhard in the B section. B stays Goated.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Barthelme, Barth, Bernhard, Beckett, Blake, Bloom, Bolano, Borges, et al.!

Time to make a Goodreads list based on this library.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

🙌🙌🙌

Wow! Now that’s a library. I’m just a poor player in comparison. Silverblatt is incredible.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

You and me both. I’m a proud neophyte!

Wonderful…..Do the floors need reinforcing with large collections like this?

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

That’s a great question. Luckily it’s a ground-floor apartment on a slab!

This was amazing, a book heaven. Im wondering how many books doeas he read per year. Or how he reads them... Whole book or just scanns throuh most of them..

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

He has said that he reads a novel per week, sometimes more. And he reads the books carefully and attentively. Most of the books you hear from his show, he reads twice before conducting the interview. And the books that means the most to him he reads again and again.

Next time someone tells me that I buy too many books...

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

In the 1940s Hitchcock film ‘Saboteur’, the lead, Barry Kane, pronounces LA as Los An-gel-es. I wish more would do that.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Does it come out like Los Angelese?

@jintsfan

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf yup

@GypsyRoSesx

Жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf that’s how I say it. I didn’t realise til just now that it’s said differently

Wow 😢

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing, Chris! Glad you didn't electrocute yourself on that weird bulb lol. Also is it safe to assume Silverblatt hasn't read Anniversaries yet? I saw it was still in the plastic packaging, although he could have two copies; I wouldn't be surprised. Couldn't help trying to spy in the S section for the book I sent him. Must be on his nightstand lol. ; )

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure! We didn’t get around to Uwe’s epic, but it is highly likely he read it. Publishers send him so many books that some books multiply themselves here and there. As for the S section, it actually continues into his apartment proper. Lots more books in there! But I didn’t feel at liberty to film in his living space. At least not this time.

Holy Fuck

Hey, Chris. Been a while. Hope all is well with you. Any update on Micheal? I noticed the Bookworm wiki has changed to past tense verbs: bookworm was; it ran for; etc. This makes me sad if true.

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

He's doing pretty well, though still mostly confined within and around the environs of his apartment. Getting better every day. The two-hit whammy of it all is that (1) Patrick Lannan recently passed away and the Foundation announced that it is closing; and (2) KCRW does not want to take a chance pushing Michael to return until he's completely restored to health. It is very sad, indeed.

@bedet

Жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks for the response, Chris. I’m really glad to hear that he’s doing better! I sent him an email the same day as I commented here. No response yet, but I’m not sure how often that KCRW email is checked, and if he is even the one who looks. I’m also really sorry to hear about Patrick Lannon and the foundation. They did such important work. Give my best to Michael, and I can’t wait to dig into that Beckett video when I’m back in town!

8:32 Blood meridian first edition 😍

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know!!!

Were there any books in there that you were surprised to find? Like, did he have an entire shelf dedicated to Stephen King or something?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Great question! The only stack of books that seemed incongruous to me was Haruki Murakami.

شكرا جزيلا

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

على الرحب والسعة

What an amazing collection. Watching this, waiting to hear a book count estimate--

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I’d say between 8-10k.

But where does he keep his vinyls?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't see any vinyls, but there were stacks of CDs (classical and jazz from what I saw) in his apartment proper. :)

Could you recommend some of your favorite Bookworm interviews?

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, man. So many. The DFW IJ video is iconic. There’s Rikki Ducornet, William Gass, Carlos Fuentes. There’s a talk with Anne Carson on the Lanan Foundation site. A talk with Krasznahorkai.

@billyewell6552

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf awesome, thanks!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

4:10 He is Salman Rushdie ❤️

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I should’ve highlighted that instead of greeting my reflection like a dork!

@harshalbhanarkar

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf I think everyone here knows who he is - a literary genius 📚✍️

I don’t want to pry into anyones personal lives but I’m wondering if you know whether he’s doing better health wise ?

