Whenever I go inside somebody’s house I always take a look at what books are on their shelves. I’m not judging anyone’s picks — I’ve always been fascinated by what people are reading and what those selections can tell me about who they are. So I thought it would be fun to play around with the intersection between books and personality. Where do your book picks fit in?
On Your Bookshelf: Jasmine Guillory, Emily Henry, Annabel Monaghan
Your love of predictable endings keeps you organized, cheerful and happy to start another book as soon as you finish the last.
You tend to dress: In the current trends with pops of color to mimic your favorite book covers.
Your favorite season: You love rainy days since they give you an excuse to read. In Winter, you want to read by the fire with your hubby. In Spring and Summer, you’re happy to take walks in the park or bike ride through the city with your partner — If you’re single, you often daydream about meeting Mr. Right.
What You’re Going to Do Tomorrow: Whatever you decide today. You always like having a plan ahead of time and that makes the next day even better.
What You’ll Read Next: Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
On Your Bookshelf: Philippa Gregory, Maggie O’Farrell, Sarah Penner
You tend to dress: In classic separates but with a deep love of adding flea market finds or vintage jewelry to your wardrobe.
Your favorite TV show: The Queen! Or anything about the Royals. I bet you watched the latest Harry and Megan special.
You adore furniture that: is gilded, like a mirror over your fireplace. And did I mention your bedding? It may feature paisley or florals or at the very least, it could be described as sumptuous.
Your next book pick: Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson
On Your Bookshelf: Anything With a Reese sticker
Your favorite TV shows: Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Daisy Jones and the Six
Your favorite book last year: Our Missing Hearts (October 2022 pick), The Christie Affair (February 2022 pick) or The Nightingale (which you missed when it came out years ago but picked it up with Reese’s club in January 2023)!
Your favorite fashion accessory: Your Kindle Paperwhite or the Audible app, since you try to read whenever you have a free second.
What you’ll read next: Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy. It is the April 2023 pick, after all.
On Your Bookshelf: Tana French, Lucy Foley and Laura Lippman
In your spare time: You love doing brain teasers, maybe even the crossword, since you find it great fun to solve puzzles.
You probably listen to: Whatever true crime podcast is most popular, like “Bear Brook,” which friends in the know say everyone is talking about.
You dream of taking a trip to: London and Ireland where you can fall into the next great Brit mystery
Your preferred hot beverage: Earl Gray Tea with milk and a bit of honey. Anything to draw out the mystery of a simple moment.
What you’ll read next: Exiles by Jane Harper
On Your Bookshelf: Elin Hilderbrand, Meg Mitchell Moore, Jennifer Weiner
You dream about vacationing in: Maine. You’ve already been to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the Hamptons and Newport.
Your favorite style of home decor: Rooms decorated in all white: white couches, white walls, and rustic wood furnishings. Don’t forget the rattan-style pendant light!
Your favorite season: SUMMER. If it isn’t summer, it isn’t worth reading. Not true, but while you read year-round, you wait with bated breath for each season’s batch of summer book pics.
Your favorite cocktail: Mimosas on Sunday mornings on the beach. The New England favorite makes every book better.
What You’ll Read Next: Whichever one of your favorite authors releases their summer book first.
On Your Bookshelf: Natalie Jenner, Beatriz Williams, Fiona Davis and Brooke Lea Foster
It’s the glamorous 1950s and 1960s, and you can’t get enough of Jackie O sunglasses, glamorous locales and a time when life seemed simpler but was certainly more complicated.
Your prom dress: definitely mimicked Audrey Hepburn’s understated elegance.
You love to drink: gin and tonics! A sexy and simple summer drink.
You wish fashion trends today pointed to: wearing gloves with every outfit, or at least leather driving gloves. A vintage Coco Chanel purse is a dream accessory.
Your favorite movies: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Sabrina, Roman Holiday
Your next novel: Kate Morton’s Homecoming, which follows a mysterious murder in a mansion in 1959, and Fiona Davis’s novel The Spectacular, following a young Rockette in the 1950s who finds herself at the hands of a mysterious terrorist bombing.
On Your Bookshelf: Chris Bohjalian, Ann Patchett, Emma Straub & Rebecca Makkai
You find books you love: On the front table of your independent bookstore, novels that cut straight to the heart and reflect your belief that the world is a lonely, inspiring, lovely and complicated place.
Your preferred cocktail: Cocktail? You prefer a frothy cup of coffee to sip when you dive into the latest literary sensation.
Your first section of the newspaper: The New York Times Book Review. You like to stay ahead of book trends and know what’s coming out and what the editors think about them.
What You’ll Read Next: Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton or The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane; and don’t forget the Substack newsletters of your favorites:
On Your Bookshelf: Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald & Edith Wharton
You’re inspired by time period dramas that explore the haves and the have nots.
You dream of going to: Paris and London to visit the old stomping grounds of your favorite authors.
You carry your groceries in: Book-themed canvas totes either from Barnes and Noble, Literary Hub or your favorite indie bookshop.
You get fired up about: the fact that the original version of Roald Dahl’s novels are getting edited and updated to reflect modern thinking. You believe literature is something that isn’t just enjoyed, it should be preserved.
What You’ll Read Next: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
Omg!! I thought this was a bit of fun until I realised you had totally nailed it! Frothy coffee over cocktails everytime, the NYT review of books, and Mary Beth Keane's last book was the best book I read last year! Uncanny ; )
Haha! Love this. Amazingly accurate all the way down to the book-themed canvas tote! 🤓📚