Hiddleston Library Analysis
“Talk dirty to me, Tom…tell me about your books.”
If you GET that statement, then this post is for you.
“I collect books. I’ve so many books, my house is full of books; not specifically of anything, but probably more than anything else in my house, I have plays, loads and loads and loads and loads of plays and novels. My house is wall to wall books basically.” -Tom Hiddleston {x}
Straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, there are a lot of plays and novels. There is most likely a lot of poetry, whether mixed anthologies or particular collections from specific poets. It is evident from the photos that there are quite a few Penguin Classics and possibly other well-known lines such as Oxford World Classics and Signet Classics. Many of these could be from his university days and his area of study would also suggest that he has some Norton Critical Editions (*swoon*).
He almost certainly has added more classics due to his roles over the years, such as the work of Gaskell for William Buxton in “Return To Cranford.” Other possibilities include biographies, Norse mythology, WWI non-fiction, etc. There would also be scripts, probably full of his handwritten notes and so forth. Perhaps he keeps all pertinent research materials with each script.
freckletriangleofdoom pointed out that there are Library of America editions.
@elementarydata spotted some Loeb Classical Library volumes.
From an Anon, regarding the 9/16/15 photo:
"The leatherbound book by his ear is from Barnes & Noble’s Leatherbound Classics collection. It’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. There’s also a blue leatherbound book, third shelf up near his shoulder, from the same collection but it’s The Illiad and Odyssey.”
beaglebitch suggested that the row of books next to what is mentioned by the Anon is a complete set of the individual plays. This leads us to the issue of organization.
Opinions vary on how the library is organized. While some have suggested that there is no organization whatsoever, the photos indicate otherwise. There is at least some method to the madness for certain authors, such as Shakespeare. The 9/16/15 photo only shows about half of the collection, as the shelves are on both sides of the fireplace. This physical separation creates some interesting possibilities for organization. I joked that the books are organized based on how they make him feel. I think it is probable that they are organized by genre and then perhaps by author. For example, non-fiction and poetry could be one side of the fireplace while fiction and biographies could be on the other.
Theatre souvenirs, such as programmes and playbills, could have their own shelf or be mixed in with copies of the particular play.
Book lovers know that it is somewhat impossible to keep everything perfectly organized, as additions may not fit into the proper place and several shelves would need to be re-arranged.
The 9/16/15 photo shows that some of the books are faced outward and there are also horizontal stacks on top of the spine-out books.
-Does he write in the margins?
-Does he dog-ear the pages or use bookmarks?
-Does he make a note in the book if it was a gift/does he ask the giver to sign it?
-Does he collect multiple copies of his favorites?
-Does he have a TBR shelf/pile?
-Does he keep favorites by his bed, such as on a nightable or on the floor?
-Does he have reading material in the loo?
-Does he have his childhood books on their own shelves?
“If I lived forever, who knows what I would do?” he continues. “I would certainly get better at the piano. I would try to learn how to paint. I think I would try to read all the books I haven’t read. When I was a child, the house was full of books — the walls were lined with bookshelves — and I remember looking up at them once and thinking, ‘I wonder if I’ll ever be able to read all those books?’ and my mother said, 'It’s all right; you’ve got loads of time.'” -Tom Hiddleston {x}
