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...
more 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 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.
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