Michael Silverblatt's Library

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On August 21, 2021, I had the privilege of meeting Michael Silverblatt after nearly a year of correspondence. We ate breakfast together, talked for hours, and toured his library. He was gracious enough to let me record footage of this sacred space, and I'm thrilled to share it with you.
#bookshelftour #homelibrary #michaelsilverblatt

[@noahfranks984]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ll support that petition!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Nope, neither.

[@createfareed1]

I support

[@CastleRockFan]

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]

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

[@frankiegumdrops8532]

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]

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

[@Telly234]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@nbyrd2579]

Thank you for introducing me to Michael Silverblatt.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You are very welcome!

[@travelthroughstories]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙏

[@devil_pls]

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

[@stoicepictetus3875]

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]

🙏🙏🙏

[@alexgdsu7785]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’m still reeling from it!

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

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]

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.

[@willsi]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

So thrilled to hear you're back to Vollmann!

[@PaperBird]

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]

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

[@VladVexler]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

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]

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

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@@LeafbyLeaf oh yeah! Very cool to hear

[@siljeblomst1]

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]

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

[@kathleenianziti981]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@MrMotoflou]

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]

My pleasure!

[@simonailiescu3320]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@iswhat1]

Amazing! Bookworm is by far my favourite literary podcast

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Same here!

[@theheadytimetraveler3864]

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]

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

[@Orpheuslament]

What an opportunity. Thanks for posting.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@evanboyer5928]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@northsidejosh8086]

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

[@dcdc139]

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]

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

[@arthurtwoshed]

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]

Hahah! Thanks! All my best to you!

[@scottbrandon6244]

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.

[@jwb1883]

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]

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. 😉

[@ReadingintheDriftless]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌

[@dqan7372]

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]

This library definitely tests my balance between inspiration and envy!

[@prognition970]

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]

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

[@OleD-HH]

Amazing! Could watch for hours.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@MyCircadian]

Thank you brother, for sharing a lost bookshelf!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@scoon2117]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I wholeheartedly agree!

[@slashgee7827]

Thanks for sharing this, an amazing opportunity.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@Bookspine5]

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]

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]

@@LeafbyLeaf That's awesome.

[@helioliskfire5954]

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]

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!

[@valel1879]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I know!!!

[@miglebudryte9991]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

That Vilnius Poker jumped out at me, too!

[@dcdc139]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

👊

[@jkvideos22]

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]

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...

[@ctynan888]

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]

😜

[@v.cackerman8749]

What a wonderful library!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It is both voluminous and charming!

[@Richardwestwood-dp5wr]

I think, but I might be wrong though, the majority of these books were given to Michael by libraries and publishing houses. They do that with writers for sure, to get reviews and sell more books.

[@NobodylikesSoup]

Wow so this is what Heaven looks like.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😁

[@juantorres90]

That's a wonderful library. Great video.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bedet]

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]

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]

@@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!

[@Beanodog]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@MichaelArgenta-p4i]

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]

Are you serious?!

[@MichaelArgenta-p4i]

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]

@user-tu2xf4uf3n ouch AND lol

[@donaghcoffey2416]

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]

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

[@jD-P8g3s]

Wow! So very privileged.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Agreed.

[@gpr1030]

Thank you

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You are very welcome!

[@1776Hobnob]

Wow, that was fun. Thanks Chris.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You’re welcome!

[@mattmacneil3424]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

He's got some serious gems!

[@NoPr0bl3ms]

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]

It is so surreal!

[@deanaz41]

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]

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.

[@beingbeauteous8092]

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]

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.

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

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]

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.

[@pablochristo1031]

Boy did I open KZbin at the right time.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙏

[@thebigredfish]

Wow wow. This is very cool.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I know!

[@jintsfan]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Does it come out like Los Angelese?

[@jintsfan]

@@LeafbyLeaf yup

[@GypsyRoSesx]

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

[@hfjdksalable]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@Nick-rv1ts]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@ZenosConscience]

Time to make a Goodreads list based on this library.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌

[@noahfranks984]

Helllllll yes. Nice.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

👊

[@ashulman2008]

Awesome

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Agreed!

[@MarcNash]

So cool Chris!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I'm still pinching myself!

[@dcdc139]

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]

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]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You bet.

[@sventhemoose1218]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😂😂😂

[@dcdc139]

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]

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

[@vaseemsherief9280]

Wow 😢

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I know.

[@ryandudley3616]

Very cool video man!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks!

[@davidaasen5192]

8:32 Blood meridian first edition 😍

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I know!!!

[@michaljambor7772]

But where does he keep his vinyls?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@alexjohnson9798]

Holy Fuck

[@mikemauro3119]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’d say between 8-10k.

[@Ematched]

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]

Sure did!

[@Ematched]

@@LeafbyLeaf whoa!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Exactly.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@Ematched]

@@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.

[@billyewell6552]

Could you recommend some of your favorite Bookworm interviews?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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]

@@LeafbyLeaf awesome, thanks!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@harshalbhanarkar]

4:10 He is Salman Rushdie ❤️

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@harshalbhanarkar]

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

[@BookShore]

I had no idea there were published notes by Pynchon

[@9750939]

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

[@BookShore]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

They have been digitized! pynchonnotes.openlibhums.org

[@BookShore]

@@LeafbyLeaf you the man Chris!!!

[@scoon2117]

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

[@Maggdusa]

How is Michael?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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

[@Maggdusa]

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. 😌

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Drool-making jealousy-inducing glory!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very well put!

[@ميسونقمر]

شكرا جزيلا

[@LeafbyLeaf]

على الرحب والسعة

[@williamgass9242]

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

[@Wolverine3660]

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]

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!

[@karlstriepe8050]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

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

[@johnwall2000]

3:20 closet drama

[@이민-h6h]

Wow

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I know!

[@daheikkinen]

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

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😜😜😜

[@stanfordx8864]

“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]

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

[@tboss8157]

Fanboy moment wow!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Totally.

[@radzdom8813]

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.