Reviews of The Readers Catalog by Geoffrey O'Brien

Media Reviews

Los Angeles Times A catalogue that is both scholarly and accessible, that challenges the reader without overwhelming, that skirts the academic but refuses to pander to popular taste. By the manner in which The Reader's Catalog presents what is essentially an attractively annotated list of books, it must be called a triumph.

Newsday The catalog is discriminating yet expansive, a feat of editing that anyone who has wasted time rooting out data in the weeds of the Internet will appreciate.

The New York Times - Christopher Lehmann-Haupt The most attractively laid out and compactly informative guide that I know of to books that are currently in print.

Union-Tribune San Diego The idiosyncratic nature of The Reader's Catalog is what makes it so iresistible -- and valuable.

Choice - D.G. Davis Users of the 1989 version will note some small changes (sequence of the divisions and stylistic matters) and some major ones (layout of pages and the form of the indexes). . . . Like the first edition, this work is designed to sell books, but the titles in one division illustrate its dilemma. 'Religion, Spirituality & Philosophy' provides ample coverage of non-Christian religions, but while no mention is made of the most popular modern English Bible (the New International Version), there is an entry for William Tyndale's translation of 1525. The history of Protestantism lists only four titles (one of them The Book of Common Prayer), but there are six for alchemy (formerly under 'New Age' in the 'Practical Advice' division). Nearly all the titles were published by major commercial publishers, while denominational and smaller publishers are ignored. Emphasis rests on the exotic and bizarre at the expense of mainstream material. . . . This book industry index to the current taste of popular reviewers is significant as a cultural document but of limited use to academic libraries.

 Geraldine Brooks This best-books guide is an enlarged and updated version of a work first published in 1989. Arranged topically (e.g., 'Science-Mathematics-Number Theory'), the catalog covers all areas of knowledge, including fiction. . . . The titles listed have been selected by about 140 writers and academics.

Reader Reviews

simon peter
I have used this book as a guide to teach myself about the world and found it 's recommendations reliable in regard to interest and readibility. Its topical organization is also helpful. Good job.

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