海角大神

It鈥檚 not every librarian who has an action figure modeled after her. But Nancy Pearl, who was honored at the National Book Awards on Nov. 17, comes to her superhero status by her encyclopedic knowledge of books and powerfully engaging recommendations in almost every form of media. In 1998, Ms. Pearl launched a program at the Seattle Public Library called 鈥淚f All Seattle Read the Same Book,鈥� which led to the worldwide group-reading phenomenon known as One Book, One City.聽

In 2009, Ms. Pearl鈥檚 ability to connect readers with the right book gained a wide following when she published 鈥淏ook Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason,鈥� which became a surprise hit. More recent work includes 鈥淏ook Lust鈥� sequels, a novel, and a collection of author interviews.聽

Known as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Librarian,鈥� Ms. Pearl received the 2021 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community for her work in expanding audiences for reading. Past recipients include poet Maya Angelou and NPR鈥檚 鈥淔resh Air鈥� host Terry Gross.

Browsing with Ms. Pearl is a book lover鈥檚 dream, like stargazing with Neil deGrasse Tyson or strolling a farmers market with Alice Waters. Practically every shelf in the University Book Store in Seattle one recent morning sparked conversations. Her thoughts on Sigrid Nunez? She鈥檚 well known for 2018鈥檚 鈥淭he Friend,鈥� but Ms. Pearl says her earlier novel about Virginia Woolf鈥檚 pet marmoset, Mitz, is 鈥渏ust marvelous.鈥� Hilary Mantel? 鈥淲hat she can do so well is present these despicable characters ... and make you not only admire them, but fall in love with them,鈥� she says.

So, how does possibly the world鈥檚 best-known librarian decide what to read?

Ms. Pearl says she searches out 鈥渂ooks with characters that I can鈥檛 forget, and writing that just makes you put down the book and say, 鈥楬ow could he have thought, or she have thought, to put these words together in that way?鈥欌�澛�

She doesn鈥檛 discount any title based on genre or perceived intellectual heft. 鈥淪omebody said that we judge genre fiction by the worst of what鈥檚 there and we judge literary fiction by the best of what鈥檚 there.鈥澛�

She also suggests what she calls a 鈥渇our doorways鈥� approach to assessing new titles based on story, character, setting, or language (the actual writing). She鈥檇 like to see books categorized by 鈥渇our doorways鈥� just as they are by the Dewey Decimal System.聽

Does she ever consider not finishing a book?聽

Ms. Pearl coined the Rule of 50, which offers a handy formula for deciding when to move on from a book. If you are under 50 years old, give the book 50 pages before either committing to read it or choosing to set it aside. If older, 鈥渨hich is when time gets shorter,鈥� subtract your age from 100. The result is the number of pages you should read before deciding to move on.聽

What鈥檚 next for her?聽

In 2022, Ms. Pearl will be the subject of a children鈥檚 picture-book biography, bringing her career full circle. Although she no longer works in a library, she鈥檚 thinking about the role that libraries will play in the future. She would like to see an emphasis on literacy and on the joy of reading, which she says are still essential in an age in which libraries are called upon to fulfill responsibilities far beyond their core mission 鈥� from social services to lending musical instruments. Yet she understands better than most why people turn to libraries 鈥� and librarians 鈥� when in need.

鈥淵ou become a librarian because you want to make the world a better place,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd so what鈥檚 needed, you try to do."