Books I Never Thought I'd Love

These titles entered my life through no will of my own. Either the book was the only one I had while camping or the only one I could find in English when traveling, or someone I respected pressed it upon me and I could not refuse. Like most people, I have my comfort zones and favorite genres, and might never have picked up these titles on my own. Just goes to show that it is the writing, not the subject matter, that will win the heart of a reader. Dip into something different if it gets raves from people you know and like and you will expand your reading world.          - Alison

The Log from the Sea of Cortez By Steinbeck, John Introduction by Astro, Richard 1995-11 - Penguin Books 0140187448 Check Our Catalog In 1940, Steinbeck and his friend, biologist Ed Ricketts, ventured into the Gulf of California to search for marine invertebrates along the beaches. This exciting, day-by-day account of their trip, drawn from the longer work, Sea of Cortez, is a wonderful combination of science, philosophy, and high-speed adventure that provides a fascinating portrait of Steinbeck and Ricketts. …More

Nautical fiction? Not for me. Except for O'Brian, of course. You will indeed wade through lots and lots of terms for sails and knots in this series, but the heart of the 13 volume story is the love between two very different men. This is a buddy story without equal, sentimental to the core, and the Napoleonic War is just the icing on the cake.

Treason's Harbour By O'Brian, Patrick 1992-04 - W. W. Norton & Company 0393308634 Check Our Catalog All of O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea. While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage, for his cunning is the sole bulwark against Napoleon's agents, who plot sabotage. …More

At first glance the rather lurid covers might not seem promising, but what looks like a typical action detective plot is set apart by sharp and sarcastic humor. Fierce loyalty and an unexpectedly strong moral code define the unconventional characters, and the reading is easy and quick. This is the "Spencer" series; reading them in order is a delicious indulgence. 

The Professional By Parker, Robert B. 2009-10 - Putnam Adult 9780399155949 Check Our Catalog A knock on Spenser's office door can only mean one thing: a new case. This time the visitor is a local lawyer who claims her friends are being blackmailed. Spenser agrees to take the seemingly straightforward case, but when women start turning up dead, Spenser's assignment takes a sinister turn. …More

McCullough charms the most reluctant reader of history with his intimate details and total immersion in time and place. If you read mostly fiction and avoid history for fear of "dryness", try this engrossing portrait of an unlikely president. Non-fiction by McCullough will make you angry at all the authors who have ruined history and biography for you in the past; luckily he is very prolific.

Truman By McCullough, David 1992-06 - Simon & Schuster 0671456547 Check Our Catalog Huge, ambitious, and perfectly realized, Truman is an American masterpiece about the most American of Americans, a man who confounded the nation and the world by achieving a greatness all his own after coming to the presidency in FDR's giant shadow. An extraordinary and deeply moving biography, at once spare in its style yet rich in emotion and in detail. 48 pages of photographs. …More