Thursday, August 11, 2005

Librarian and Iconic Action Figure: Nancy Pearl



Librarian and iconic action figure, Nancy Pearl is profiled in CSMonitor.com. She is a regular on NPR and is the author of Book Lust and More Book Lust. I can really identify with this:

When Nancy Pearl meets somebody new, she always asks, "What are you reading?" The retired librarian and self-professed "readaholic" cheerfully admits that she doesn't spend much time talking about gardening, housework, or the weather. "Books are really all I can talk about."

So true, so true. You can take the girl out of the library but you can't take the library out of the girl.

She is working on a Book Lust for children. I appreciate her 50 page rule. I have a couple of books on the proverbial nightstand that I am going to get back to someday.

She expounds what she calls the "50 page" rule: If a book doesn't grab you in the first 50 pages, put it down and try something else. Life is short, and there are many books to read. (She often returns to finish books she set aside. Reading enjoyment is as much a matter of the reader's mood as it is the style and content of the book, she says.)

A kid is not going to give the author 50 pages to make good, they MIGHT give them to the end of page 2 and then that book is history. That is why children's books are so good and I enjoy them so much.

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