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

Hey there. He has good days and bad days, but he is convalescing well in his home. He will appreciate your concern. By the way--don't miss this _Bookworm_ publication on 3/31! the-song-cave.com/collections/coming-soon/products/bookworm-conversations-with-michael-silverblatt

@dcdc139

Жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf thanks for the update and I will check out that book. Thanks for the link.

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

You bet.

Books

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed.

Drool-making jealousy-inducing glory!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Very well put!

I had no idea there were published notes by Pynchon

@9750939

2 жыл бұрын

It was a scholarly journal about Pynchon's works, not his personal notes (which I'd kill to read).

@BookShore

2 жыл бұрын

@@9750939 I'm going to wager its super expensive and rare huh

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

They have been digitized! pynchonnotes.openlibhums.org

@BookShore

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf you the man Chris!!!

Did you get to see Michael's copy of _The Tunnel,_ as it was intended, with the swastika armband wrapped around the book? Silverblatt mentions it in his on-stage interview with Gass.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Sure did!

@Ematched

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf whoa!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

There’s also a printed manuscript that Gass entrusted to Silverblatt.

@Ematched

2 жыл бұрын

@@LeafbyLeaf that's remarkable. You could tell from their interview just how greatly they respected one another. Did you happen to get video of the original edition and the manuscript? I'm imagining those two prized possessions just sitting on the shelves among countless other prized editions/printings.

Next time stop at the John Barth section a little longer.

How is Michael?

@LeafbyLeaf

7 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, still on hiatus due to health reasons. I miss him terribly!

@Maggdusa

7 ай бұрын

I have a wild, wonderful fantasy that Michael is perfectly healthy and has taken a break from Bookworm to write his first novel. He is, perhaps, drumming his fingers together with a mischievous smile, enjoying every minute of it, knowing he is giving birth to the greatest book we'll ever see. 😌

Wow

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know!

Wonderful program, Chris. Thanks. I might just want to say that maybe you ought to get some lessons on your camera skills. You moved just too fast for us viewers to actually see what you were seeing.

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

I know, I know. To really make this work I would need to invest in a steadicam. Eventually I will get back out there and slow way down and make sure the camera focuses on every spine. Cheers!

3:20 closet drama

Ha, Michael is a mess. Wish we got more videos of the libraries of famous intellectuals like Mr. Bookworm.

@LeafbyLeaf

6 ай бұрын

I wish I could figure out a way to make a living doing such a thing! Michael and I were planning for me to return to L.A. and record a fuller, higher-quality tour of his library, but, sadly, he got ill.

@karlstriepe8050

6 ай бұрын

The book "Bibliostyle: How We Live With Books," by Nina Freudenberger, also includes a photo shoot of Michael's library, pages 198 to 201.

@karlstriepe8050

6 ай бұрын

Interestingly, my favorite novella about bookish obsessions, "The House of Paper," by Carlos Maria Dominques, imagines a book collector with two apartments, one in an upper floor for living and a second in the floor below for his library. His library is described as far tidier and more organized than our radio host.

@LeafbyLeaf

6 ай бұрын

@karlstriepe8050 yes, thanks for citing that! In my video on Bookworm (the book) from earlier this year, I talk about those pages from that book.

@LeafbyLeaf

6 ай бұрын

😮😮😮 I’m seeking out this story now!@karlstriepe8050

In his interview with Josh cohen, Michael didn't know what ADHD was. I refuse to believe Michael actually doesn't know.

Are his books looking for a roommate? I’m available

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

😜😜😜

Fanboy moment wow!

@LeafbyLeaf

2 жыл бұрын

Totally.

“I’m going too fast…I’m an amateur.” Even as an amateur you easily identified the problem yet did nothing to fix it. Simply calling out a random author while visually showing a blurry frame is not helpful.

@LeafbyLeaf

Жыл бұрын

I appreciate the constructive criticism; it is noted. Thanks!

Admirable and so on, but what a strange collection. Of course, this may be just a sample, but where's the historical depth? Almost all 20th century, no foreign languages?... Where are the old volumes? I'm sure MS is very nice, but this looks like an agent's library.