Last night I was one of a hundred adoring fans that turned out to hear our very own former Seattle Public Library librarian, Nancy Pearl, do what she does best, tell us whats good to read.  The focus on this evening’s event was summer reading or as quoted in The Seattle Times piece promoting the event,

“For many people, summer reading implies lighter reading – it doesn’t matter if saltwater splashes over it or the covers get ripped off,” Pearl says. “You don’t have a lot of emotional capital tied up in the book.”

I’ve sorted the twenty one books Pearl gushed about into four categories:  Airplane Reads, Armchair Travelers, Mystery/ Spy/Thrillers and Book Club Reads.  (Really, she is so enthusiastic about the books she loves that I’m ready to toss what I am currently reading and dive into any one of these.)  I will share her list of picks in my next couple of posts.   For now, I thought I would pass along Pearl’s thoughts on choosing that next good book to read.

If you are 50 years old or younger:  Read 50 pages.  If the book doesn’t grab you, give it away.  If you are compelled to solve the mystery or find out how the story ends, read the last chapter and be done with it.

If you are older than 50:  Subtract your age from 100 and read that number of pages.  It’s one of the few perks of aging, according to Pearl.

If you are 100 years and older:  Congratulations!  You are now allowed to judge a book by it’s cover.