Having been raised a book girl I really loved and enjoyed this book. I too love the whimsy of Anne of green gables and have spent many a year living on the prairie thanks to Laura Ingall's. The book may be geared more toward encouraging others to read more but as an avid reader, I really enjoyed it.

This had some interesting ideas in it. Overall, a good read. Recommended for readers who like books about books.

Reading Book Girl feels like having an ongoing conversation with a book-loving friend. As Sarah waxes eloquent about the joys and benefits of reading, we can't help but say, "What! You too?" And we wander through her bookshelves together, she points out title after title that have been her favorite in this season or that, sharing brief synopsis and related recommendations.

Arranged topically, Book Girl is a book of book lists. But it's so much more than just book lists. It's a tribute to a "book fairy" mother who made sure her children never lacked quality and variety of books to read. It's an invitation to make one's own book lists, book journals, and quote boxes. It's an inspiration to look upon reading as a crucial aspect of our ongoing education and development. It's an exhortation to make reading a disciplined and delightful part of each and every day.

OK, so having librarians review this book is a bit unfair. We are all very much like the author in some aspect or another, and we are all at least highly sympathetic to her point of view. That being said, this is beautifully written, and the lists that the author includes are lots of fun. She makes a good case for books being a sort of literary sounding board for our lives -- something I and many other librarians are familiar with, but that a general audience might not be. All in all, it is a lovely invitation to a reading life, and I will be buying a few as gifts!

I won't be recommending this for my library to purchase because of the specific nature of my library. But I will be recommending that other libraries buy it, including the two public libraries in my area, a membership library that I belong to and my undergraduate college's library.

Thank you to Sarah Clarkson, Tyndale House Publishers, Tyndale Momentum, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life” for an honest review.

I have been a reader all my life. Long before I was teaching English, or earning my Masters or Bachelor's (calling all of my literature, narrative arc, and language studies my "candy classes"), I was a little girl receiving from my mother the exact number of books I was old per month at a book store, and the pre-teen who received literary magazines in the mail monthly, and the girl who snuck her mother's books from the bookshelf the moment they were declared "too adult for you right now" (which has, of course, gone on to my encourage children to read everything and anything ever put on a Banned Book List).

All of which is to say, in every page of this book I heard the story of a kindred spirit. Someone born on the wings of the written word, who'd been nursed to it, and found such solace and sublimity in the written word, in reading, in being a reader, and in encouraging a love of others to find the same within themselves. I love the lengthy lists and in-depth answer that Clarkson's goes about using for how to bring people into this life, with brass tack easy instructions.

While it is a little more Christian leaning than I like, it's still incredibly easy to navigate, to bypass those sections unless you need them, and I've still made entire lists from this books of books to acquire, including a hardcover copy of this one.

Book Girl grabbed my attention. A book about books and the joys and wonders of reading – yes please!

I like that Sarah Clarkson has written it from the vantage of faith, and how reading can enrich our walk with God. And I appreciated the bits of her story that she shared, including (you won’t be surprised) being an American living in the UK.

I’m guessing if you’re a regular reader of the book club, you’ll need no convincing as to the benefits of reading. It’s good to be reminded, however, and Sarah’s 20+ reading lists are worth pondering and discussing. She sought to write “about the dance and joy of women reading, an invitation to that wise laughter, to the grace known by all the book girls of the world who live by the delighted conviction that reading is a vital ingredient in a woman’s full engagement with her faith, her creativity, and her capacity to grow in knowledge and love throughout each season of her life.”

She explores such topics as how books can broaden our worlds, shape our stories, stir our imaginations, open us to wonder, give us hope, and strengthen our walk with God. In each of these areas, she lists books to fit the theme. I agreed with many of her selections – she names Elizabeth Goudge as one of her favourites, an author well-loved by many of us in the book club – and added some new selections to my wish list, but I disagreed with a few too. But that’s the point about recommendations, for we’re not always going to agree on what’s a good read and what’s not.

I particularly appreciated her discussion of reading so-called ‘Christian’ books. I tend to choose books for this column that are published by Christian publishers because I love to encourage people in their faith and I’m so keen to support this industry that has experienced many a hard knock over the year. But I don’t read only these types of books, and agree with her that many mainstream novels can help us to think deeply about our faith.

Yet I also defend strongly those of us in the book club who don’t want to read something that goes against pondering what is good and true and beautiful and holy (Philippians 4:8). That’s the verse I tend to quote in their defence, and Sarah quotes it as well in her discussion of this issue.

