Me, My Shelf, and I: Morgan Pager, Author and @nycbookgirl
A look inside the home library of someone whose first career, second career, AND hobby all revolve around books
Hi, friends.
This is the second post in my new column titled “Me, My Shelf, and I,” in which I interview bookish people about their cool home libraries and book collection habits.
is a debut novelist whose first book, The Art of Vanishing, will be published in July. She also runs marketing at Atria. But if you’re from my corner of the internet, you probably first knew her as @nycbookgirl. Either way, I won’t keep you from this fantastic peek inside her home library! If this email gets cut off because of all the great photos, click through to the web version to read it all.
— Deedi
Hit us with a quick introduction
I like to say I’m a professional bookworm. I’m a writer; my debut novel, The Art of Vanishing, publishes this summer on July 1. It’s a magical story about a museum employee who discovers she can enter the worlds of the paintings by climbing through their frames and falls for a man in one of the masterpieces. I’m also the Director of Marketing and Social Media for Atria Books and the content creator behind @nycbookgirl. Reading is my passion, my career, and my hobby.
[Ed. note: Her book is on my TBR for sometime in the next few months. With a premise like that, how could I resist?]
How would you describe yourself as a reader? What kinds of books do you read?
I’m a very eclectic reader. I love magical realism. I love literary fiction with an unreliable female narrator. I love romance novels and am constantly sucked into the trendy subgenre of the moment (currently in my cowboy romance era). I love memoirs, particularly those about music or food. I will read in pretty much any genre! I’m more looking for how a book made me feel than on what shelf it belongs.
What’s your biggest bookish hot take?
It is possible for the movie to be better than the book. Sure, it is not likely! But there are times where the movie or TV show can figure out how to do something different. The Talented Mr. Ripley, for example! Big Little Lies! Even Andre Aciman says it about Call Me By Your Name!
How many bookshelves do you have? Which is your favorite?
I have nine bookshelves: four Ikea Billy bookcases that have moved from apartment to apartment, three of the vertical stacking shelves, and two big built-ins that were in my husband’s apartment when I moved in four years ago. Oh, and a sneaky cubby in my record storage shelf where my picture books are kept. And the TBR stack on my nightstand. Also, at least four more stacks of books around the apartment that my husband wishes I would put away. My favorite are the shelves in the living room!
About how many books do you own, and how many have you read?
I own about one thousand books (I haven’t counted in years, that number could be hideously out of date) and I believe I’ve read 50% of them.
How do you organize your books?
By genre, and then alphabetically by author’s last name. Except for the classics bookshelf, which is kind of grouped by author/collection, kind of just random. I have organized them so many ways over the last ten years, including by color. But my fourth grade teacher predicted I would turn my home into a library someday, so this current system feels like an ode to that.
How do you decide which books to keep and which to get rid of?
There is no system. I normally choose to get rid of books I have read and haven’t thought about since or books I have ended up with duplicate copies of (I am lucky to be gifted books by publishers but sometimes have already purchased a copy for myself). I keep anything I might ever want to reference again (any other writers have this magpie quality?) and anything I’ve bought that I plan to read … some day.
With the books I’ve prepared to go to new homes, I either sell them back to my local indie bookstore, Book Culture, give them to friends as they come over, or pack them up to bring them up to the little free library I have at my parents’ house.
How do you manage the new books coming in the door?
About twice a year, I feel my husband’s patience shrinking for the stacks of books looming around the apartment, and I do a cleanse and alphabetize any new additions in. It takes me all day.
If there was a fire and you could only save one book on your way out the door, what would you grab?
I have two answers to this! The first book that came to mind was my middle school copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I loved that book so much, I read it over and over throughout high school and college, to the point where the cover fell off and I had to tape it back on. I would love to re-read it and see if it holds up to 2025 me!
But after staring at my shelves, I realized the most unique book I own is a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ledger that I bought in a used bookstore in Europe. It has records of his published work, his earnings, Zelda’s earnings, and a chart of his life that he wrote out himself. I love Fitzgerald’s work and am fascinated by the man he was. This is the book that would be the hardest to replace.
Which author do you own the most of? Do you own any author’s complete bibliography?
I have read every book Ann Patchett has written, though I borrowed some of them from the library, but I’d imagine she takes the cake. This year, I am reading Zadie Smith’s entire bibliography, so she holds a significant stake as well. I think I own Lauren Groff’s complete bibliography, though I am two collections short of having read them all.
Do you own multiple copies of any books?
*cracks knuckles* I own 37 copies of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (and two copies of The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson’s novel adaptation). It’s my favorite play of his (it’s my favorite play in general) and I pick up a new edition whenever I find one in a used or international bookstore. Collecting this many is harder than you might think! It’s not the most commonly printed (or read or produced) of his plays, so most bookstores I visit don’t have a single copy. I have tracked these gems down since 2011!
Which book on your shelf makes you feel coolest? Nerdiest?
Coolest would be my original Normal People ARC with the old cover of the image by the pool. I’m torn on nerdiest! Probably the copy of The Iliad that’s currently sitting on my nightstand?
Any other cool books you want to tell us about?
A few years ago, I reconstructed a complete set of the Royal Diaries books, which were my absolutely favorite as a kid (though I lent my copy of Nzingha to a friend a few years ago, so I need to find another of those!).
What’s your go-to book recommendation if you don’t know anything about a person’s taste?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.
[Ed. note: I endorse all of these recommendations.]
Favorite buzzy recent release? Favorite underrated recommendation?
Favorite buzzy recent release is Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar. I hope for more people to find Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff, especially anyone who loves Fitzgerald.
A book that changed how you see the world?
Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, and The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio.
As always, thanks for sharing your corner of the internet with me! It would mean a lot if you were to take a second to like this post. You can leave questions for Morgan in the comments, too!
Finally, if you like this newsletter, please send a few friends my way.
Until next time!
— Deedi (she/her)
Love this series and seeing what other book lovers read and collect!
I was also obsessed with the Royal Diaries series and am now intrigued by the idea of hunting them all down...I can also relate to the books on the floor/flowing off shelves and only moving them when your husband (or partner)'s patience grows thin 😅