The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

by John Charles, John Charles

Great reads for busy people. This is a guide to help busy people find great reads in fiction and nonfiction. Filled with recommendations of popular, entertaining reading, this book covers mystery and suspense, romance, women’s fiction and chick lit, Westerns, science fiction, such nonfiction topics as animals, art, biography, memoirs, business, true crime, and more. Plus, each entry includes a summary of the book, its significance, and a critique/observation/comment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Reference

494 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

This is John^Charles, where ^=space.

Reviews

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read this book so much as used it as a guide to books I may never have read. I go through the book and pick a book from each section (historical, western, romance, etc) then check the book out at the library. It is an amazing way to expand your literary knowledge.

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A superb list of reccomended reads. Organized by genre and sub-genre. Definately worth looking at. Because I don't have enough titles on my to-read list or piles of books littering my house. Or the fact that I work in a library!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now have 76 more items for my TBR list. This book was very well laid out and although I read through every section you could easily skip the chapters that represented genres that you don't read. What I especially liked was that each book had a 2 or 3 sentence description of the book, enough to get you interested or let you know that this book definitely was not for you. There were also many sidebars with interesting facts about some of the books. I hope that this book will be updated every few years with new classics and more great reads. I would recommend this book for anyone that wants to expand their reading horizon.

[Libbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each recommended book has a brief synopsis and sometimes an interesting tit bit, fact or other notes about the book or the author. The chapters are arranged in various genres and within a few minutes reading you are jotting down books to add to your "to be read" list and ticking off ones already read.
On the down side, I did not take into account when I ordered this book that it would have a heavy leaning towards American works, particularly the chapter on humour (or humor) which is mainly about American comedians and not about novels which have humorous story lines, as I first expected.
I will enjoy working my way through this book but am also dabbling in 1001 Books which has a more international feel.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is dangerous, but in the best way. Within the genre lists provided, I found several books that I've been meaning to add to my "to be read" list. Then I also discovered several books that sounded intriguing enough to make note of. Very well organized. Each chapter covers a genre. Within each genre the authors give you several sub-categories, like "classics" within that genre. As a specific example, within the mystery genre, they break down their categories into amateur sleuths, private detectives, procedurals, and historical sleuths. Then they have an entire separate section on suspense. Definitely worth looking at for some reading inspiration.

[Connie G · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book guide, each genre has a section of classic books of that genre, followed by more contemporary books, with a few sentences about each book. The guide seemed weighted toward mystery/thrillers/crime fiction and romances. While I do occasionally read in those genres, I probably read more popular, literary, and historical fiction. I was especially looking for books from the UK outside the mystery and romance genres, but I had more success looking online. Although this was not the right "book about books" for me at this time, someone who was looking for exciting mysteries would probably enjoy it. 2 1/2 stars.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't gone through and added all the books I want to read to my GR page. That will be a project.

The book is divided into genres with suggestions and descriptions of each book. There are also sidenotes on why the particular book is considered important and/or a fun fact about the book/author.

There's soemthing for everyone here and even if you think you don't like a particular genre there are some books with descriptions interesting enough to encourage you to step out of your box.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one a couple of years ago. This sort of book is always useful for new ideas, but it all comes down to personal taste. There's really no such thing as "the" reading list.