Book Girl is one to page through when you’re wondering what to read next. Two small quibbles – it could have been written for women and men, and there’s a bit of repetition that could have been excised, for some authors are introduced more than once. But it’s an interesting read and a good resource.

This is the book every writer would feel privileged to write and every reader to read. The author, an inveterate reader, reveals her life in books — how they’ve shaped and grown her — and shares 20+ annotated lists of books to encourage readers in their own literary and spiritual growth. Highly recommended.

Pub Date 04 Sep 2018

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine. #BookGirl #NetGalley

Seriously, how do writers get these projects? Author Sarah Clarkson is an avid reader. Like me (ahem) she's always giving out book recommendations and makes it her job to find the right book for the right reader. In this book, she tells stories, gives lists of books and basically, just celebrates the life of a reader. The end.

This is an interesting book and well written. The author introduces a variety of books and authors, most are well known while others may be new to the reader of her book, which I found delightful. I liked being reintroduced to these and reading thoughts from the author about some of my favorite books too. I also liked learning about some new books through the summaries the author gives inspiring me to look into reading these books. The author tells a little about some favorite books and why she likes them. She enjoys reading and shares that joy with readers featuring a variety of books from childhood as well as spiritually inspired readings. She provides recommendations from such authors as, C.S. Lewis, L.M. Montgomery, J.R. Tolkein, Beatrix Potter, A.A. Milne and much, much more.

Bibliophile Sarah Clarkson shares her reading life through this part memoir and part reading lists. At the core of it, she makes the case for the need for incorporating different forms of literature to enrich one's spiritual life. Like most life-long readers, right from childhood books have always been part of Sarah's life. They have enabled her to build community, understand difficult life moments, find hope and expand her imagination.  Fans of C.S. Lewis and J.R. R.Tolkein will not be disappointed by the number of recommendations that Sarah shares. 

 I was excited about the book from the beginning because  Sarah has mastered the art of articulating the reader's experience beautifully.   I totally agreed with her when she articulated the various characteristics of book girls.  However,  I was not able to relate to some of the references and recommendations that she made apart from reinforcing the need for reading the usual classics like Anne of Green Gables series or to try out more C.S. Lewis.

Overall, I would be glad to read more from Sarah Clarkson but Book Girl just did not do it for me.

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson is a fantastic call to read and provides great inspiration to keep reading for those who already love to read. Full of lists and reasons to read, I found the most practical part was ways to entice young readers to read more. I have long enjoyed the writing and reflections of this author. This book is a wonderful extension of Ms Clarkson's writing. The sincerity of who she is shines through. Pick up this book. It will make you crave reading more as a result. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations and would have purchased it anyway. These opinions are entirely my own.

Book Girl
By Sarah Clarkson
4 stars

For a book girl as my self this book is all you need to fulfill your inner bookish needs! I really enjoyed the list of books that helped or inspired the author.

A book on books, what's not to love?

I enjoyed reading the anecdotes and annotations and contemplative passages - it definitely introduced me to some titles and authors I was not previously familiar with while giving me warm feels whenever I saw a title I knew & loved. I like the personal touch of it being semi autobiographical and I share a lot of her sentiments regarding reading and it's various takeaways. Definitely something I will put on my to-buy list.

Also, I must now find some Wendell Berry to read.

"To be a book girl is to take up membership in the ranks of women who read and, by their reading, live to the brave and courageous full."

I wanted to love this book. I wanted this book to be about the celebration of books and the love of books that we share. But what it felt like, for me, was mostly convincing me that I should love books. (Even though I think only a true book girl would pick up a book entitled "Book Girl.") And even more, convincing me what books I should love.
I don't know that the author intended it to feel that way, though, because many times she offered the idea that we should love what we read and read what we love. However, she then contradicted that thought by saying we should be "intelligent readers." And spent quite a few chapters explaining what "intelligent reading" is and is not.
Basically, I am a very unintelligent reader. (Or at least by her terms I am.) Once that was established (because I don't pick books to read the author believes I should), then it felt a bit condescending. No, I am not an Oxford person and she is, but I don't believe that because I pick less "difficult" or "arduous" books to read that it means that I'm an unintelligent reader. Yes, I believe in being a discerning reader, but to me that means I should read all different view points while holding strong to my values and belief system. I believe in challenging myself, but not to the point of hating what I'm reading or THAT I'm reading. And in all honesty, if I subjected myself to some of the books that she so highly recommends (I'm looking at you Dante), then I could truly come to begrudge reading.
The majority of the chapters in the book read like Pinterest pins or blog posts of book lists that fit a certain category. Nothing wrong with them, but I only connected with about 10% of the books in the lists. (But I do love the Anne books and the Lord of the Rings trilogy just as much as the author does!)
All that to be said, I ultimately just don't think the book was for me. The author and I have very different reading tastes. I, however, do not believe that either one is right or wrong. I do think a LOT of readers will find a kindred spirit here, just not me.

