I came across a book this morning that I thought was a brilliant idea.

1001 Books for Every Mood: A Bibliophile’s Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating by Hallie Ephron, PH.D. is a comprehenisive guide to books categorized by moods rather than subject or genre. For instance, chapters include”…for a Wallow in a Slough of Despond”, “…for a Good Laugh”, “…for a Good Cry”, “…to Blame Your Genes”, “…for Apocalyptic Vision” – the chapters cover 70 moods in total.

All books mentioned came from reader recommendations, book reviewers, librarians, booksellers and Ephron’s personal favorites. Every book had to be in print and easily accessible. Ephron also personally “inspected” each title by reading associated reviews, observing reader reactions and reading at least a small portion of it.

Entries include a summary of the book and the books are rated with an icon indicating classifications such as Literary Merit, Brainy, Bathroom Book and Easy Reading. Also included with the entries is a list of any awards the book has won. Oh and there’s even  an icon letting you know which books have been made into movies.

Here’s a sampling of the recommendations:

…for a Good Laugh

• Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis
• Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
• Sick Puppy by CarlHiaasen

… for a Wallow in a Slough of Despond

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
• Interpreter of Maladies by Jumpa Lahiri

…to Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

…to Indulge Your Inner Child

• Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

And there’s more! A whole lot more! I’m barely scratching the surface with the above.

Not only is 1001 Books for Every Mood: A Bibliophile’s Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating a great book for any bibliophile to have on hand, it would make a fantastic gift for any book lover or even someone who would like to start reading more.