Tag: nancy pearl

Books Bought in February

February 2016 Book Buys
February 2016 Book Buys

February was an unexpectedly slow buying month for me.  I found these three at the local libraries used bookstore.

I bought All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque because it was the reading group book of the month at least a year ago with one of my virtual reading clubs The History Book Club.  Ever since they had this as their reading pick, I’ve been trying to track it down at used bookstores.  I finally had some luck and found a decent copy last month.  I’m excited about this because it qualifies as a foreign books since it was originally written in German and translated by A. W. Wheen.

Next, I found a Penguin Classic in its beautiful black and white paperback binding.  I had no idea what Silas Marner was about before I grabbed it, but you can’t go wrong with George Eliot, so I grabbed it.  I’m reading now on goodreads it is..

George Eliot’s tale of a solitary miser gradually redeemed by the joy of fatherhood.

Okay sounds good.  This was $2 and looks like its never been opened.  MSRP is $7.  Not a bad savings.

Lastly, I’m very excited that I found More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl in the same bookstore.  I got it for $1 and it is in the best condition.  I would think it has never been opened.  Very happy to have grabbed this as I have the first book, Book Lust and I absolutely loved it!  They are great references to have around!  It says on the cover there are 1,000 new recommendations!  Sweet!

Review: The Power of Reading

The Power of Reading
The Power of Reading by Stephen D. Krashen

The Power of Reading by Stephen D. Krashen is a very through book.  I first got interested in reading books about books when I read Book Lust by Nancy Pearl, which by the way is worth having a copy.  I can’t recommend Book Lust enough!  But, back to The Power of Reading.

This has tons of citations from studies conducted in the 1990s and 2000s.  Because there are no recent studies the book is a little dated in its citations.  The copy I read was published in 2004, but the book was first published in 1993 and it seems not a lot of the references have been kept as up-to-date as a reader like me would have liked.

This book reads like a research paper so be prepared for that.  If you want something that is a little easier to read I would highly suggest you read The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.  His book is mentioned in any good study of reading books and the positive effects.

I gave The Power of Reading 3 out of 5 stars.  Not great, but if you are doing a paper on the importance of reading or reading to improve english as a second language (ESL) then this is the book you need to check-out, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it.