ReadingGroupGuides.com

Author Interview

Nancy Pearl

September 2005

Carol Fitzgerald and Shannon McKenna interviewed Nancy Pearl, librarian and bestselling author of Book Lust and More Book Lust. Pearl discusses the inspiration behind these two titles and talks about the current state of literature and reading. She also shares her opinion on the elements that make a book a good reading group selection and dispenses useful tips on how to foster insightful book club discussions. For more information on Nancy Pearl, including her latest book recommendations, log on to http://www.nancypearl.com.

ReadingGroupGuides.com: In MORE BOOK LUST you mention Deborah Schupack’s THE BOY ON THE BUS, Ann Packer’s THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER, Leah Hager Cohen’s novel HEART, YOU BULLY, YOU PUNK, Barbara Gowdy’s THE ROMANTIC, Anne Ursu's SPILLING CLARENCE, and THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES as great book club choices. What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion?

Nancy Pearl: I think the most important factor in choosing a good book for a discussion is to find one that is character-driven, that has an ambiguous ending, or both. You want a book that doesn't have everything tied up neatly, in which the author doesn't tell you everything, so that each reader can reach his or her own conclusions about a character's motivation or behavior. All those books I recommended in the calendar and both Book Lust books fit these criteria.

RGG: Do you belong to a book club now? Have you ever belonged to a club?

NP: I did belong to a book club for many years, but don't right now, mainly because I'm away from home so much these days.

RGG: What do you like most about discussing books with readers?

NP: I love hearing from readers about the books they've enjoyed --- it helps me understand the different appeals books have, and what draws particular readers to different books, as well as giving me ideas for books to read myself.

RGG: Do you have any suggestions on how a group can enliven a discussion that has fallen flat?

NP: One way to enliven discussion is to begin with a question about the title of the book you're discussing. In the case of some
books, this is the only question you'll need --- for example, for the book A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, a natural first question is "What was the lesson learned, and who learned it?" For Ward Just's A Dangerous Friend, the best way to begin a discussion is to ask, "Who is the dangerous friend of the title?"

Another way to enliven the discussion is to have everyone come to the meeting with one question they want to discuss. Don't begin with the question, "Who liked this book?" It's sure to polarize members and you'll often never get past that question. End with it instead.

RGG: We wonder if books are as quotable today as they were in the past. What's your thought on this?

NP: I do think books are as quotable now as they were. I frequently find wonderful lines in the most ordinary novels --- Georgette Heyer talking about "a fit of the dismals," which is a perfect way to describe being in a bad mood. Or Alexander McCall Smith having Precious Ramotswe describing herself as "being blessed with girth rather than height."

RGG: Tell us about how you catalogue your own book collection at home.

NP: My "keeper" books are arranged by fiction and nonfiction, alphabetically in each division. The books that I'm currently reading or have gotten to review are (unfortunately) just piled up helter-skelter in the living room and bedroom of our small condo.

RGG: Do you think a certain amount of time needs to pass before a book on a current event can be written in the "right" voice?

NP: I think in the hands of the right author the perfect "voice" can be found, even for books on current events. What may be lacking
in these books is sufficient distance, or perspective.

RGG: Are you a reading voyeur, meaning, do you sit and watch people read and see what they are enjoying?

NP: I am incurably and incredibly nosy about what other people are reading, and I always want to interrupt them and ask what they think of the book, too, but I don't watch people as they read (or at least I don't think I do).

RGG: Have you ever wanted to put a "better" book into a reader's hands?

NP: I've struggled with this whole notion of "better" books forever, it seems. I don't know how I would define "better" books. I do know that there are books that seem to me to be better written than other books, or have characters that are three-dimensional rather than are paper thin. I think there are forgettable books and books that are meaningful, but are those the same books for every person? I doubt it. There are, I am convinced, books that it would be a shame to live a whole life not having read --- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, among many others. If this makes them "better" books, than I guess that I do try to put them into people's hands. On the other hand, I think it would be sad to go through life not ever having read The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer or The Brothers K by David James Duncan or The Dangerous Friend by Ward Just or The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch. (I hope this answer makes sense. It's a hard question for me.)

RGG: Do you personally think people are reading as much as they were before the Internet and other entertainment choices evolved?

NP: I think that people have always had to choose among a variety of activities about how to spend their time, and that is still true today. Plow the field or read? Play The Sims or read? Mop the kitchen floor or read? Read the newspaper or the new novel you got from the library? Watch "Law and Order" or read? I worry that kids are not being encouraged to read by watching their parents read, or having family reading times.

RGG: Most students complain about how utterly boring their reading choices are on summer reading lists. Have you heard anything from schools and how they are using your book?

NP: No, not really.

RGG: It's said that many of the most popular book club choices were helped along by independent booksellers. Can you think of titles that libraries helped get on the radar screens of book club readers? Are libraries impacting book clubs more today than they have in the past (i.e., making title recommendations and even hosting groups)?

NP: I think that libraries are helping the book club phenomenon along by organizing book clubs that meet there and recommending titles to them. Many libraries have book club collections that they lend to people in book groups, whether or not the groups meet in the library.

RGG: What was your reaction when you found out Lisa Scottoline had chosen MORE BOOK LUST as the "Today Show" July book club selection?

NP: I was stunned and thrilled and totally blown away when I heard that Lisa Scottoline had selected More Book Lust for the "Today Show" book club. I still can't believe it.

RGG: You mentioned that right after you wrote BOOK LUST you started making notes on books you had missed --- and you heard from readers with their ideas on titles. This inspired MORE BOOK LUST. Do you think we will we see an EVEN MORE BOOK LUST title in the future?

NP: I think the next book I work on will be on good reads for children and YAs --- maybe we'll call it "Book Crush." On the other hand, I would be sad if there weren't another Book Lust book, just because there are so many good books out there that I know that I forgot --- Rumer Godden and William Maxwell among them, and all those new books that I've really enjoyed, too. Book lust forever!

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