|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (LUST)
You have found Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (LUST)
one of the thousands of books about antiques
at Antique Book Store. We hope that by offering you a tremendous selection of the
books about antiques that you want at incredible prices, you will be back the next time you need anything from Antique Book Store.
We greatly appreciate your patronage and look forward to
servicing you again.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
You Are Here: Books About Antiques > Blue Books > Item 33 of 420
|
|
|
 |
|
| List Price: |
|
|
|
| Our Price: |
|
$2.17
|
|
| Customer Rating: |
|
|
Available from Amazon
Price Last Updated : 6-25-2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Features
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Sasquatch Books August 18, 2003
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570613818
ISBN-13: 978-1570613814
Product Dimensions:
7.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
So many books, so little time-so which of the countless titles should a hungry reader pick out and devour? Pearl, a longtime reader, book reviewer and public librarian, presents a hundred or so of her favorites in this novel guide to finding the right book for the right mood. Presented in eclectic categories of people, places and themes (e.g. "Prose by Poets," "Dinosaur Hunting," "In Big Sky Country" and "Academia: The Joke"), each of her suggestions is accompanied by a few of her thoughts on it, a succinct plot summary and often information about the volume's prizes and print status. Her notes are sprightly and concise: in the section on "Families in Trouble," Pearl mentions Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides ("I always thought that itdefined the dysfunctional novel") and Sylvia Foley's Life in Ocean Air ("surely one of the most depressing books I have ever read in a lifetime of reading grim and depressing books"). There's more than just novels, of course: she recommends, for instance, good "Techno-thrillers" ("nonfiction about science and technology") such as The Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable and One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw. Interestingly, Pearl urges readers to abandon books they dislike after 50 pages, though she does point out that frame of mind often determines one's opinion of a book. "When I begin reading a new book, I am embarking on a new, uncharted journey," Pearl declares in her brief introduction; with this guidebook in hand, readers can benefit from her experience as they travel their own ways.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This column is the latest in our series of interview articles showcasing books written by Booklist contributors. Our focus this time is on Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl, a longtime freelance contributor of reviews to this magazine (see our review of the book on p.24 of this issue).
When Booklist asked Pearl about the provenance of her new book, her answer struck us as the dream of every writer and book lover. "The publisher came to me," she confided, "with the idea of doing a book of recommended reading--incorporating all sorts of books, old and new, fiction and non, for all ages. They wanted it to be friendly and inviting, to sound like I was talking to people who shared my love of reading and good books and wanted some ideas of what to read next."
The publisher certainly approached the right person for the job. A practicing librarian for many years, Pearl is currently the director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle (WA) Public Library. Also, it was her brilliant and much-imitated idea to get all the readers in her hometown to read the same book at the same time and join discussion groups about it. The idea has spread from city to city across the country. She has written a two-volume readers'-advisory reference set titled Now Read This (1999; 2000). But her new book is more than a reference resource for librarians in their readers'-advisory work. It is also a book for personal use by library patrons, and even a book to own and keep on one's reading stand.
Pearl sees this book as a personal milestone. "It's the book that I think my whole life (and career as a librarian) has been leading toward. I basically went through my bookcases at home, where I have managed to accumulate most of my favorite books, and figured out categories they would go in." She came up with almost 200 categories, many of them not surprising, such as "Latin American Fiction," "Science gFiction, Fantasy, and Horror," "Techno-Thrillers," "Biographical Novels," and "First Novels." Other categories reflect Pearl's creative approach to linking books, and these unexpected but exciting categories include "Our Primates/Our Selves," "Historical Fiction for Kids of All Ages," "Grit Lit," "Do Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)?" and "Shrinks and Shrinkees."
One of the most interesting categories is called "Too Good to Miss." Actually, this category makes repeat appearances throughout the book, each time focusing on the work of a single author. In "Too Good to Miss," always approximately a page in length, Pearl isolates what makes a particular writer special to her and what books she would recommend. The authors receiving this special treatment include Frederick Busch, Mark Kurlansky, Eric Kraft, and Iris Murdoch. When Booklist suggested these one-author spotlights were one of the best features of the book, Pearl admitted, not surprisingly, that she loved preparing them. "I tried to include authors who I felt might be underappreciated . . . as well as those who might be less well known. Doing them gave me the chance to talk a bit about what makes these writers so good, which was a fine exercise for me as a reader and book reviewer." She expresses the regret that "I wish now that I had done more of them." So will her readers.
Of course, in preparing a book like this, which is all about recommending books on all kinds of subjects to open and eager readers, Booklist wondered if Pearl worried more about leaving out a number of books and authors than figuring out which ones to include. Pearl concurred: "The worst--most painful--part was having to bring the project to a halt. I still wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, realizing that I left out [certain] authors and books." That would seem to be an inevitable part of the selection process. Pearl had the last word on the subject: "I have to say, having done the indexing myself, that most of my favorite books are here. Except, of course, for the new books that come out after the book was done. I might have to do another book to include those!" We look forward to the sequel, then. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader Reviews
A Christmas present well worth while. Nancy Pearl, a Seattle librarian, and local NPR celebrity where she discusses books, has written a book that is recommended reading for every mood, moment and reason. She has organized these books into 175 useful,creative and humorous lists. These lists are quite specific and the Table of Contents lists them in alphabetical order. The one critique is that not enough information is given about the books, but maybe that was her intent. Just maybe she wants us to find out that information for ourselves. I have gone through each list and found enough books that interest me to give me reading material for the next couple of years. I have purchased several. Some of my favorites are: Action Heroines-the usual VI Warshawski and Kinsey Milhorne but several new ones like Susan Van Meter and Paul Flint. Adventure by the Book- Fiction and Non-fiction-Huckleberry Finn and National Geographic. Hamilton Basso: Too Good To Miss-New Orleans Southern writer like "View From Pompeii's Head". Bird Brains- books for and by birders Fathers and Daughters and Fathers and Sons-Solomon's Daughter and Gambler's Rose First Lines Too Remember-"First I had to get his body into the boat". First Novels-Virgin Suicides, Stern Men, Biggest Elvis The Islamic World-Islam: A Short History The Moon's My Destination-Apollo- Epic Journey to the Moon Shrinks and Shrinkees-I Never Promised You A Rose garden Three Hanky Reads-A Lesson Before Dying Texas, A Lone Star State of Mind-The Last Picture Show Zero: This Will Mean Nothing To You-The Hole in the Universe All together, 256 pages of books organized into themes that make sense. I really liked this book. I found it light reading, but full of great information.I will use this as a reference book for the times when I need a book of a particular theme, or a need for a book I can't quite put my finger on. If you are just starting out on a reading life, this book is for you. Or, if you are looking for something to read, but don't know what will strike your fancy, this book is for you. A book for everyone, for any mood or for every mood. prisrob
Comment | Permalink |
(Report this)
Back To Top
|
Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (LUST)
by Nancy Pearl
Available from Amazon
Price: $2.17
on 6-25-2008
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
