Everyone’s favorite book recommender is back on South Whidbey this year to share some of her favorites reads.
Best-selling author and retired librarian Nancy Pearl will reveal her list of top choices during a free event hosted by the Friends of the Langley Library at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.
Since 1998, Pearl, a Seattle resident, has been ferrying over to the island to tell a captive audience about her favorite books, which include new releases and overlooked classics. Her annual event, which usually packs the WICA auditorium to its full capacity, took a hiatus last year.
Pearl has 17 titles on her list this year, which include a number of historical nonfiction books. She finds Whidbey readers in particular enjoy these kinds of stories.
“Whidbey readers are extremely diverse in what they want to read,” she said.
As usual, she plans to give a sampling of each book, not a full plot summary. She finds she enjoys talking about three-dimensional characters, the setting and wonderful writing far more than the plot.
Pearl is a beloved personality in the world of librarians, having appeared on KUOW public radio to review and recommend books and even getting her own action figure. In the early 2000s, she wrote a series of guidebooks to good reading called “Book Lust.”
Her virtual events hosted by Friends of the Langley Library and Sno-Isle Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted over 800 participants in 2020.
In Langley, she enjoys meeting old friends and making new ones every year.
“We’re all older now,” she said with a laugh. “But it has been really nice.”
Whidbey readers, she said, are fortunate to have the Sno-Isle Libraries system at their disposal.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for Pearl’s upcoming event, which is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is expected to fill up fast. Overflow seating will be available in Zech Hall. There is a suggested donation of $5 or $10 to cover event costs. Attendees can opt to purchase raffle tickets to win a selection from Pearl’s book list, provided by Moonraker Books in Langley.
