1. Book Lust and More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl. Nancy Pearl is a librarian, an avid reader, and I think occasionally appears on NPR. She is well-read and is able to recommend books in just about any category, including chapters like "Horror for Sissies," "Tickle Your Funny Bone," "Cozies," "A...My Name is Alice," and various authors she considers "Too Good to Miss." I gave these two books out to almost every adult on my Christmas list last year. I had placed an order on Amazon through my cell phone, but somehow placed the order twice. Rather than send back the extra books, I just handed them out too.
2. Book Crush by Nancy Pearl. Like the books above, but for children and teens.
3. Great Books for Every Book Lover: 2002 Great Reading Suggestions for the Discriminating Bibliophile by Thomas Craughwell. I think this is out of print now, but gives a lot of down-to-earth suggestions. Chapters include "The Book Is Always Better Than the Movie," "British Classics," "Children's Classics," and "Shakespeare--In a Class by Himself."
4. Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan. I recently read this and found it fascinating. I am now at least a little familiar with many classics that I will probably never read, but are nonetheless part of our Western Civilization and heritage. Because of this book, I am also interested in reading some works I never though I would. For example, I just picked up a copy of The Canterbury Tales in a used bookstore. I had no idea it would be so full of humor. Chapters cover authors such as Shakespeare (of course), Homer, Dante, Milton, Jane Austen (I wouldn't have bought this if it didn't), Dickens, Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, and many others.
5. 501 Must-Read Books, published by Bounty Books. This is sort of a coffee-table book that I could leisurely thumb through or get lost in for several hours. There is a picture shown for each book discussed, and I suspect that most of the pictures are of first-edition covers. Books from the following categories are discussed: children's fiction, classic fiction, history, memoirs, modern fiction, science fiction, thrillers, and travel.
6. Defining Moments in Books: The Greatest Books, Writers, Characters, Passages and Events that Shook the Literary World, published by Octopus Publishing Group, Ltd. Another coffee table book. This one covers more cutting edge or controversial books and is divided by decade starting with 1890 and ending with 2000.7. The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics by W. John Campbell, Ph.D. A compilation written in the style of Sparknotes or Cliff's Notes. Gives short and interesting synopses of plot and characters from such works as The Scarlet Letter, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Of Mice and Men and Jane Eyre.
8. How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom. In different sections, he discusses reading short stories, poems, novels (here, what I would call "classic novels" including Emma by Austen and Great Expectations by Dickens), plays, and novels again ("modern" novels including Moby Dick by Melville and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison).
9. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History by Allan Lazar, Dan Karlan and Jeremy Salter. This title pretty much says it all, but here are the categories that the authors cover: Greek and Roman myths, folktales, legends, monsters, stereotypes, adventure, crime, Americana, literature, children's literature, theater, movies, women's liberation, comics and animation, commerce (i.e., The Marlboro Man), propaganda and television. This is another book that is fun to page through and which you don't have to read straight through to enjoy. This was a gift from my mom, who knows I love to read, a couple of years ago.
10. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller. Written by a teacher for teachers, but there is lots of good info for parents too. There is a list of suggested reading written by her students. I did pass my copy along to a teacher, but if I were in charge of a classroom, this book would be a must-have. She is truly concerned with getting kids to love reading rather than forcing them to read. This book is also where I learned about my favorite book blog, Jen Robinon's Book Page. Check her out at http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/.
11. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett. OK, this book is totally different than the rest on my the list, but it is about books and it is so engaging. It is a true story about a rare-book thief. I loved glimpsing the criminal mind without having to read any blood, gore, or violence. Plus, I learned about the rare book world.
No comments:
Post a Comment