What To Read: Summary and book reviews of What To Read by Mickey Pearlman, plus links to an excerpt from What To Read and a biography of Mickey Pearlman.
What To Read The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers
by Mickey Pearlman
Paperback: Mar 1999,
351 pages.
In this revised edition of the classic guide for book clubs, Mickey Pearlman--editor, lecturer, and reading group expert--offers annotated, innovative book lists for every dedicated reader. Whether you've been in a reading group for years, are interested in forming or finding one, or you're a book lover looking for new ideas, What to Read is an indispensable resource, listing hundreds of contemporary and classic books organized by subject. By updating every list and adding many new ones, Pearlman now offers pages and pages of fresh ideas. Among the lists that have been revised are:
Stop Kidding Around (books for children and young adults)
On the Beach
Let's Talk About Me (memoirs by men and women)
New lists include:
What an Adventure!
Think About Health
Who's on First?
Keep it Short (short story collection)
What to Read also includes tips on creating and maintaining your own reading group, organizing an E-mail book club, or joining on on-line. See sections called "How to Read," "When to Read," and "Where to Read" for more help!
Library Journal
Pearlman, the director of a book club for several years, here suggests how to organize and run a reading group. She provides 33 briefly annotated lists of contemporary and classic titles arranged by subject, e.g., mysteries, science fiction, and sports. Each list contains a half-year or more of reading. This compilation is much shorter-about 1000 titles-than H.W. Wilson's Public Library Catalog (1989. 9th ed.), The Reader's Adviser (LJ 6/15/94), and The Reader's Catalog (LJ 4/15/89). Closest in size is The Reader's Companion (Hyperion, 1994), with unannotated lists compiled by experts.
Note from BookBrowse: Wilson's Public Library catalog is a 1,300 page tome used by libraries. As is The Reader's Adviser. You will probably find one or both in the reference section of your local library.
The Reader's Catalog by Geoffrey O'Brien is a more affordable book at around $35. It is an annotated list of about 40,000 titles in 300 categories (see separate info in this section of BookBrowse).
Seventeen new essays and 37 new book lists have been added to this classic primer on book groups. Forty-six essays describe how individual groups are organized and portray their strengths, weaknesses, and unique characters.
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