Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason

by Nancy Pearl

Book Overview

What to read next is every book lover's greatest dilemma. Nancy Pearl comes to the rescue with this wide-ranging and fun guide to the best reading new and old. Pearl, who inspired legions of litterateurs with "What If All (name the city) Read the Same Book," has devised reading lists that cater to every mood, occasion, and personality. These annotated lists cover such topics as mother-daughter relationships, science for nonscientists, mysteries of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570613818
• ISBN13: 9781570613814
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Great little guide

I'm a reader who never runs out of things to read. But when I occasionally do run out of things to read, I simply turn to this delicious guide to books from a seasoned librarian and longtime reader. The great thing about this book is you can reader it cover to cover, or simply to have on hand on your nightstand should you ever be in need something great to read. Nancy Pearl gives the reader many lists of genres to choose from: from Chick Lit to Russian Heavies, from Romances to Science fiction, plus some favorite authors you shouldn't miss out on (I was pleased to note that Eleanor Lipman made the list). Its all in there- Pearl's guide to everything worth reading. Of course, its not definitive, but this book is a great guide for seasoned readers and non-readers alike. Also recomended: How Reading Changed My Life, by Anna Quindlen, and So Many Books, So Little Time, by Sarah Nelson.

Of all to choose from, how to pick a good book?

Answer: Take the advice of Nancy Pearl, librarian, reviewer and reader par excellence. Paired with Sara Nelson's So Many Books, So Little Time, you're set up with super reading for the next few years, at a minimum. These two authors approach their craft differently, however: Nelson discusses how books affect her, while Pearl is more inclined to discuss choosing a book based on her already-present mood. Together, you're covered for every eventuality.And here's permission from an expert to do what many of us cannot give ourselves permission to do: quit reading a book after 50 pages if we're not enjoying ourselves. As hard as that is to act upon ("but surely it'll get better in another few pages..."), think about how many more books you'd have time to read if you skip the last 250 pages of every book you're really not loving.Perhaps Nancy Pearl's most innovative and imitated accomplishment was to suggest that all the readers within a certain group (hometown, college, newspaper subscribers, PTA, etc.) read the same book and join discussion groups about it. Making this task easier is Pearl's division of her books into about 200 categories, including some unusual groupings such as "Shrinks and Shrinkees." Also invaluable to booklovers are the several "Too Good to Miss" sections in which Pearl discusses particular writers, why they are unique, and what specific books of theirs she would recommend. In this section are authors such as Iris Murdoch as well as many whom Pearl considers inadequately appreciated.Buy this book. And then begin looking forward to the sequel.

If you're looking for something new to read

If you love to read, then you'll love this gem of a book by Nancy Pearl. Pearl is the book-loving friend you wish you had. She'd be the one who reads the New York Times Book Review every Sunday and highlights the good finds for you. She's definitely given me some reading suggestions that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Her book is categorized in interesting chapters that seems to fit reading moods. Categories range from Ecofiction, Presidential Biographies, Civil War Fiction to Great Dogs in Fiction. She even has a section on Elvis. It's actually a fun way to look at books.In the section on Presidential Biographies, she references David McCollough. She mentions his best-selling books on Truman and John Adams, but what she actually recommends is his book about Teddy Roosevelt, Mornings on Horseback (which I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know existed).My only complaint (and it's a really small one) is she really doesn't go into great length or depth about most recommendations. One to three sentences and she's already moved on. Which is fine with me. I'm able to make note of what looks interesting and then go and do a little further research on my own to see if it really looks like a book worth my time and money. I'd like to thank Pearl for introducing me to the following books:Sahara: A Natural HistoryAndersonvilleThe Beak of the FinchZarafaMeasuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of DemocracyAnd oh yeah - I'm currently reading Mornings on Horseback and love it.

A must for book discussion group leaders

I lead and advise book discussion groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and think this book is a jewel for creating reading lists! The author, Seattle public librarian Nancy Pearl, has well honed personal and professional instincts for quality books with broad appeal.For one thing, she serves as the Director of the Washington Center for the Book, where she created the program, "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book." This program became a model for programs like the California Council for the Humanities statewide promotion of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. (Isabel Allende will be Seattle's featured author for 2004.) Book group leaders will appreciate Pearl's historical context for different genres including the experiences of different ethnic groups in America, and a list of 100 good reads, decade by decade for the 20th century. (Ten books are listed for each decade.) Imagine immersing your book group in one book for each decade over the course of a year. Or just reading the 1940's with picks like Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Richard Wright's Native Son and Marjorie Kinman Rawling's Cross Creek. The 1950's picks include Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.Book group leaders may also appreciate her section on Companion Reads--books that can be linked sequentially to broaden the understanding of each. For example, she suggests three "moving memoirs about growing up Hispanic in America: Down these Mean Streets by Piri Thomas, and When I was Puerto Rican and Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago." Another interesting idea: pairing two novels about single women, written almost one hundred years apart, one by a man and one by a woman: The Odd Women by George Gissing and The Odd Woman by Gail Godwin. There's also a list of books about Elvis for those so inclined. One caveat: some of the books that she recommends are now out of print--which might mean more interlibrary loan work or asking your bookstore for a special order.

Great Resource For Book Lovers

This book is the first of its kind: a nearly infinite resource for people who are always looking for something good to read. I will never again be at a loss for a good book. I highly recommend it as a purchase or gift for any avid reader.