A Bookish Moment on Showtime's The Affair

Showtime TV has some terrific shows, and at this moment, The Affair has captured my attention. Dominic West portrays Noah Solloway, a writer who had one moderately successful novel published. He and his family spend part of the summer with his wife's wealthy (and controlling and obnoxious) parents while he tries to write his second book.

Noah begins an affair with a younger woman, a waitress named Alison played by Ruth Wilson. The first year of the show we saw the incidents in each episode from different points of view- the first half hour was Noah's version, the second half hour from Alison's. It was riveting television.

This year, we add in the perspectives of their spouses- Helen, the wronged and angry wife beautifully played by Maura Tierney, and Cole (Joshua Jackson), Alison's husband who seems to have lost everything in his life and is on a dangerous path. The show has gotten much deeper this year.

In last week's episode, Noah is staying in a cabin at the home of a woman who is in the publishing industry. The wonderful actress Joanna Gleason plays Yvonne to perfection.

In one scene, Noah is looking at a mantel filled with books. Yvonne tells Noah that each of those books were written in the same cabin that he is staying in, and that someday she hopes to see his book there as well.

Of course, these books fascinated me, and I wondered if there is any significance to the books chosen or if their set decorator just chose them at random. I hope I'm not obsessing about this, but I did freeze the frame to get a better look at the books.

According to this, David Baldacci must have stayed there last as his thriller, Memory Man, which was just published, is there. Paula Hawkins blockbuster The Girl On The Train is there too, as is Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowlands  and Brad Thor's Act of War. There are some books I haven't heard of, and some that I can't make out the titles.

The Affair won the Golden Globes last year for Best TV Drama, and Ruth Wilson won Best Actress for her role, and so far this year, the show has gotten even better.

You can find more information about The Affair here.