Good Books: A Book Lover's Companion

I bought this book when it first came out in 1982 and STILL turn to it whenever I need some quick info on a book, or an author, or a particular subject. I WISH it were updated, but even though it is 20+ years old it is still the best of its kind!

"A Booklover's Companion"--and, oh, how very true that is! I love to just veg out in a comfortable chair and page slowly through this wonderful compendium (I wish Mr. Gilbar would bring out a "Son of Good Books" that would update us on what he's been reading in the 20 years since he compiled it) of thematically arranged lists of books both famous and lesser-known. Everything from Homer's epics to Time-Life's Old West series and the Rivers of America books is in here, each of them personally read by the compiler. His squibs are necessarily brief--after all, he's trying to explain the attraction of some 9000 different works!--but should at least give you a hint of whether the book might be worth a look; and, as he points out, all "exist and can be found"--through InterLibrary Loan if you're low on funds. But no matter how low on funds you may be, if you love to read, you should own "Good Books," and that's not a general recommendation.

With all the controversy that swirls around "best of" lists today, it's a pleasure to encounter a "list" of great books in which the compiler doesn't claim any unique insight other than his own love for literature. Gilbar seems to be a reader who hasn't forgotten what it means to value a book for its adventurousness, its quirkiness, and its visceral appeal. He doesn't try to use academic or professional standards to judge a work -- rather, he uses his own wide-ranging and boisterous curiosity to compile a reading list which any book lover can enjoy.