This week's question:
Bookish Sarah asks: If someone asked you for a book recommendation, what is the FIRST book you’d think to recommend (without extra thought)?
Unfortunately, I can’t answer this. I cannot give out book recommendations to an individual without thinking pretty hard about it. I don’t have a favorite book I think rises above predetermined reading preferences. I have groups of favorites, all of them different. So a good recommendation ALWAYS takes into account what kind of things the person likes to read.
I mean, my father in law asked me to bring down some good books when I came to visit. I had to ask him all sorts of questions before I could even begin to pick books off of my bookshelf. And The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite novels, but I knew after talked to my father in law that obviously, that would not do for a recommendation. It would only serve to sour his taste in reading and give Plath negative reviews, despite the fact that it would have really been my fault if I would have recommended a book like that to someone who definitely won’t like it. It was only after getting a feel for what he likes to read and what he absolutely doesn’t like that I was able to pick out some great books that I know he’d enjoy.
So there it is. There is not a single “go-to” book I’d recommend to anyone without any hesitation. I would rather spend hours thinking about it and making sure that person leaves with a book in their mind that I know they will enjoy. Reading is tricky and people have books they love, books they hate, subjects they don’t care for, subjects they love, etc.Labels: Booking Through Thursday
