Great book! Gives book talk page to 100 novels from 1600's to present. So many books, so little time! I am looking forward to exploring new books from pages 144-145 for Next reads based on genre or other books already read. ( )

What a wonderful book that brings back so many happy memories-old friends that have accompanied me throughout the years. It has also introduced me to a few new ones. Bravo to the compilers and publisher. ( )

I basically kind of finished this two days ago, but only now getting around to doing the review (plus finishing the appendices and indexes and 'reader help' segment at the end).

I love books about books, it sounds stupid and corny, and even time consuming (like spending money on things to hold other things... like bookshelves), but its true. And its fun reading the thoughts and feelings and emotions and reviews of other people about books I've read, see how they match up, see how people feel the same way about a book I loved (or hated).

This is an interesting collection as its been voted on by the American people. So books like Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, etc, creep into this list. (Its listed alphabetically by book title rather than in a strict Top #100 style). But yes, there is definitely some sketchy picks by the American people (stares pointedly at Fifty Shades of Grey). And the write-ups for books like Fifty Shades and Twilight has a bit of snarky tongue-in-cheek barbs at the fanfiction and less than stellar writing quality of these works.

But overall, its a good collection. The book is beautiful with the book covers, author pictures, and much more. There is also a lot of inserted things to break up the monotony of book listing after book listing with little factoids or character studies and things like that.

Its an enjoyable read that I think helps give some appreciation for these texts and gives you an idea what other people are reading and enjoying and why. ( )

The Book of Books is a companion book to a PBS series. For people outside of the USA that don’t have PBS, it is the Public Broadcasting Station. It brings educational programming to the American public. I don’t know if it has any outlets in other countries but with satellite Television and the Internet, it seems unlikely that no one else would have heard of it. It shows such programming as Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

The book has a relatively simple premise; ask a bunch of Americans what their favorite books are and make a list about it. Since they ask a lot of Americans there are some titles that I would question for appearing on this list, but that is merely my personal taste. At the same time, there are books that did not fit in the 100 book limit. Series are counted as one book, so if someone chose Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it wouldn’t be considered on its own, but rather as a book in the Harry Potter Series.

Each book has an entry that shows an image of the author on one side along with an image of the first edition of that book. They are organized alphabetically. The little piece of writing that describes the book gives a plot synopsis, talks about any interesting trivia of its publication and talks about the author to some extent. Take the entry on the Alex Cross Series by James Patterson. Did you know that the man is so prolific that he has to have his own team within the publishing house? I certainly didn’t. I just know that Patterson is a name that I see a lot of when I go to the bookstore.

Alongside the list of books are a series of short pieces on literary tools and ideas. So one section might talk about famous opening lines in literature or really good stories. The next section might consider literary tools like Allegory or Irony and have a little glossary of words. It is quite colorful and informative. The book discusses censored works and titles that have been banned as well. It only devotes a page or so to it, but it was really interesting.

The book is great for a coffee table. It spreads its nets wide enough to grasp a great swath of writing, some of it great, and some of it terrible. In any case, if you don’t find a book that you have at least heard of in this book, you probably aren’t a reader. Then again, this book includes stories that got made into movies so you might also be living in some kind of cave system.

Among my favored books in this list are The Little Prince, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dune, The Foundation Series, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, The Harry Potter Series, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire Series. Some of the ones I raise an eyebrow at are the Fifty Shades series and the Twilight series. Admittedly, I am in no position to fault someone for reading, but I am terribly biased against those series. Maybe if I have nothing else to read I will give it a try, but I have a lot of books, I don’t feel like buying those series, and it would be embarrassing to have Twilight on my Library record. Therefore, I doubt I will read it anytime soon. The same can be said of the Fifty Shades series. I don’t feel like buying it and I don’t want it on my Library record. Also, I have plenty of other books to read without having to resort to those books.

As I said, this book is really good aside from some of the unusual choices put forth by the American Public. It isn’t that long and it breezes by quite quickly. ( )

This was a great way to do a literary review in an afternoon, add to my list of things that I want to read, as well as checking off those that I had. ( )