[JLS10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My TBR list got about 30 books longer.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly an interesting read. However, it was a VERY handy resource. I was able to grab a couple of books out of here for myself, as well as recommendations for the book club that I run.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I finally got around to going through this book! There were many titles included that I've read and expected to be listed (i.e. Three Junes, Middlesex, Lovely Bones, Empire Falls, Water for Elephants, Harry Potter, Other Boleyn Girl, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Kavalier and Clay, Bel Canto, The Thirteenth Tale, Miracle in the Andes, Into Thin Air, Shadow of the Wind, The Alienist, Five People You Meet in Heaven, Time Traveler's Wife, Talk Before Sleep, Da Vinci Code, Deja Dead, Patricia Cornwell's Post Mortem, Devil in the White City, Girl with the Pearl Earring) and some that I've read but were a bit surprised were on the list (i.e. Little Lady Agency, Dirty Girls Social Club, Cater Street Hangman, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Birth of Venus, We Were the Mulvaneys [although if you list Oates, I guess this story might be one of the most accessible], One for the Money). There were some that I was surprised but delighted made it to the list (Dogs of Babel, for one) and quite a few books listed that are already on my to-read list (Black Echo, Practical Magic, Year of Wonders, Secret Life of Bees, Sister's Keeper, Glass Castle, Anne Tyler's Accidental Tourist, City of Light, Crimson Petal and the White).

I like that it gave a nice range, from Chic lit to History to Biography to True Crime -- although I would have wanted a chapter on young adult fiction (where was The Giver? Also, The Hunger Games would have to be included if this book were published a few years later than it was).

There were some surprising omissions (namely, A Thousand Acres and any book by Anne Rivers Siddons) and I wonder how this compilation might change if it were updated (can I hear it for Cormoran Strike?) but overall, good suggestions! I definitely added some new books to my to-read list.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!
This is in no way a literary must read book. I read this book as more of a fun, jumping off point.
Being the book nerd that I am, I actually kept a list of all the books I've read (47) the books I have and have not yet read (32) and made a list of the books I really, really want to read (30). The cool thing about reading this I can see how I've read books in just about every genre. And since I read every one of the nearly 1,000 books suggestions, I found quite a few I really want to read - even in genres I thought I wasn't interested in.

To me, this book is a fun, fast read - and you need to take it as such. I'm just sad that it was published in 2007. I would love an updated version. I'm sure my numbers would be much higher!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a lot of books that I have now added to my "to-read" list. THe book give a small review and tells what each book is about. As I am always looking for new books to read this one was very enjoyable as it helped me to find a ton that I had never even thought of reading before. :-)

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I read about books I both knew and didn't know. I made sure to record a few titles, but there are SO many! I recommend this book to any avid reader, book collector, or anyone that just enjoys books and stories! :)

[Jim Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by four editors/contributors for *Romance Today: An A-to-Z Guide to Contemporary American Romance Writers*, this well-organized, annotated list of nearly a thousand "good reads" (with a dash of wit) will have many people adding to their "to-read" lists.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book to look to for reading suggestions. I especially liked the list of Classics in each category, which I'll use to dive into genres I don't usually read, like Romance and Wetsterns. Only problem is that the books in the comedy section are kind of dated by now..

[*Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may not be the best of the best for favorite selections, but there are quite a few books I haven't read yet, and it is a helpful guidepost for genres I am not necessarily familiar with. A good starting point for readers.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is a good reference but some of it depends on what tickles your fancy! Not all classics appeal to everyone.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sub-par list of books to read. I found a few to get but most were uninteresting to me.

[Tatasoutsidevoice]

I loathe anything that has "complete idiot" in the title, but I'm almost always in favor of ultimate reading lists...

[Joy Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a great selection of books to read in this book. It is really great when you are looking for a book in a particular genre, but don't know which book you want to start.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book so much I decided to get my own copy. Lots of great suggestions from lots of genres. I plan to use it as a book club resource.

[Becky]

Lots of stars and notes for my future reading pleasure. Contains neat facts about books and authors. Great deal for $3!

[Sheree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great resource for finding good books in the genres you like to read.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to have if you'd like a list to choose from.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting guide.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book if I'm looking for something to read. I didn't finish it because my "to read" list is long enough right now.

[Amy]

Chapter 1: Historical Fiction
I like that the books are divided into sections...

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found many good books that I added to my to-read list.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. When I was younger and could afford it, I used to subscribe to Publisher's Weekly and used to about every book that was published in the U.S. So I really enjoy reading book of lists of books. Nowadays. I mostly read the updates page on Goodreads a few times a day to see what to look for.