READER: Ginny Lizotte, Braintree
BOOK CHALLENGE: I’m always in search of my next great read. There are always several books in my “on-deck circle,’’ just so I know that there’s a new adventure waiting for me. Hope you can suggest a few more. My favorites over the years tend toward survival stories, biographies of great people, and nonfiction. I’ve enjoyed everything by David McCullough. Some of my favorites books are: “Undaunted Courage’’ by Stephen Ambrose, “Washington’’ by Ron Chernow, “A Voyage for Madmen’’ by Peter Nichols, “Walt Disney: An American Original’’ by Bob Thomas, “A Higher Call’’ by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander, “We Die Alone’’ by David Howarth, “Catherine the Great’’ by Robert K. Massie, “Trapped Under the Sea’’ by Neil Swidey, “The Rescue of the Bounty’’ by Michael Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell, and “Lonesome Dove’’ by Larry McMurtry.
MATCH BOOK: I like your list’s smart bestseller vibe; it’s almost defiantly untrendy. You’ve read Chernow’s “Washington,’’ but haven’t cracked his famously adapted “Alexander Hamilton’’? Even if you can’t snag a ticket you should probably find out what inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to create his Broadway mega-hit.
Another one of your favorites, “Lonesome Dove,’’ was also adapted, though for the small screen. The winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for fiction was made into a TV miniseries. How about a different kind of survival story, the novel that won a Pulitzer in 1940, John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath’’?
Real-life survival stories — man versus nature! — tend to fall into zones: land (with conditions that are often very hot or very cold) and sea. For a nuanced adventure story on land, pick up “Wild’’ by Cheryl Strayed, Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild,’’ or cool down with “In the Kingdom of Ice’’ by Hampton Sides.
If you are feeling salty pick up, “The Perfect Storm’’ by Sebastian Junger, “Swimming to Antarctica’’ by Lynne Cox, or Diana Nyad’s autobiography from last year, “Find a Way’’ — a story of a great person and a survival story all in one.
NICOLE LAMY
Looking for some great books to read this summer? Write to Matchbook@globe.com
