This week, we feature a guide to life by a long-lived entertainer and a history of a San Francisco hotel just steps from the water.
Nonfiction
‘100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life’
By Dick Van Dyke
This “Optimist’s Guide to Life” offers advice on living not just a long life, but a full and joyful one. “Commit to Play,” “Accept Your Limitations,” and “Figure Out Who You Aren’t” are three examples of these rules, each accompanied by a short essay. Fans of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Mary Poppins,” and other productions will also relish the author’s stories from his past and his life today. Here you’ll find that same upbeat attitude and twinkle in the eye that were this actor’s trademarks.
Grand Central Publishing, 2025, 320 pages
Adventure
‘Master and Commander’
By Patrick O’Brian
Originally published in 1969, the first book in what became the 21-volume Aubrey/Maturin series introduces readers to Jack Aubrey, a newly-made master-and-commander starting his first command, and Stephen Maturin, a physician and naturalist. After a first encounter that almost becomes a duel, the two become fast friends, with Maturin sailing aboard Aubrey’s 14-gun HMS Sophie as surgeon. Set in the Napoleonic era and based on the historical exploits of Lord Cochrane, this book is a rollicking sea adventure.
W. W. Norton & Company, 2021, 400 pages
Biography
‘Texan in Blue: Captain Francis Asbury Vaughan of the First Texas Cavalry, USA’
By Richard B. McCaslin and J. Wayne Stewart
In 1862, Francis Asbury Vaughan Asbury left Prairie Lea, Texas, traveling to New Orleans to join the Union Army. He rose from private to the rank of captain in the 1st Texas Cavalry (U.S.) by war’s end. This book tells his story, explaining why he remained loyal to the Union. After returning to Texas, he became a Seguin businessman, an active Republican, favoring black rights. Despite this and his Union service, his neighbors accepted him, electing him to local political office several times.
Texas State Historical Association, 2025, 181 pages
Architecture
‘The San Francisco Cliff House’
By Mary Hountalas and Sharon Silva
Nestled on the cliffs along Ocean Beach, the Cliff House has long been an icon in San Francisco. First opened in 1863 and always facing the Pacific Ocean, the building has had many faces. Arguably, its most famous face arose after a fire destroyed the existing building in 1894, was redesigned and rebuilt, and reopened in 1896 with the nickname of the Gingerbread Palace. A fire destroyed this one too, and it was rebuilt with a new look. A beautifully illustrated history of the house and its city.
Ten Speed Press, 2009, 224 pages
Classics
‘The Complete Peanuts 1957 to 1958: Vol 4’
By Charles Schultz
Older folks who have been reading “Peanuts” since childhood may be surprised to find it in the Classics section, but Charles Schultz’s cartoon strip meets the standard 50-year mark of excellence. Snoopy’s vivid imagination, Charlie Brown’s love of baseball, Linus with his security blanket: Here they are in their early days before they became American celebrities. Other volumes cover all the years and all the daily strips from 1950 to 2000. Cheers to the publisher for this act of love and preservation.
Fantagraphics, 2005, 344 pages
For Kids
‘Caps for Sale’
By Esphyr Slobodkina
In this light-hearted, classic read-aloud, a peddler walks through the country balancing a tall stack of caps on his head, trying to sell his wares. Unsuccessful, he pauses for a nap. When he awakens, he checks for his caps and is surprised to find all but his own are missing. What happens next is what makes this a silly and delightful book to share.
HarperCollins reissue, 1987, 48 pages
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