152 atlantahomesmag.com SEPT.2019
LIFE
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Enthralled by the written word and compelling images, SUZANNA CULLEN
HAMILTON is committed—for richer or poorer—to acquiring Fall’s latest tomesWHILE WAITING FOR A TABLE at a Los Angeles hot spot, I
noticed a fi rst-edition Wallace Stegner behind the hostess stand
display. When I offered to trade a renowned design book in
exchange for the Stegner, the hostess gladly accepted—I don’t
think she and Wallace had crossed paths in an English Lit class
and I had an extra copy of the design book to spare. Instances
such as this have contributed to my ongoing book problem: My
shelves are fi lled and now stacks are posing as side tables.
As a voracious reader, I’ve acquired books in every category:
fi ction, nonfi ction, reference, architecture, gardening, travel,
cooking, photography and books related to hobbies and interests.
From the classics to humor to children’s books, there’s some-
thing for everyone. However, the single largest section is devoted
to books related to my profession: antiques, art and interior
design. My library spans every genre of design—from traditional
to modern; from Rococo to Art Deco to Southern to American
West; ranging across America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
For all of the industry chatter that online content will renderpaper obsolete, I beg to differ. Design is tactile, evocative and
emotional, and in a material fi eld, we gravitate toward a tan-
gible medium. In actuality, books are the essence of design: The
cover, the paper weight, the font, the beautiful images and the
written word work together to create a comprehensive message
when we open a book (or magazine) and turn the pages.
Most importantly, I have called many authors friends. Having
their inscribed books on my shelves is like having a part of them
in my home. From my mother’s Neat Pieces, to museum curators
and collectors, to revered magazine editors, to preeminent de-
signers, architects and photographers, their books are a constant
reminder of both their expertise and their friendship.
Every season when a new tranche of design books hits the
market, I resolve not to purchase one more. Recently, when I
realized that my copy of Suzanne Kasler’s Sophisticated Simplicity
was in L.A., but I was in need of the book while here in Atlanta, I
ordered another one to ship overnight. Not only am I still buying
design books, I’m buying double.