So what's the big deal about a list of books? Anyone can jot down what they've read. The big deal is this particular list maker, who flies through her lists organized to themes and moods with an infectious enthusiasm and flashes of wit (I would repeat her hilarious recommendation for changing the categorical name of "lad lit," but that would ruin the joke).
Nancy Pearl is the Ur-general reader and the Ur-librarian who has read it all. This is a sequel to the break-out hit, BOOK LUST, offering another 1,000 recommended titles. Lest you think Pearl is throwing everything she ever read onto the heap, she says that she omits the books that did not measure up. Given her broad spectrum approach, everyone will find at least one item worth reading but also something they know they disliked, so it's best to follow up her suggestions with some homework, like trolling Amazon reviews. Of the suggestions in MORE BOOK LUST, I'd read 124 and disliked perhaps 10 of those. I found about 40 new ideas to pursue, but after flipping through Amazon postings cut that list in half. Pearl recommends the "rule of 50": give a book 50 pages before giving up on it, unless you are over 50, in which case, subtract a page for every year over 50 so you don't waste any more of the reading time you have left.