I enjoy books about books. This is one woman's version of "what to read" after 35 years as a librarian around the US. Mostly, I mine these books for authors or titles I've never heard of, or to be reminded to read ones I have. I found Ms. Pearl's recommendations to be interesting in their variety, if a bit dated, and perhaps not as many recommendations from genres I enjoy the most. Glad I read through it. I have a ton of new books to hunt down and enjoy. My thanks to her for giving us these tips. ( )

Book Lust is an excellent resource for what to read next. Lots of themes and good books to choose from. ( )

Excellent resource for good books which will add hundreds of books to one's TBR. Take notes! ( )

This is a neat little collection, but I personally have never been fond of isolating a topic, then looking up in a book what to read about it, which is strange given my career choice. ( )

Of her two books, this first one is the better one. One has to give Ms. Pearl credit for being such a voracious reader and for parlaying it into a career. She also deserves credit for encouraging people to read for pleasure and to find what works for them. The book does have some misses, some which I have jotted down in my updates here such as lumping scifi, fantasy, and horror in one section. Maybe it irked me because I am a reader in those genres, and I think they deserve their own treatment, not a shotgun approach. However, the book is good for readers needing ideas on what to read next. Whether you agree or disagree with some of her selections, you are bound to find something you like in these pages. It is definitely a book worth browsing and keeping handy on your shelf. It is not, however, perfect, and I guess I only say that because librarians tend to put Nancy Pearl on this pedestal as the all-knowing reader's advisor. The woman is certainly knowledgeable, but as I said, the book did have a couple of misses. In spite of that, I did find a couple of good ideas for future reading selections, so it balances out. ( )