Noted critic speaks on her latest list of must-reads Thursday at Eagle Harbor.

Browsing through a bookstore these days can give you a king-sized headache.

“So many books, so little time” hardly describes the sense of overwhelm readers can feel when confronted by the mountains of books available on every topic imaginable.

Nancy Pearl knows the feeling. As director of the Seattle Public Library’s Washington Center for the Book, she has just published a book herself, called “Booklust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason.”

Pearl hopes readers will carry her book with them when finding their way through the maze of books in libraries and bookstores.

Pearl will be talking about her book at Eagle Harbor Book Co., Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

“Booklust” is a free-wheeling, wide-ranging guide to 1,800 of the “best books” Pearl has encountered in the years she has been both an avid reader and librarian.

And while recommendations from someone with Pearl’s background are useful, what makes “Booklust” a good read in itself is the clever method she has used to organize the book lists.

With 170 thematic categories, Pearl gives ideas for mother-daughter relationships, books about science for non-scientists, “chick-lit,” and favorite books by decade, among others.

“The book is meant to be a place to begin making choices,” she said. “It doesn’t pretend to be definitive. It is meant to help readers get through the shelves of books, to give some direction. I wish more people would just browse in libraries and bookstores, instead of going in for one particular book.”

Although Pearl regularly keeps up with professional library publications and national book reviews, she says “I’m just a reader.”

“My family (life) was not particularly happy when I was growing up,” she said. “So when I was 6 or 7, I would go to the public library in Detroit and the librarian there, Miss Whitehead, introduced me to books. By the time I was 10, I knew I wanted to be a children’s librarian.”

“Booklust” includes books of all kinds – including those that made impressions on Pearl when she was young.

“Books just stay in my head,” she said. “When I was 11 years told, I read ‘Space Cadet’ by Robert Heinlein. I still remember where I was in the library when I found it. In doing ‘Booklust,’ I went back and re-read many books, and was transported back to time periods in my life. I can remember what led up to reading a particular book, why it meant so much.”

Pearl seems to have a gift for inspiring people to read. Since 1991, her work at the Washington Center for the Book has included promotions like “What if everyone in Seattle read the same book?”, a project that gained Pearl notoriety throughout the country.

“The Center for the Book was established by the Library of Congress, and each state has a center, although each one is different,” Pearl said. “Ours is through the Seattle Public Library, but the purpose is always the same – to promote books, reading and libraries.”

So, what would Pearl choose for six months on a desert island?

“The first would be ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,’ by John LeCarre,” she said. “And I would take “Lord of the Rings,” which Miss Whitehead gave to me when I was a girl. The other would probably be a poetry anthology of some kind, probably the Library of America set.”

The only frustration with “Booklust,” Pearl said, is all the books she had to leave out.

She’s already encouraging readers to give her suggestions for her next book.

“I want to call it ‘Booklust 2: The Morning After,” she said.