Good Reads & Views

The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone
Nonfiction

What it’s about: The true adventures of one David Fairchild, 19th-century botanist and food explorer, who was responsible for the introduction of various crops to the American marketplace, ranging from avocadoes and mangoes to seedless grapes and pomegranates.

Why you might like it: This adventure story reads like fiction and provides lots of “did you know…” tidbits, like who the Myer lemon is named after and why there are all those avocados being grown in California.

Reviewers say: “An erudite and entertaining historical biography of a food pioneer with particular interest for gastronomes and agriculture enthusiasts” (Kirkus Review).

Visit Astrid’s My Librarian Page  

There Is No Good Card for This by Kelsey Crowe
Nonfiction

Complete with fun illustrations and some of Emily's incredible empathy cards, the book shares practical examples and sample conversations to help you navigate some rather dreadful situations. It's also funny, easy to read, and certainly a book you can go back to every time you need suggestions on how to love your people well through tough times. It contains workbook exercises, sample dialogs, and real-life examples that give people tools for building relationships when it really counts.

Visit Misty’s My Librarian Page

River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard          
Nonfiction  

The true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s incredible journey down one of most dangerous rivers on earth.  After losing his third bid for the presidency in 1912 he is asked to take a trip to South America that will challenge him physically.  With his son Kermit, the famous explorer Brazilian Candido Rondon, American naturalist George Cherrie and a party of men, Roosevelt and his team face starvation, rushing rapids, natives with poison arrows, disease carrying insects and even murder.  It is an unbelievable tale of exploration and incredible hardship as he and his men discover an unmapped tributary of the Amazon River.  It is known as the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Scientific Exploration of 1913-1914.  It’s a fascinating and dramatic biography filled with adventure.

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson
Nonfiction

In this rip-roaring tale of pirates, deep-sea divers, and treasure, you might not believe it if it weren’t all true. This exuberant, suspenseful adventure story is filled with details of a modern-day mission to discover an extremely rare 17th-century pirate ship, as well as fascinating historical pirate lore (what they said, what they didn’t, and how they used democracy aboard their ships). It’s hard to decide which character is more fascinating: the reliable English captain who—against all odds—turned pirate and battled the British navy, or the two divers (one of whom nearly became a Mafioso earlier in his life) obsessed with finding the pirate ship. An enticing blend of adventure, history, research, risk-taking, and discovery.