Looking for a new book to read? Library Technician Molly Lisowsky from the Rancho San Diego County Library has got a great recommendation for you.
What it’s called: “West With the Night”
Who wrote it: Beryl Markham
Read it if you liked: “Out of Africa”
What it’s about: Celebrate women’s history with this autobiography of the pioneering aviatrix Beryl Markham, who was the first woman to fly solo from east to west across the Atlantic. Markham was born in England and raised on a farm in Kenya, playing with the children of the local Nandi tribe and dodging the next door neighbor’s pet lion. Markham enjoyed a career as a successful trainer and breeder of racehorses before discovering the skies and her descriptions of bush flying and landing all across Africa before such things as GPS or runways will keep you reading to the very last. Her book is filled with vivid details of the beautiful African terrain, and is equal parts elegance and adventure. As Ernest Hemingway put it, “She has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer… it really is a bloody wonderful book.”
How to get your hands on it: Visit your local County library, request it in the library bookmobile or see if it’s available online through e-books.
Check out past recommended reads on the County library blog.
