March is National Reading month in the US and since many Canadian libraries participate, I thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase some of my favourite diving related books. In a knowledge intensive sport, good divers are the ones that never stop learning.

Every week for the next month, I will present to you books from my personal library that have fueled my passion for the underwater world and served to further my knowledge of diving.

The first title I’d like to present continues to influence my dreams of the underwater world. I was first exposed to Jules Verne’s 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea as a bande dessiné (French hardcover comic book). Who can forget as iconic a character as Captain Nemo, navigating the seas in his submarine the Nautilus. It was a marvel of engineering filled with fantastic electrical machinery and weaponry: Electricity still being a wonder for most folks when the book was first published in 1870. This Jules Verne tale will always be a favourite of mine.

Do you have a favourite diving related book you’d like to share? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.