00:00 I do think it's very important when you have a bookcase to sort of try and
00:05 make it artistically interesting.
00:09 This one took me eight hours to do.
00:11 Hi, I'm Juliana Margulies, and welcome to Marie Claire's shelf portrait.
00:17 [MUSIC]
00:21 I'm gonna start off with three of,
00:25 [DOG BARKING]
00:27 That's my dog.
00:28 So I love Ann Patchett.
00:30 [DOG BARKING]
00:32 And I have read every book she's ever written.
00:34 These three happen to be my pride and joy because my dear friend Reese Witherspoon
00:42 happens to know Ann Patchett, and she autographed them to me personally.
00:48 This is the story of a happy marriage.
00:50 I love to disappear into a book and into people's lives.
00:53 I like to disappear from mine at the end of the day and get into bed and read a book,
00:57 which is why I do not have a television in my bedroom.
01:00 This book, The Dutch House, I will always keep and
01:04 reread aside from the fact that it's such a stunning cover.
01:08 Truly one of the most beautiful stories I dove into last summer.
01:14 I could not put this book down.
01:15 She's just an incredible writer.
01:17 She's an incredible writer.
01:18 Bel Canto, who doesn't know Bel Canto?
01:21 Ann Patchett is such a beautiful, beautiful writer.
01:23 And it's not just because we both have the same alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College.
01:27 I actually didn't know that before I fell in love with her writing.
01:30 I had the fortune of meeting Walter Isaacson, and he told me to read his book, Innovators.
01:40 And in this book, it's just fascinating.
01:44 I recommend everyone read this book.
01:46 I had no idea that the first people to program computers were women.
01:53 And it's just a remarkable story.
01:56 And all the stories in here are remarkable.
01:59 I love art books.
02:01 And I think art books are very important in anyone's bookcase and in anyone's home.
02:06 One art book that my father gave me when I was in college and I was studying art history
02:12 is this--
02:14 I fell in love with Marc Chagall.
02:16 And it's this stunning Marc Chagall book.
02:21 I think his paintings are so joyful and playful and beautiful.
02:27 And this book is just the story of his paintings and the story of his life.
02:31 And I highly recommend it.
02:33 It's followed me around everywhere in this book.
02:36 I do love memoirs.
02:38 I tend to read them and then give them to friends because I just like to share.
02:45 But one book I refused to get rid of or give--
02:48 I just said, go buy it--
02:50 is Gabriel Byrne's Walking with Ghosts.
02:53 Just stunning prose.
02:56 Stunning.
02:57 I happened to have done a film with him years ago and had no idea he was such a beautiful writer.
03:03 And then, of course, Toni Morrison's Love.
03:07 Everyone should have this in their bookcase.
03:09 And her voice is so magnificent.
03:12 It's a book I always go back to.
03:16 And also because it's so light and easy, I travel with it.
03:20 So another thing that is my travel companion--
03:23 and usually it is by my bedside.
03:25 I have it on the bookcase here because I have several copies of them.
03:29 And that's Gratitude by Oliver Sacks.
03:34 I have read this book probably, I don't know, 15, 20 times.
03:38 I read a chapter of it every now and then just to remind myself
03:42 that life is much richer when gratitude is practiced.
03:46 And this is a man who understood that.
03:48 I'm an actress, so obviously my shelves are also going to be filled with plays.
03:54 For example, Arthur Miller's collection of plays, which--
03:57 it's so worn out that I'm afraid it's falling apart.
04:02 I do truly believe that Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman,
04:11 I think when he was 23 years old in three days--
04:18 stunning.
04:18 And it's old, and I love the smell of it.
04:22 It's smelling-- reminds me of my college dorm room.
04:24 And of course, here I have a collection of Shakespeare plays,
04:28 which are great because you can just put them in your pocket
04:32 and take them to the park with you.
04:34 I have literally every single one here.
04:36 And look, you can see how old it is.
04:38 It all used to be that color.
04:40 I think these are the kinds of things--
04:43 this was a gift from my father, and I cherish them.
