What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers [Paperback]

Mickey Pearlman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

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!

Editorial Reviews

From 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. One may quibble about certain omissions, such as the failure to list Gone with the Wind under Southern literature, and with certain inclusions, such as listing Isaac Bashevis Singer's Scum under Jewish fiction-hardly his best work. Still, the inclusions will spark discussion. In addition, smaller libraries may find this a useful guide for collection development, since all the titles listed are in print.
Joseph Rosenblum, Univ. of North Carolina-Greensboro
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Pearlman draws her advice on how to organize a reading group straight from 10 group experts from across the U.S. Their advice is scanty and superficial, especially when compared with The Reading Group Companion. But Pearlman offers 33 excellent bibliographies--annotated lists of mysteries, sf, Jewish stories, memoirs and biographies, nineteenth-century novels, etc. Considering the voracious appetite of reading groups and the popularity of Pearlman's books, this is definitely useful material. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; Rev Upd edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060953136
• ISBN-13: 978-0060953133
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Deeply biased and frequently inaccurate catalog, July 10, 2009

By 

Eclectic Book Works (Out West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers (Paperback)

A few MAJOR problems with this book:

1) Pearlman has not only not read all of the books she recommends, but she has done weak research on them. She tells us that the Milagro Beanfield War takes place in California, when it actually takes place in New Mexico. Seems like a small thing, except the book is the first in a series called "The New Mexico Trilogy." That makes it a major woops. In other places she lists the second of third book of a series without any mention that the prior books exist, much less that her recommendation makes no sense if you do not read them in order. (e.g. lists Xenocide but not Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, tells us the Lord of the Rings is the meal and The Hobbit is dessert; good analogy except The Hobbit must come first, making it the "appetizer.")

2) Perhaps even worse than the factual errors is the almost complete lack of aesthetic appreciation. Read her review of Cold Sassy Tree and her review of Love in the Ruins and you are likely to come away thinking Love in the Ruins is the better book. Love in the Ruins is good; maybe Walker Percy's best novel. But Cold Sassy Tree is Great with a capital G. Her ignorance of great fiction and appreciation of the trivial is appalling.

3) Heavily biased toward the politics of feminism, environmentalism, liberalism, etc. Books that have the politically correct message are given space - and praise - not justified by the skill of the writer or the quality of the book. That is fine, but she needs to be honest; tell the reader "This is not a very good book but it has a great message or teaches an important lesson."

Fortunately, as the great Harold Bloom says, in the end, all the politically motivated criticism makes no difference. Great writers like Shakespeare, Cervantes, Dickenson, Hemingway, and Kennedy continue to be read, and undeserving Pulitzer Prize winners like Millhauser, Shields, Lurie, Kantor, Walker, etc. collect dust on the shelf... if they are purchased at all. In the end, fiction focused on delivering a "message" is almost always soon outdated (a "shocking" story about gays no longer shocks). With the message as the primary goal, the writer can never achieve the high artistic entertainment standards that make great novels popular across many decades and many cultures. That Pearlman fails to recognize this is to the ultimate demise of her book.

(I know this will be an unpopular review. Sorry.)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Book Lovers!, June 19, 2000

By 

A reader (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in forming a book club or for those who are just interested in a great read. Ms Pearlman has compiled a wonderful selection of books for all interests. She categorizes them by subject. She includes everything from early 19th century novels, to mysteries, ethnic books, sci-fi, and even non-fiction selections like health and sports. This is my second copy of this book. ( I also had the first edition) I have dog-earred and marked up this book many times. It is a must have for book lovers!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Club Help!, June 16, 2000

By 

Tara - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers (Paperback)

I recently started a book club with my friends (we all love to read!) :) This book was more than helpful in making our decisions on what to read next! We practically use it as our bible! Now thanks to this book we no longer have quarrels about what to read, we can agree easily! I also use this book on my own private time to decide what else I should read, I find it very useful! I would say this book was very good and I would recomend it to anyone! Happy reading!