Musing Mondays: Antarctica and Books

Have you ever found a book out of the blue, read it, and then had it be surprisingly good — one that stuck with you for years? If so, what book was it?

Yes. Here is the book, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Goodreads Summary:
As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory. 

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now. 

Here is how I found it out of the blue:

I was on a ship in the Southern Ocean on the way to Antarctica. At first is was awesome to stand outside in the cold and watch the icebergs go by. Once the novelty wore off though, I decided to go inside and warm up. I didn't know anyone in the lounge so I want to the ship's bookshelf and grabbed a book at random off the bookshelf to read. It was Never Let Me Go. I didn't know anything about it, but I started reading it anyway. And I was instantly hooked. I read the book over two days in which my friends kept making fun of me for missing the scenery. This book remains one of my top five favorite books of all time. And my favorite stand alone book ever. The ideas and plot still haunt me to this day. I really need to buy myself a copy so I can read it again.