Great Reads from the Reference Librarians | Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, Connecticut

[Click on each book cover to view that item in the catalog and to place a hold.]

	MY DEAREST FRIEND: LETTERS OF ABIGAIL AND JOHN ADAMS, EDITED BY MARGARET A. HOGAN AND C. JAMES TAYLOR [Non-Fiction] Ms. Hogan is Managing Editor and Mr. Taylor is Editor in Chief of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Exciting for us also at Perrot is the fact that Margaret Hogan was a former library page in the 1980’s. Nice to think we started her on her literary career! This book has been very well received in the review media. John and Abigail Adams really had a partnership. She was his chief advisor and confidante on political matters and policies. This is an intimate look at their relationship during the years of the creation of the United States.
	RUN, BY ANN PATCHETT [Fiction] Picture Boston on a snowy night. . . Picture the Kennedy Center emptying out after a speech by Jesse Jackson. . . Picture a father with his two sons, standing in the snow, each with an agenda for the evening. Tip, the older boy, is eager to get back to his work and studies, and carelessly moves into the path of an oncoming car. Suddenly, he is shoved by a woman who is then struck and severely injured by the car. The rub here is that the two brothers are black, adopted together as babies by the former mayor of Boston, who is white. A simple, careless moment will alter the lives of all involved. This is a warm, tender, loving book. Enjoy it.
	THE LAST GREAT FIGHT: THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF TWO MEN AND HOW ONE FIGHT CHANGED THEIR LIVES FOREVER, BY JOE LAYDEN [Non-Fiction] The Tyson-Douglas fight was arguably the most spectacular upset in boxing history. Tyson was a cocky thug, rescued from a life of crime by trainer Cus D’Amato. Buster Douglas, on the other hand, came from a stable, two-parent family. His father was a boxer as well and encouraged his son to pursue the sport. No one expected “Iron Mike” to lose. The book is rich in detail and sure to be enjoyed by anyone who follows the world of boxing.
	SWIM TO ME, BY BETSY CARTER [Fiction] Show of hands– who grew up dreaming of becoming a mermaid at Weeki Wachee in Florida? Well, I know that I’m not the only one, because the main character in Betsy Carter’s book does just that! Delores Walker leaves her needy and clingy family in New York to travel down to audition for the Weeki Wachee show. Not a heavy story by any means, but a small glimpse into the 1970’s, when the Walt Disney Resort was a new attraction. Carter captures the details of Florida travel at that time. A fun, quick read.
	THE LAST CHINESE CHEF, BY NICOLE MONES [Fiction] When newly-widowed food writer, Maggie McElroy, learns of a paternity case against her husband’s estate, she elects to travel to China to pursue it. Her editor gives her an assignment of profiling rising culinary star Sam Liang. He is being pulled in two directions by both American and Chinese cultures. The book explores the place that food has in history and family life, and how it can be “healing” and nourishing in many ways.
	JOURNEYS OF A LIFETIME: 500 OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRIPS [Non-Fiction] No one does it better than National Geographic when it comes to maps, photos and travel. This book is just gorgeous and full of great travel ideas. Dive into any of the chapters: “Into the Action,” for a true hands-on Adventure; dog-sledding in Alaska; caving in Puerto Rico; or the chapter “On Foot,” where you can climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; or go bird watching in East Africa. A great armchair travel book as well, since we can’t all go everywhere!