Recent Books I Recommend:

The Blood of the Poet by William Everson (poetry)
William Everson: The life of Brother Antoninus by Lee Bartlett (non-fiction, warm honest biography)
A Much Married Man by Robert Sward (fiction, humor & human insight)
The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen (fiction, epistolary novel)
Modoc by Ralph Helfer (fiction, true story of the greatest elephant that ever lived)
This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (fiction based on truth about 19th century Java)
The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle (fiction, a bear writes a novel?)
The Border Triology by Cormac McCarthy (fiction, haunting gritty passionate stories about the west)
The Bird Artist by Howard Norman (fiction, just outstanding)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (fiction)
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (fiction, draws you in)
Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson (great science fiction)
Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson (fiction, mystery & more)
East of the Mountains by David Guterson (fiction, thinking about life and death)
The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning (fiction, detective mystery)
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn (spiritual, buddhist viewpoint)
Fidel Castro by Robert Quirk (biography)
Bones of the Master by George Crane (Buddhist Monk's search for the lost heart of China)
The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (non-fiction, A Hmong child, her American Doctors and the collision of 2 cultures)
Thread of the Silkworm by Iris Chang (non-fiction, engrossing story of an early space pioneer)
Genome by Matt Ridley (non-fiction, fascinating book about genetic research)
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene (non-fiction, best intro book about string theory)
The Invention that Changed the World by Robert Buderi (non-fiction, history of radar)
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill (non-fiction, middle ages history)
A Life of Picasso by John Richardson (non-fiction, the definitive biography)
The First American by H.W. Brands (non-fiction, biography of Benjamin Franklin)
Arming America by Michael A. Bellesiles (non-fiction, origins of the US national gun culture)
Maestro by Bob Woodward (non-fiction, great book about Alan Greenspan's role in the Federal Reserve)
Titan: The life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow (very interesting biography)
Ultimate Journey by Richard Bernstein (non-fiction, retracing path of an ancient Buddhist Monk)
Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose (history, Lewis & Clark expeditions)
Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the making of an American dance company by Sasha Anawalt (non-fiction, dance history)
Nureyev: His Life by Diane Solway (non-fiction, fascinating biography)
High Exposure by David Breashears (non-fiction, biography about climbing and filming Everest)
Cinderella & Company by Manuela Hoelterhoff (non-fiction, backstage Opera gossip featuring Cecilia Bartoli)
The Kennedy Tapes by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow (non-fiction, transcripts of White House meetings on the Cuban missile crisis)
Yukon Alone by John Balzar (non-fiction, great adventure story about dog sledding)
Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball by Bob Costas (non-fiction, how to save baseball - elect this man Commissioner!)
John Adams by David McCullough (non-fiction, wonderful biography)
Treason by the Book by Jonathan Spence (non-fiction, scholarly study of how Emperor Yongzheng of China handled dissent in the 1700s)
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar (non-fiction, biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr. Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics 1994)
The Cat Who Went To Paris by Peter Gethers (non-fiction, true story of a highly intelligent cat)
Master of the Senate by Robert Caro (non-fiction, super 3 part biography about Lyndon Johnson)
River Town by Peter Hessler (non-fiction, warm interesting story about living in China)
Lazy B: Growing up on a cattle ranch in the American Southwest by Sandra Day O'Connor (non-fiction, biographial with great stories)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer by Tracy Kidder (non-fiction, biographial about an amazing man)
Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center by Daniel Okrent (non-fiction, fascinating history of New York and the Center)
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley (non-fiction, WWII Pacific Campaign historical background and events)
Rise of the Vulcans by James Mann (non-fiction, important history of the Bush Jr. War Cabinet)
Highway 17: The Road to Santa Cruz by Richard Beal (non-fiction, my favorite book)
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk - The Early Years, Never A Dull Moment by Chandra Moira Beal and Richard Beal (non-fiction, local history)