Book Lust to Go (copy)

I know a book is a big hit with me when I am still talking about it a month later. I was in my mother’s kitchen admiring her collections. She has various groups of M&M characters, Louisville Stoneware and antique tins. Each time I come home, she changes and rearranges things so that I see something new.

We were having hot tea when I begin to tell her about The Man who Loved Books too much by Allison Hoover Bartlett. (Book talked it last month.) Book collecting is all in the finding. The lusting after an edition or accidently coming across a signed copy while rummaging through the local Goodwill, is the goal.

Apparently, I touched on a nerve. She called my dad into the room and asked me to reiterate my point. I told them when a complete collection of books, let’s say on trains, comes up for sale auctioneers cannot sell the lot. Collectors do not want to purchase a complete collection. They might want a book or two, but never the hard work of someone else. The fun of collecting is in the finding; preferably, acquiring a little at a time.

“See,” she said. “eBay does not count!”

When it comes to collectors, they make my Christmas shopping a joy. They know what they want or need in a collection; thus, I go forth and shop with purpose.

What if you want to give a book for Christmas to an established reader? Picking up the latest bestseller might work, but what if you could give them something even better. The ultimate gift would be a book that is not only readable but full of other book ideas.

I love every book in the Book Lust series by Nancy Pearl for this reason. You might know the name Nancy Pearl from the librarian action figure made in her image. Not only is she a joy in person, but her image has become quite the collectable. I digress.

The latest in the series is Book Lust to Go. Pearl travels the world alphabetically giving readers suggestions. I headed straight for the chapter on Newfoundland to make sure she wrote about The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. While there I gathered suggestions like Howard Norman’s The Bird Artist and Farley Mowat’s Bay of Spirits.

Give this book and 1,000 Places to See before You Die by Patricia Schultz to any reader and they will see you as an excellent gift giver!

Book Lust to Go (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2010/12/book-lust-to-go-copy.html