04:46 And I think everyone should make sure they keep books in their shelves
04:53 that remind them of times in their lives,
04:56 not just good reads, but times in their lives.
04:58 OK, so I'm in our den now.
05:01 I'm up on the couch because the bookshelves are a little too high for me to reach.
05:04 Dante's Inferno, which has traveled with me since high school.
05:08 And I became obsessed with Dante.
05:12 And now I have all of them here, which I studied in college.
05:16 And they've been with me all over this country.
05:20 The Nine Circles of Hell, everyone should read about them.
05:23 That's all.
05:24 I can't have a library without having my Emily Dickinson.
05:27 Her poems in this book, which is called Final Harvest, is just gorgeous.
05:37 And you don't always have time to read a full book,
05:39 but you have always time to read a poem.
05:43 I go from reading very heavy stuff, esoteric stuff, memoirs,
05:47 to just plain old good entertainment and fun.
05:51 Untamed.
05:53 Glennon Doyle did it again.
05:56 Just love her writing.
05:58 It's so honest and refreshing and beautiful.
06:00 I had so much fun reading Ali Wentworth's Ali in Wonderland.
06:06 It is a hoot and a holler.
06:10 Really honest and such an easy, fast read.
06:14 And she is whip smart.
06:16 What an interesting childhood.
06:18 What interesting parents she had.
06:20 This book, The Secret Conversations,
06:25 it's Ava Gardner partnered with a friend of hers who's a journalist, Peter Evans,
06:32 and wrote this book.
06:33 And it is fantastic.
06:35 It is such a good read.
06:37 I actually read it on every 10-minute break I had when I was on The Good Wife.
06:42 She has a great line when she was asked why she stayed with one of her husbands so long.
06:47 She said, "Well, he was great in the feathers, baby.
06:49 Great in the feathers."
06:51 I mean, it's just such a spectacular book.
06:54 One of my favorite books of all time is by Wally Schaun.
06:59 Now, that's on the other shelf, but because I became obsessed with The Fever,
07:03 I bought Wally Schaun's essays.
07:06 I happened to get to work with him on The Good Wife, which was a thrill.
07:09 But what a writer.
07:11 He is such a beautiful writer.
07:13 And again, I think it's important to find books that you can travel with and put in your bag.
07:19 If you're a guy, put it in your pocket.
07:22 They're small, and you should never get on a subway or a train or a plane without a book
07:26 because you never know how long you're going to be waiting, and you can learn a lot.
07:29 Two people who really helped me write my book without knowing it.
07:34 Um, The Art of Memoir, Mary Carr.
07:39 Even if you're not planning on writing a book, it's just so well-written.
07:45 I got really lucky because a friend of hers heard that I was trying to write this memoir that I wrote,
07:51 and they knew her.
07:53 And look, I have it signed by her.
07:59 I mean, these are my prized possessions.
08:00 To Juliana, my woman crush.
08:03 Good luck with the words.
08:05 Stephen King on writing.
08:07 Phenomenal book.
08:09 By the way, look, it's falling apart.
08:11 Even if you're not planning to write anything, he is so entertaining and so fantastic.
08:18 And you get to learn about his early days as a writer, which is fascinating.
08:23 How he came up with Carrie.
08:25 It's really a great read.
08:26 I highly recommend it.
08:29 And then, of course, how could I call myself an actual if I didn't show you my book that's
08:36 also in tatters of Sam Shepard.
08:38 Sam Shepard, Fool for Love and Other Plays.
08:41 This was in my backpack, I think, throughout all of college and the two years before I got
08:49 a yard after college.
08:50 Three years, maybe it was.
08:51 But I did so many scenes from this.
08:54 His writing is just magnificent.
08:57 Gorgeous, gorgeous.
08:58 I could go on and on.
08:59 There are so many books I'd love to share with you.
09:03 But really, I think the love of reading is what's important.
09:07 And I hope in any way I could guide you to some new books you didn't hear about.
09:11 Thank you for joining me on this Marie Claire's shelf portrait.
09:15 I hope you've enjoyed some of my shelves and have a great day.
09:26 (upbeat music)
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