If you enjoy reading books about people facing impossible challenges, join the club. Human beings are amazing, but if you have doubts about the future of humanity given all of the reasons we seem to want to destroy ourselves, perhaps it’s time to read one of the books in today’s column. “Against all odds” stories remind us that challenges do not have to be negative; in fact, obstacles can be inspirational.
The titles in this week’s reading suggestions cover some major human challenges: survival at sea; space travel; Antarctic exploration; and mountaineering. Not all of us are meant to face monumental tests such as climbing Mount Everest or surviving alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean. But challenges don’t have to be big to feel impossible. Attending the first day of school, interviewing for a job, processing a difficult medical diagnosis—all of these things are hard. The point is that even when something feels impossible, we can succeed; and The Stuff by Dr. Sampson David and Sharlee Jeter, the sister of Derek Jeter, offers guidance on how to have “the stuff” to be your best self.
Climb every mountain...reach for the stars…you can do it.
- Alone: Lost Overboard in the Indian Ocean by Brett Archibald.
- Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys by Michael Collins.
- The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica by Naria de Gracia.
- The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again by Jim Davidson.
- The Stuff: Unlock Your Power to Overcome Challenges, Soar, and Succeed by Dr. Sampson Davis and Sharlee Jeter.
New at the Library
Fiction
- The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons.
- Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini.
- The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan.
Nonfiction
- Cheerfulness by Garrison Keillor.
- Macramé: The Power of Knots by Nghi Ho.
- What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman.
Children
- Back to School, Backpack! written by Simon Rich, illustrated by Tom Toro.
- Green Sea Turtle: A First Field Guide to the Ocean Reptile from the Tropics written by Carlee Jackson, illustrated by Daniel Rieley.
- The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
