Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave

Peter Heller's memoir about learning to surf as a forty-something. After taking a few lessons with a buddy, he realizes the only way to really learn is to dedicate serious time to the sport, so he and his girlfriend buy a VW bus, press pause on their regular lives, and head to Mexico for a few months in their quest to move from kooks ("beginner surfer," with a derisive spin) to accomplished surfer. I have zero intention of ever surfing myself, but that's fine: this book holds appeal for Heller fiction fans, lovers of nature writing, and (I'm being totally serious) those interested in a serious but not humorless exploration of a self-described midlife crisis.