AMY WINEHOUSE'S PERSONAL BOOK COLLECTION
Amy Winehouse saw songwriting as an authentic reflection of herself, embedding her personal experiences within her lyrics while also expressing a deep passion for literature. Her personal collection of over 200 books reveals how authors such as J.D. Salinger and Bukowski, as well as works like Howl by Allen Ginsberg and A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, influenced her introspective lyrics.
She read avidly, made notes and her musical style and references, ranging from Frank Sinatra to 60s girl groups, aligned with her literary choices. Her excesses, immortalized in songs like Rehab or Addicted, which ultimately led to her untimely death, found parallels in musicians such as Jimi Hendrix or Boy George, whose biographies she is believed to have read in search of identification or answers. Winehouse sang of passion and pain with visual and dramatic lyricism, but her love of literature undoubtedly helped cement her status as a legend.
*The selected copies have handwritten interventions and marks that make them unique. Among them are books with handwritten notes, a guest list written at the end and even a fragment of an unfinished song. Some show signs of personal use, such as a red lipstick mark or reading and humidity marks, suggesting an intimate connection between Amy herself and her works.
THE BOOK COLLECTION
"I could spend a lot of time in bookshops."
- Amy Winehouse
An intimate and revealing look at the private and creative sphere in the life of one of the most striking musical artists of the early 21st century.
I. ADOLESCENCE
Amy Winehouse was an avid reader, and her book collection reveals a lot about her adolescence. Works such as Waiting in the Rye by J.D. Salinger marked her youth and influenced her artistic sensibility. During this phase, he also immersed himself in the Harry Potter universe, as can be seen in the ‘adult’ edition of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Her passion for theatre appears in Little Shop of Horrors, a play she was cast in at drama school. Amy also liked popular novels, such as those by Jackie Collins. Books that show a curious young woman, passionate about pop culture and already with a keen eye for narrative and music.
II. NERD
Among the many books Amy Winehouse collected, graphic novels occupied a special place. With almost a quarter of her library dedicated to the genre, it's clear that she had a particular fondness for visual stories. The Hernandez brothers, creators of the Love and Rockets series, were the authors most present in her collection, alongside other titles such as Torpedo, Luba or The Walking Dead. His love of comics reinforces his passion for visual storytelling and alternative style, reflecting the unique aesthetic that has also marked his musical career.
III. THE ARTISTS
Amy Winehouse's connection with art went far beyond music. Her book collection included biographies of artists who, like her, had faced intense personal challenges. Jimi Hendrix, Boy George, Alex James and Anthony Kiedis were some of the musicians who filled her shelves, showing her interest in the stories of the rise and fall of the music world. He also had titles on cinema and theatre, such as books on Marlon Brando and Bob Fosse, revealing some of his inspirations and references.
IV. LITERATURE
Reading has always played a fundamental role in Amy Winehouse's life, and her passion for certain authors is also a reflection of her artistic and emotional vision. J.D. Salinger, one of her favourite writers, helped shape her lyrical and narrative sensibility, Charles Bukowski's acid and realistic outlook is echoed in the melancholy of her songs, and the self-awareness present in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita can be seen in lines like ‘I'll be some next man's woman soon’. In her copy of Allen Ginsberg's Howl, the singer jotted down lines from a song that was never finalised. These literary influences helped build the emotional and poetic depth of her songs.
