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 to
00:40share with you a few of my favorites. So it's really hard for me to pick just five of my
00:45favorites
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
01:23was 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 kind
02:00of
02:00serve as a timeline of our family and the journey. Actually one of the last things he gave to us
02:05was
02:06some painting for our daughter that he signed in the back. So this is a really beautiful book.
02:11You 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
02:23an
02:23interior designer with such a clear perspective, something that he never waved from. He always
02:28stood true to who he was and what he believes in. And it was the first time that I understood
02:33that you
02:33could create spaces that really felt emotional and not less practicality, so to speak. But
02:40more about evoking an emotional feel. His faces, even in photos, you can feel them. And I think
02:46that's really interesting. You know, he's all about playing with light, different texture. He blends
02:52different design aesthetics so beautifully. It was the first time that I really understood my own
02:58design aesthetic, which is far more monastic than my husband. But I love it. I love everything. I love
03:05the ceremony of his design. This book in particular, which is called The Story of Style, just kind of
03:12takes you through his journey, everywhere from his memories and what's influenced his design.
03:18You know, it's so visually beautiful. And just to kind of get a glimpse into who he is and why
03:24he
03:24connects to things the way he does. Hard copy or e-reader? Always a hard copy. I love the smell
03:31of the book.
03:32One of the things that's really interesting about books and the power that they have to not only
03:37educate you, but they transport you. You know, a lot of these books, the first date I had with my
03:42husband, we stayed up till 4am going through books and talking about what we thought was beautiful.
03:47Now, fast forward 10 years later, after using these books to educate myself and understand things and
03:52see things and understand what 19th century was, what neoclassical was, these artists from all over the
03:58world. These books now are being used for our children. Our kids pick them up and look at things
04:02and tell us what they think are beautiful. So I think that's the really beautiful rhythm and cycle
04:07of books to keep things that really matter to you, like these behind you. Goodbye Picasso is so good.
04:14I mean, listen, Picasso is a crazy, crazy genius. And that's just what it is and controversial in so
04:21many ways. But this book, which is the series of letters is so special because it kind of walks you
04:29through, you know, the Spanish painters last couple of years of life. And there's all these beautiful
04:37letters to Picasso and vice versa and from Picasso. You kind of get a glimpse into his studio, some of
04:47his paintings, the inspiration behind his paintings, the story of his wife and their marriage, the
04:53complexities of their marriage. But Picasso, again, is one of those artists that knew who he was so
05:01beautifully artistically and communicated it so authentically. And it just shows the, you know,
05:08how authenticity stands the test of time, because he stuck true to what he knew, he believed in it.
05:13And now, you know, how many years later, it's still it's still so, so important. I mean, look at this
05:20picture of him in the studio. I mean, come on, I could sit down for 30 minutes and just look
05:25through
05:25that picture. So it's really fun visually. It's really interesting from a creative standpoint, but it's a good
05:30read. Where do you usually buy your books? I highly recommend if you're in the West Village going to
05:37Three Lives. It is a West Village staple. They've got every book you could ever imagine. Our children
05:43know it very well. I think we probably go there once a month, but check it out if you're in
05:47the city.
05:48What book have you read the most in your life? I have actually read The Alchemist probably five times.
05:55If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do it. It was, it has been influential for me in
06:01so
06:02many different parts of my life. When I was coming out, it gave me the strength and the confidence I
06:07needed to come out. When I was trying to reconcile all of the damage done from being closeted for so
06:13long, it gave me that strength again. It's kind of just popped up in so many different ways. And every
06:17time I read that book, I get something new from it. But it was the first time I had ever
06:22had it
06:23articulated to me in, by the way, a really beautiful way. But the only thing getting in my
06:27way was here. But it's a really special book, so you should check it out. So this book, which is
06:34entitled to Giacometti, is, again, one of my all-time favorites. Giacometti was one of the first artists
06:40that I discovered on this journey of a designer and as a creative. And, you know, one thing to point
06:46out is the books behind me have really served as a school for me. I was not educated with design,
06:51but these have been my education. They allowed me to travel. They allowed me to expose myself and
06:57educate myself on a lot of these creatives who shaped so much of what we have now in the design
07:02business. Giacometti was incredibly prolific. He worked with bronze and paintings. His first
07:09bust, I think, was at 14 years old. His father was a painter. It's just beautiful. And everything about his
07:16his pieces are, they just, they've stood the test of time in a way that few people can.
07:22You can kind of see just the sculpture, the ceramics, the bronze, the paintings, the sketches.
07:29We, I bought a Giacometti sketch. It was one of the first, like, nice things I bought.
07:34And I'll never forget it. It's just, he's one of my all-time favorites.
07:38What's your favorite place to read a book? I love cracking a book open on our roof here in the
07:44city.
07:45We have a little roof deck upstairs that's all green and you look out at the village.
07:50There's just the right amount of breeze. That's my favorite spot.
07:54I know you didn't expect to see this, but this book is called Entangle Makes Free.
08:01And this is probably one of the most important books kind of in the 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
08:11that
08:11we tried 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, the Central Park Zoo. And more important about this book
08:22is it's the first time that I ever was given the words to articulate and describe surrogacy to our
08:28children. It's such a beautiful story about two male penguins that fall in love and a zookeeper
08:34that gives them an egg that they can't produce for themselves, even though they're sitting on a rock
08:37trying to pretend like they can do it. And they end up raising this beautiful daughter and they have
08:44this family and she makes them, it takes two to make a tango and that's the name of their daughter.
08:49But it was the first time that I was able to put into words the beauty of surrogacy to our
08:55children,
08:55to make them understand the amount of love and care and kindness that it took to bring them into
09:01the world. It's a really special book. As you can see, I get emotional when I talk about it, so
09:06check it out.
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