Book lust

“What to read next is every book lover’s greatest dilemma.”

Any real book lover knows that picking the next book is hard, but this is not the book that solves this issue. Book Lust is a collection of different reading lists for different topics, moods and so on. Say you want to know what Russian books to read or want a list of coming of age books. That is all well and good, hats off to Nancy Pearl for able to make a collection of book lists into a book series. The problem I found is book lovers are aware of most of the books mentioned in these lists; they have millions of books they want to read and this book doesn’t really help them at all. Personally I don’t think anyone apart from book lovers will read a book like this so really it feels pointless. There are lists in the book so obscure they start to feel like filler. My major beef with this book was there were no original thoughts, all books seemed like obvious choices and the presentation of each list needed work. Each topic isn’t a book list and they are not essays of literary criticism either, for me, this just felt sloppy. I will give credit to Nancy Pearl for being able to turn her love of book lists into a collection of books.

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.