Shelf Esteem is a weekly measure of the books on the shelves of writers, editors, and other word lovers, as told to Emily M. Keeler. This week’s shelf belongs to Arianne Shaffer. As a writer, performer, and love letter archivist, Shaffer works mostly with true stories—both as a listener and teller, she's invested in the way that words can make us better understand each other and ourselves. Shaffer has also organized and facillitated peace building and storytelling workshops internationally, in Poland, Turkey, Israel, and Palestine, among other countries. Her books are all over her small and beautiful downtown apartment. They are piled up under the coffee table and in the corners. The light leaks in from the southeast, and fades slowly while she walks me through her personal library.
So, out here it's mostly a cook book section. And behind the nettles, is Michael Jackson. It's the uncensored Michael Jackson—my friend got me that. He's a teacher and he stole it from his school library.
This is my mom. She's really beautiful. That was her a long time ago, and she is hiding some of the books that I don't want to see all the time. Like this giant Holocaust book. I don't need to see The History of Israel and the Holocaust every day, I really don't. But I love seeing my mom.
It's bananas. Some people really only read about one thing. I mean, I have a lot of books about religion, but I don't really go back to those, at all. Lately I've been reading a lot of nonfiction, and I miss fiction. And that's why that Sheila Heti book was so exciting! It's so hard to find something I really will sink my teeth into. I think it's because of the internet.
