Nancy Pearl: You Go, Girl!

I've decided that I'm in love.
It's a little peculiar for me, but not totally unexpected.
I love Nancy Pearl!

What booklover in his or her right mind WOULDN'T love Nancy Pearl? She's a librarian! She loves books! She writes books about reading & loving books!

The Seattle-based librarian does talk radio shows in which she recommends books; she has great ideas like getting the whole city to read the same novel. If that weren't enough, she was the inspiration for an action figure -- a librarian that comes complete with the shushing noise.

I only just heard of her a few hours ago, but my love began that instant. I want to read her books: Book Lust, More Book Lust, and Now Read This.

Anyway, I love Nancy Pearl.
I want to BE Nancy Pearl!
I can't tell where the first desire ends and the second one begins!

Have Nancy Pearl's and my paths crossed? In the 1980s, Pearl was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Manfred, Sr. and I lived there for about 14 months. Nancy Pearl was working at an independent bookstore and for the Tulsa public library system and also did book reviews for The Tulsa Tribune. Manfred, Sr. was also working at The Tulsa Tribune as a reporter, and both of us bookworms to the core, plus young with lots of energy, made it our (worthwhile, of course!) quest to discover every bookstore in Tulsa. We also had well-worn library cards, used at the main library downtown as well as at the branch that's close to Woodland Hills Mall.

I just finished reading transcripts of Nancy Pearl's talk radio show, which seems to go back to January, 1999. My eyes are hurting, and I filled several pages of my book journal with her recommendations, so I have some writer's cramp as well. Love hurts.