Bookcases on TV

[LizzieMacQueen]

I'm loving all these broadcasts from inside reporters and contributors houses. So many of them have bookcase backdrops and I'm sure a lot of thought has gone into how these are being broadcast. It gives a little insight to their lives.

What would your 'impressive background' look like?

@Danglingmodn Yep, you are right - sadly medical type reference books!
twitter.com/sbattrawden

You Twitter stalked her?!? Just to check out the books?

Yes, I love those livingroom/studies too. Do you think it will make.our kids realise that intelligent people actually read.real books, not just screens and kindles, and that books arent clutter, they are wise friends.

The Microbiologist from Reading university used by sky has gone from being in the sky news studios daily to his lab at the university and now in what looks like a bare front room with a lonely little "university of reading" red sign propped against the stairs!

Nicola Sturegon's study which she always does Sunday interview stuff from has a bookcase stuffed with Scottish book and novels by Scottish authors. Wonder if she hides everything "un-Scottish" in another room! (lighthearted before anyone asks....)

I was thinking similar, Nettleskeins, how important it is to see that clever and successful people (doctors, scientists, modellers, journalists...maybe or maybe not including politicians...) are readers.

Another one - on the sky business news show some chief executive of large ftse type company appeared to be using a webcam in small garden shed! Maybe isolating in there...

Yes, that poor Man from Reading University had a particularly dismal front room.

Robert Peston had a big sign promoting his twitter feed in his study.

Oh yes, I am doing the same with the Italians (also always interviewed in front of their bookshelves- then I go to dp "I want shelves like those!")
Italians do a really poncy thing, they turn something really poncy (written in ancient Greek) turned outwards so you can see the whole of the jacket.
I am zooming sadly not in front of beautiful bookshelves but my window but some of the kids have interesting backgrounds. I was losing all concentration yesterday to the point I had to stop and ask a kid what it was behind me because it looked like a cadaver on a table with a sheet over it. It was a sofa with some odd shaped boxes and a sheet over.

Steve Backshall is doing a live feed on a Wednesday morning, his bookcase was animal skulls

He's doing it from their houseboat, and I actually just wanted a guided tour of their house boat, and wanted to know if it was just parked up at the bottom of their garden or something.

The correspondent that sky has in Italy always does her broadcast on a balcony overlooking scenery, so I conclude she doesnt have any books in her apartment, or its messy as fuck.

We actually had a third book case delivered about a month ago and it sits behind the spot where dh does conference video calls - mine are mercifully just audio. He deliberately put all our Jack Reacher /Agatha Christie books there so people wouldn't think he was an arse. All the obscure history and nature hardbacks are out of shot. I suppose they think he's a different sort of arse.

Oh and the Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl ones.

I have found my people! I honestly thought I was the only one doing this, I've loved it with my colleagues too!

Slightly off the news topic but have you seen that Steph who used to be on BBC breakfast is doing a show from her house at 12pm on weekdays on Channel 4, now her kitchen is incredible!!!

When I'm on Zoom I sit in the dining room which is covered in all my Bowie memorabilia, I like to think it's tastefully done it does generate a lot of comments. I've been asked on more than one occasion to walk around the whole room so they can see.

I have a unit with a row of medical text books behind me when I video call. Looks impressive but they belong to DS who is in med school 😂

Backgrounds are interesting, the Talking Dead show has been doing 'home edition' video chats with a guests which has been interesting, seeing the actors work/study areas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was broadcasting from his farms front room with log fire, really cool to see.

The thing that bugs me most is the up-the-nose camera view that some reporters use, you'd think as professional reporters they'd know better about camera angles especially on the daily live update q&a

@TravellingSpoon I think that is done as the roof terrace with the view over the churches etc sets the scene.... or she could have just trashed her flat yes.

I loved the lady on Sky news who had colour coordinated her books on the shelves.

Also the quality of some webcams is awful - Poly Toynebe (Guardian) looked like she was sitting in a smoke filled room the other night. Couldn't even see the bookcases!

You all need to watch some Booktube! It’s a rather heavenly sub-set of the general horror show that is YouTube of the late 2010s-2020, where people only discuss books and reading, and everybody films themselves in front of their bookcases.

And every few months, everyone gives a “tour” of their bookcases... it is lovely!