Such a lovely book. This is a collection of short essays on the joys of reading. The author’s style is personable and makes the reading very enjoyable. She also makes some excellent suggestions in her book lists. A different style is book, but well worth reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the first chapter where she talked about her lifetime love of books and where that came from and how she’s trying to develop that in her daughter. I thought the part with the book descriptions was kind of long and tedious but maybe if you skim that part and only read if you’re looking for your next book, it would be helpful. I would definitely recommend this book to all “book girls”.

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson is a Christian non-fiction book. It is part memoir of her growing up loving books and the positive effect it has had on her life and partly her sharing this passion by looking at the different benefits and offering recommendations for specific areas of life (primarily directed toward other women).

This book gets 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really liked it. I love the memoir aspect of the book and this unique look into Clarkson’s life and the books that touched her and changed her and how she grew as a reader and person through what she read. It is wonderful to see another kindred spirit and share her joy and experiences.
I also appreciated how she shared her recommendation lists with the stories around her first encounters with them and/or how they affected her or what they taught her. Having those short lists of recommendations for each area of her life (interspersed within all the chapters) was helpful in bringing what she had to say into greater clarity. I much preferred it to having a giant list at the end of the story.

I would recommend this to all girls who love books, as a source of kinship to other bookish girls and a resource to further book recommendations.

Thank you to @tyndalehouse for the free advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book Girl is a book that combines many elements (book lists, self-reflection, spiritual and theological insight) into one. Beginning with Clarkson's reflections on what it means to be a "book girl" whose life has been shaped and molded by her encounter with reading AND to be a mother anticipating the birth of her own daughter, the next "book girl" generation, this book is rooted in personal experience and passion. It tells the story of Clarkson's life in books, and provides suggestions and insights to guide and illuminate your own reading life.

I enjoyed this book so much. It paired well with a cup of tea and some quiet time in the morning, because this is the kind of book that is best read slowly and thoughtfully. What I appreciated most about this book was the way that it helped me reflect on my own reading life--who has shaped it, who I've learned from, what I want it to look like. I loved the way she spoke about her family's reading rituals (I took notes on those for myself), and I appreciated the lists of books for my own perusal. While not all of the books mentioned by Clarkson will join my personal reading list, some will. Ultimately, though, what I gained from this book was a reminder of and a gratitude for what the reading life has meant for me.

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson wasn't at all what I expected it to be. I thought it would be a book on reading, it was definitely that, a list of the authors favorite books, there was lists of books. I expected it to be more, to create excitement in finding a love for reading. It was a little slow at times. Like the author, my mother taught me to love reading. The author had quite a few good ideas, and I made a list of some books that she suggested.

Title: Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life
Author: Sarah Clarkson
Ch: 10 plus epilogue
Genre: non-fiction, memoir
Rating: 3.5 stars

Part reading list part memoir Sarah Clarkson's Book is about her reading journey from childhood to adulthood and how books shaped her life. Thanks in part to a mother that read to her from the beginning even before I was born. (Which is something that I can relate to, as my mother did the same for me. I don't remember a time in my life that I haven't been surrounded by books.) Sarah talks about how books can help build an imagination create a sense of adventure as well as lead to new friends. This book can be read straight through even read in one setting. But its chapters were designed to be used when you needed that chapter based on where your reading journey was. To be read out of order and studied.

I enjoyed reading this book I did indeed learn a lot. I loved that some of my favorite books as a child and a teen were also Sarah's. It goes back to that C.S. Lewis quote "I thought I was the only one." The quote of, "Do you secretly relate to Belle's delight in the library in Beauty and Beast" on the blurb had me picking up the book. Along with the title of Book girl. I've always considered myself a book girl who like Sarah had a mother who start early reading me books and kept me surrounded by books all through my childhood and teens either though buying the books or visits to the local library. And as an adult I am still surrounded by books. Books I've bought and keep my house stocked with. As well as the books I'm around at work I currently work as a library assistant at my local library.

Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson is a book worth reading. Though any stage of life.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.