Inside the Buzz: An interview with Nancy Pearl
April 5th, 2006 by Andrea Mercado
Nancy Pearl, readers’ advisory rock star, facilitated a Book Buzz program at PLA 2006 in Boston on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 to an overflowing audience. I had a few precious moments to say hello to Nancy right before she went on stage, and managed to squeeze myself into her busy schedule for a quick email interview.
Have you ever had such a large turnout for a Book Buzz session as you did here at PLA on Wednesday?
Nancy: I think it was the largest, although my PLA presentation (which was just me talking about Book Lust) in Seattle had about the same number. It’s quite a thrill speaking to an audience that large.
How did the “Where is Nancy Pearl?” Flickr photo set (a group of photos of the Librarian Action Figure in different locations that was featured on her web site) come to be? How did you find out about it?
N: I got an email from Dr. Mary Anne Bell about her plan to take the LAF around with her, but someone else wrote me about the Flickr photo set. I love it.
Are there any exciting projects coming down the pipe for you?
N: I have a new book coming out next year that I am just about finished writing – the working title is Book Crush; it’s recommended books for kids and adults. It was fun to go back and immerse myself in these books, since I began my library career as a children’s librarian.
What is your most recent favorite read?
N: My current favorites include Kevin Brockmeier’s The Brief History of the Dead, The Truth by Terry Pratchett, and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
What’s your favorite book of all time?
N: An impossible question to answer! My favorite 3000 books (up until the beginning of 2005) are in Book Lust and More Book Lust.
In your opinion, what is the best movie adaptation of a book?
N: Shane.
Why Shane?
N: The movie, in my memory at least, captures the spareness of the book’s style, and it retains the mysteriousness of the main character instead of changing it. Lots of stuff for discussion.
You’re schedule is very busy. Where are you off to post-PLA?
N: Youngstown, Ohio, to be part of their annual English Festival; Cuyahoga County Library; Get Lit!, a literary festival in Spokane, WA; New Jersey Library Association (and that’s just April). All the other information should be on my website – www.nancypearl.com – along with reviews.
Many thanks to Nancy for taking the time to share.
If you’d like to read more about the Book Buzz session at ALA, check out these blog posts from other librarians:
- Freedom Library News and Views
- YALSA: Young Adult Library Services Association
- Multitype Librarian
- LibraryTechtonics
If I missed your post about Nancy’s Book Buzz session, please add a comment here with the URL of your blog post.
Tags: conferences, interview, PLA, PLA2006
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April 8th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
April 8th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
sorry - this was meant for a different post.-C
April 10th, 2006 at 8:36 am
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