Tuesday, December 07, 2010


The Prentice Hall Good Reading Guide 


by Kenneth McLeish




I love books about books and I have a small collection of them. This book is one of my favorites because of its' structure. It is organized by author and tries to answer the questions: "Where shall I start?" and "Where shall I go next?" With each article describing the author's style, listing some books with which to start, and suggesting which authors are similar in style or genre, the reader has several avenues to pursue further good reading. 
There are also menus of books by topic scattered throughout the text that provide suggestions for reading.  I believe this is one of the most useful reading references for both inexperienced and experienced readers. The author, Kenneth McLeish, has not only authored this delightful book, but he is also the co-author (with Frederic Raphael) of The List of Books -- another favorite and a book I would encourage you to seek out.


The Prentice Hall Good reading Guide by Kenneth McLeish. Prentice Hall, New York. 1988
The List of Books: A Library of over 3,000 works by Frederic Raphael & Kenneth McLeish. Harmony Books, New York. 1981



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2 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I am now following you despite my worry that your blog is much too smart for me. That's okay with me if it is okay with you. I like smart.

Here's my post on literary pet peeves: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/pet-peeves-of-literary-sort.html

James said...

Thanks for the compliment. I like to share thoughts about the books that I read. My interests run to the literary, but please stop by as often as you like.