At the end of last week’s post, I asked readers to share what their own personal book collections say about themselves, so I thought it only fair to share myself! Below is a wide shot of our personal library at home, as it currently looks (so many IKEA Billy bookcases! 😉 ):

And here’s the specific collection I want to share, my personal collection of movie-related books, which are on a shelf closest to our bookcase of DVDs and videos (I am nothing if not practical):

It’s not a very big collection, I admit, and a hodge-podge one at that. I have picked up most of the titles here via second-hand book sales or as gifts. Here are some of my personal faves from my small collection of movie-related books:

This is Danny Peary’s Alternate Oscars: One Critic’s Defiant Choices for Best Picture, Actor, and Actress – From 1927 to Present, published in 1991. I read through this book so many times when I was younger. It’s one of the major reasons that I know a lot about the Oscars, as factoids soaked in as I read and re-read Peary’s in-depth writing. It also probably helps explain why I’m so opinionated about the Oscars. 😉

Yep, you can definitely tell I love the Oscars! And I loved the Cinematherapy books, as well, which were a thing in the early 2000s, even resulting in a long-running TV series. I analyze all kinds of films for this blog — and often joke about watching some bad movies SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO — but I also watch films according to specific moods I’m in, and the Cinematherapy books recognize and help answer that need.

On that same theme, Rob Christopher’s movie advisory book, Queue Tips: Discovering Your Next Great Movie, was published by ALA in 2012. I received this copy of the book for a review on this blog, which you can read here, and I still often find my way back to this book.

I like my movie criticism with a bit of snark, and this fun 1996 title, The Critics Were Wrong: Misguided Movie Reviews and Film Criticism Gone Awry, by Ardis Sillick & Michael McCormick, fits that bill. It focuses on underrated cinematic gems that went unappreciated when they first came out.

An autobiography of my favorite film critic — and only Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic — Roger Ebert, who published his autobiography, Life Itself: A Memoir, in 2011 before his death in 2013. I mentioned this book here in this tribute post to Roger Ebert. What I always appreciated about Roger Ebert is how much of a movie FAN he was. I can relate to that. ♥

And, last but not least, one book that you actually won’t find on my movie collection bookshelf… because I refer to it so often that it just stays on my desk! 😀 It’s the invaluable 2005 book, The Image of Librarians in Cinema, 1917-1999, by Ray and Brenda Tevis, a book I refer to and quote a lot on this blog. I also reviewed this book here in this post.

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So what does my personal collection of movie books say about me? I think it shows that I love reading about movies (and movie recommendations), plus I enjoy reading about movie critics and criticism. I think that is an apt reflection of what I do here on this site. 😉

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment and share!

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Sources used:

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• Christopher, Rob. Queue Tips: Discovering Your Next Great Movie. Huron Street Press, 2012.
• Ebert, Roger. Life Itself: A Memoir. Grand Central, 2011.
• Peary, Danny. Alternate Oscars: One Critic’s Defiant Choices for Best Picture, Actor and Actress – From 1927 to the Present. Delta / Dell Publishing, 1993.
• Peske, Nancy, and Beverly West. Cinematherapy Goes to the Oscars. Universe, 2004.
• Sillick, Ardis. The Critics Were Wrong: Misguided Movie Reviews and Film Criticism Gone Awry. Citadel Press, 1996.
• Tevis, Ray, and Brenda Tevis. The Image of Librarians in Cinema 1917-1999. McFarland, 2005.