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

The subtitle says it all - "Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason." The lists are organized alphabetically from "A is for Alice" to "Zero," which just about every genre and topic you can think of in between. Because it's organized topically, there is some overlap in books mentioned that fall into more than one category, with books like The Brothers K, for example, listed in both "Baseball" and "Mothers and Sons." Nancy Pearl, reader and librarian extraordinaire, also offers her comments on a book's plot or what she loved about it. I love that she's not afraid to give her opinion, saying upfront which books she loved and which sequels she did not think were as good. I know from listening to her podcasts and reading her show more blog that her opinions about books do not always coincide with mine, but I love that she doesn't try to sugarcoat her responses to try to appeal to more readers, because reading is personal.

This is not a book I would necessarily recommend reading from cover to cover unless you read widely and you could stand adding several books to your already large list of books to be read. I added about 30, and that was only by being really picky and rushing through some of the lists to get this book back to the library before it did more damage to my ever-growing TBR list. If it's not a book to be read straight through, however, it's an excellent book to own. I want this book. I want to be able to dip into it at random in the rare moments that I'm stuck for something to read. I want to be able to talk back in the margins - "No, The Makioka Sisters is dead boring, NOT like Jane Austen." I want to add books I've read that fall into each list that perhaps were published since Book Lust came out in 2003. The topical lists are also great for display ideas, and I admit to using one in the library soon after I started this book. Should you fail to find enough books to interest you here, there are more: More Book Lust, published in 2005, and Book Crush, similarly recommended books for children and teens. Personally, though, I'm going to wait until I can buy these, too. My TBR list is bloated enough as it is. show less

I want to be just like Nancy Pearl when I grow up. She was one of the people who inspired me to go to library school. She started out in the Detroit public library system, invented the one book one community program, reviews books on NPR, and has her own action figure. These two books are recommended reading lists grouped by theme. I've returned to them several times and keep them for reference. Often I'll pick out one title to read, and if I like it I'll go back and read more of the books on that list.

I'm a huge fan of booklists, and this was a good example of one. Most of the books chosen by Pearl aren't bestsellers or award winners, but are more obscure options that you probably haven't read yet. She arranges the collection into 175 useful, creative, and humorous lists. The lists are named specifically, presented in alphabetical order, and posted in the Table of Contents. Some examples are: Adventure by the Book, Bird Brains (books about birds), Fathers and Daughters, First Novels, Shrinks and Shrinkees, Hanky Reads, Zero (literally...books about the concept of zero), Chick Lit, Elvis on my Mind, Families in Trouble, and 9/11. She also includes works from "Too Good To Miss" authors, and most of her recommendations include a brief show more description of the work. I checked this out from the library, but I'll probably buy it at some point. This is a great gift for book lovers and a wonderful addition to the shelf of any reader. There is also a companion volume, "More Book Lust," and a movie version, "Movie Lust," that are probably worth checking out. show less

I devoured this book in a single day. Of course, this isn't one of those books that you read once. It's one of those books that you go back to again and again, for consultation. I was hesitant to buy any "books about books" in the beginning because I was worried that my taste wouldn't coincide with the author's and it would be a waste of money, but I needn't have worried. Pearl's recommended reads are so diverse that it is IMPOSSIBLE not to find something that you'll be interested in. (If you have expertise in matters of law you can draft a legal document that attests the validity of the previous statement and holds me responsible if the book doesn't deliver what I promised and I will sign it in a second.) Book Lust doesn't have a show more specific reader in mind, it's for all ages and all tastes. The book has separate categories for different regions (from Japan to New Mexico and everything in between), different time periods (Vietnam, WWI&WWII, 100 Great Reads for Every Decade etc) and different genres (ALL genres, from epistolary novels to cyberpunk). The best part was that it wasn't just a list of novels - almost every book has a brief description that makes you aware of the subject and themes of the book, without giving too much away (1001 BYMRDYD spoiled some books' ending for me). Some of my favorite categories were "Aging", "Companion Reads", "Girls Coming of Age", "Spies and Spymasters" "Three-Hanky Reads", "My Own Private Dui" and, of course, "Too Good to Miss". There are only two negative things I have to say about the book: a) it makes you sadly aware of the fact that you will never be able to read everything that you wan to because there's just too much out there; and b) it will add a very frightening amount of books to my TBR pile. Oh well. show less

Book Lust by Nancy Pearl is more of a catalogue, listing as it does some of her favorite books on just about any subject, both fiction and non-fiction. I have spent the last couple of days absorbed in scanning her cleverly titled lists and making some lists of my own. I admit to at least two trips to the Kindle store.

Ms Pearl, a Seattle librarian, has an obvious love of books that goes right back to her childhood. In the last week I have also gone through her children and YA recommendations called Book Crush. One thing I have found is that Ms Pearl and I have many books in common. Nancy Pearl is also famous as being the creator of the Pearl Rule, understanding as she does that not all books are right for all people and that there is show more nothing wrong with trying a book and discarding it as not being the right book for you.

I suspect any book lover would enjoy Book Lust whether to get ideas for new books or simply as a trip down memory lane, being reminded of past books that had an impact in your life. I will definitely be picking up her More Book Lust as apparently there is always room for more books on my wish list. show less

If you're in a reading rut and need help finding a book, read this book. Librarian Nancy Pearl describes her favorite books by genre. Being a librarian and bibliophile, Nancy Pearl has the experience to back up her claims in the book; however, she uses down-to-earth language.

I never intended to read this book cover-to-cover – after all it is nothing more than lists of books – but once I started I couldn’t stop. Pearl recommends with insight, enthusiasm, and humor. It’s hard not to want to read every single book listed. And she does have excellent taste in books I must say, as many great books I’ve already read were listed. I’ll be sure to refer to this in preparing my reading list for next year.

“A life devoted to reading does not leave much time for other hobbies, especially not those activities that could potentially fill up vast amounts of time.” (p. 96)