Recent Books that have kept my attention include Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and the Biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. These books are very different, but are both intelligent, well written and entertaining.  Cutting for Stone is an epic fiction tale with a richly portrayed cast of characters and settings from India to Ethiopia to Inner City New York and back to Ethiopia, the main character is kind, loyal and extremely talented as a surgeon. Steve Jobs Biography details the amazing life of this man whose work, at Apple Computer and Pixar, has changed the world. Both books explore human virtues, vices and foibles leaving unanswered the question “why do I do the very things that I hate?”

Recommendations for inspirational and fun books for educators can be found on this Edutopia Webpage

If you live in Marin County, California and want to support your school and a local bookseller, I highly recommend Book Passage. They have a main store in Corte Madera and a smaller store at the SF Ferry Building. They even have a small coffee shop if you are missing Borders in San Rafael.  If you ever get a chance to hear Elaine Petrocelli, who opened the store in 1976, talk about the latest and greatest in books, don’t miss it. She can keep an audience on the edge of their seats for a full hour jotting down notes about all the great new reads. The store organizes regular visits from authors and you can often find signed copies of those books at no extra charge. When you make a purchase at Book Passage be sure you tell them the name of  your local school and they will make a donation to your school library.

If you want to save money and be green, you can see if your book is available at the library before you go, here’s the link to the Marin County Library Catalog.

Enjoy a healthy habit of reading!

Please share your favorite reads with us by posting titles and a brief note below.