00:00Hey, I'm Jeremiah Brent. We are here at our townhouse in the West Village. I'm about to give
00:05you a look into our personal library, the things that mean the most to us, the books that have
00:10changed our lives. This is Shelf Portrait. The beautiful thing about this bookshelf,
00:20which is double height, it's about 30 feet of shelving, is it really houses some of the most
00:24important things to us. Looks have changed our lives in so many different ways and have been
00:29such an integral part of our story as a family, individually, and you can kind of see behind me,
00:36it's everything we've collected from travels, the books that mean the most to us. So I'm excited
00:40to share with you a few of my favorites. So it's really hard for me to pick just five of my favorites
00:46because all of these books are here because they mean something to us. But here's my best shot. The
00:51first book I want to share is something deeply personal to me and to my husband. It's James
00:57Brown's handbook. James Brown was a prolific artist. He's one of our favorites. His use with organic
01:06materials and his thoughtfulness around everything he did. There was always a story and one of the
01:12things that I connect the most to him and his wife Alexandra was the tenacity for life. They moved
01:17through the world so beautifully and they had such adventure in everything that they did. It really
01:24was remarkable. They were dear friends of ours who tragically died a little over a year ago in a car
01:31accident. But this book is something that we've had and traveled around with and it's the first chapter
01:36is called The Obligation of Looking Deeply, which I feel like really sums up everything about who he was
01:41as an artist and what he represented. And he was prolific in the fact that everything kind of had this
01:46organic form to it. And he did everything from cast bronze to wood to ceramics to paintings. Some of
01:54the most important pieces that we own, the things that we value the most are actually his. So they
01:59kind of serve as a timeline of our family and the journey. Actually one of the last things he gave to
02:05us was some painting for our daughter that he signed in the back. So this is a really beautiful book.
02:10You have to check it out. So it goes without saying that one of the most influential
02:17people in my life has been Excel for Fork. It was the first time that I was really exposed to an
02:23interior designer with such a clear perspective, something that he never waved from. He always
02:28stuck true to who he was and what he believes in. And it was the first time that I understood that you
02:33could create spaces that really felt emotional and that less practicality, so to speak, but more
02:40about evoking an emotional feel. His spaces, even in photos, you can feel them. And I think that's
02:47really interesting. You know, he's all about playing with light, different texture. He blends different
02:52design aesthetics so beautifully. It was the first time that I really understood my own design aesthetic,
02:59which is far more monastic than my husband. But I love it. I love everything. I love the ceremony of
03:06his design. This book in particular, which is called The Story of Style, just kind of takes you through
03:12his journey everywhere from his memories and what's influenced his design. You know, it's so visually
03:20beautiful. And just to kind of get a glimpse into who he is and why he connects to things the way he does.
03:26Hard copy or e-reader? Always a hard copy. I love the smell of the book. One of the things that's
03:33really interesting about books and the power that they have to not only educate you, but they transport
03:38you. You know, a lot of these books, the first date I had with my husband, we stayed up till 4am
03:44going through books and talking about what we thought was beautiful. Now, fast forward 10 years later,
03:49after using these books to educate myself and understand things and see things and understand what
03:5419th century was, what neoclassical was. These artists from all over the world, these books now
03:59are being used for our children. Our kids pick them up and look at things and tell us what they think
04:03are beautiful. So I think that's the really beautiful rhythm and cycle of books to keep things that really
04:08matter to you, like these behind you. Goodbye Picasso is so good. I mean, listen, Picasso is a crazy,
04:18crazy genius. And that's just what it is. And controversial in so many ways. But this book,
04:24which is the series of letters, is so special because it kind of walks you through, you know,
04:30the Spanish painters' last couple of years of life. And there's all these beautiful letters
04:38characters to Picasso and vice versa. And from Picasso, you kind of get a glimpse into his studio,
04:46some of his paintings, the inspiration behind his paintings, the story of his wife and their marriage,
04:52the complexities of their marriage. But Picasso, again, is one of those artists that
04:59knew who he was so beautifully, artistically, and communicated it so authentically. And it just shows the,
05:07you know, how authenticity stands the test of time, because he stuck true to what he knew,
05:12he believed in it. And now, you know, how many years later, it's still, it's still so, so important.
05:19I mean, look at this picture of him in the studio. I mean, come on, I could sit down for 30 minutes and
05:24just look through that picture. So it's really fun visually. It's really interesting from a creative
05:29standpoint, but it's a good read. Where do you usually buy your books? I highly recommend if you're in the
05:36West Village going to Three Lives. It is a West Village staple. They've got every book you could
05:41ever imagine. Our children know it very well. I think we probably go there once a month,
05:46but check it out if you're in the city. What book have you read the most in your life? I have actually
05:52read The Alchemist probably five times. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do it. It was,
05:59it has been influential for me in so many different parts of my life. When I was coming out,
06:04it gave me the strength and the confidence I needed to come out. When I was trying to reconcile
06:10all of the damage done from being closeted for so long, it gave me that strength again. It's kind
06:15of just popped up in so many different ways. And every time I read that book, I get something new
06:20from it. But it was the first time I had ever had it articulated to me in, by the way, a really beautiful
06:25way. But the only thing getting in my way was here. But it's a really special book, so you should check it
06:31out. So this book, which is entitled to Giacometti is, again, one of my all-time favorites.
06:38Um, Giacometti was one of the first artists that I discovered, um, like on this journey of a designer
06:44and as a creative. And, you know, one thing to point out is the books behind me have really served.
06:48There's a school for me. I was not educated with design, but these have been my education. They
06:54allowed me to travel. They allowed me to expose myself and educate myself on a lot of these creatives who
06:59shaped so much of what we have now in the design business. Giacometti was incredibly prolific.
07:06He worked with bronze and paintings. His first bust, I think, was at 14 years old.
07:12His father was a painter. It's just beautiful. And everything about his pieces are, they just,
07:19they've stood the test of time in a way that few people can. You can kind of see just the sculpture,
07:24the ceramics, the bronze, um, the paintings, the sketches. Um, we, I bought a Giacometti sketch.
07:32It was one of the first, like, nice things I bought. Um, and I'll never forget it. It's just,
07:36he's one of my all-time favorites. What's your favorite place to read a book? I love cracking a book
07:43open on our roof here in the city. We have a little roof deck upstairs that's all green,
07:49and you look out at the village. There's just the right amount of breeze. That's my favorite spot.
07:54I know you didn't expect to see this, um, but this book is called Entangle Makes Free,
08:00um, and this is probably one of the most important books, kind of, in the, uh, timeline of our family,
08:07so to speak. You know, when we made the decision to move back to New York, one of the things that we
08:11tried to do is really find ways to make our children feel a part of the community, and this
08:15book actually takes place in the New York, uh, the Central Park Zoo. And more important about this
08:22book is it's the first time that I ever, um, was given the words to articulate and describe
08:27surrogacy to our children. Um, it's such a beautiful story about two male penguins that fall in love and
08:33a zookeeper that gives them an egg that they can't produce for themselves, even though they're sitting
08:37on a rock trying to pretend like they can do it. And they end up raising this beautiful daughter,
08:42um, and they have this family and she makes them. It takes two to make a tango, and that's the name
08:48of their daughter. Um, but it was the first time that I was able to put into words, um, the beauty of
08:54surrogacy to our children to make them understand the amount of love and care and, um, kindness that it
09:00took to bring them into the world. Um, it's a really special book. As you can see, I get emotional
09:05for a long time talking about it. So check it out.
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