And the Best Book Is...

December 09, 2010

December, besides being the "Holiday Season", is also the month of Awards and recapping events. Under 'recapping" comes the idea of lists….. lists of the 10 Genealogy Libraries you should visit before you die (of which the Midwest Genealogy Center is one) and lists of books you should read. For children (and for gift giving suggestions for children, books being so easy to wrap), there is 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. This brick-like volume, divided by age levels, lists a wide range of children’s books, both new and old, American and international. Where else can you find a list of notable books about puddings? Looking for something for a boy? Best Books for Boys (Matthew Zbaracki) has suggestions.

Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire, has a new offering for holiday (and armchair) traveler entitled Book Lust to go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds and Dreamers. Her reading recommendations are always interesting. If you don’t know what kind of book you want, try 1001 Books for Every Mood by Hallie Ephron. It give suggestions of romance, mystery, and suspense.

Classics need not be boring. Sort them by reading Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literatures's 50 Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan, or Book Smart: Your Essential Reading List for Becoming a Literary Genius in 365 Days (Jane Mallinson). More books of booklists can be found in the library catalog using the Advanced Search, with the Subject as "Best Books".

Don’t want to search through a book for reading suggestions? Mid-Continent also offers electronic access to booklists on the website. See Staff Suggests or sign up for  Bookletters.

No matter how you find it, the best book is the one you are reading.

Anitra T. Steele
Children's Services Manager