Scantlings

Valis got me to thinking about books. When ever we made it to a new harbor it was one of the duties of the crew to exchange our pocket books for other pocket books at the free book stand in most marina’s and Seaman’s mission. Valis put in his recommendation of "Sailing-Alone-Around-The-World"
http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Alone-Aro ... 1406805777

My book bin picks are "The Captain" by Jan de Hartog
http://www.amazon.com/Captain-The-Jan-D ... B000OKMBSU

The non-sailing fiction work for car nuts “The Last Open Road” B.J.Levy
http://www.lastopenroad.com/

Please add your discard reads here so we can find them and enjoy some fire side reading.

Jan de Hartog - Call of the Sea.- Wonderful story.

My Old Man and the Sea - - David and Daniel Hays

Two Years Before the Mast, of course.

The Cure for Anything is Salt Water - Mary South

William Buckley - Airborne and Atlantic High

And all 21 of the Patrick O Brian books about Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (Master and Commander)

Trustee from the Tool Room - Nevel Schute (sp?)

I was interested in Dewey Lambden's series - Not as much sailing, but great adventure.- until he killed off Caroline.
He did it "just to upset his readers". It worked. I never went back.

In more modern times, David Poyer - The Circle, the Med, China Sea, Tomahawk, etc.

maybe fantasy, but one thought that appeals to me about long passages is having the time to read books.

Being on the water can really enhance the experience of reading a sea story. Some of my favorites are:
Conrad - His short stories are wonderful, and his novels immerse you in another world. His use of the English language is exquisite.
Melville - Of course Moby Dick is a classic, and well-worth reading again if you last saw it in school. I also quite enjoyed Typee, which contains some magical passages.
Farley Mowat - The Boat Who Wouldn't Float is fun, and Grey Seas Under describes some pretty awe-inspiring seamanship.

I'll be back with more...

cavelamb wrote:Jan de Hartog - Call of the Sea.- Wonderful story.

My Old Man and the Sea - - David and Daniel Hays

Two Years Before the Mast, of course.

The Cure for Anything is Salt Water - Mary South

William Buckley - Airborne and Atlantic High

And all 21 of the Patrick O Brian books about Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (Master and Commander)

Trustee from the Tool Room - Nevel Schute (sp?)

I was interested in Dewey Lambden's series - Not as much sailing, but great adventure.- until he killed off Caroline.
He did it "just to upset his readers". It worked. I never went back.

In more modern times, David Poyer - The Circle, the Med, China Sea, Tomahawk, etc.

+1 on O'Brian. For a quick read in a similar vein there is the Thomas Kydd series by Julian Stockwin. Not as good as O'Brian IMO but fun to read.

VALIS wrote:Being on the water can really enhance the experience of reading a sea story. Some of my favorites are:
Conrad - His short stories are wonderful, and his novels immerse you in another world. His use of the English language is exquisite.
Melville - Of course Moby Dick is a classic, and well-worth reading again if you last saw it in school. I also quite enjoyed Typee, which contains some magical passages.
Farley Mowat - The Boat Who Wouldn't Float is fun, and Grey Seas Under describes some pretty awe-inspiring seamanship.

I'll be back with more...

The Boat Who Wouldn't Float was a riot! I was grilled on SA for saying I liked that book. Apparently it's not ok to enjoy a book of semi fictitious half-truths and embellishments.

Which means that a good part of my life has been in violation.

I'm currently enjoying reading Swallows and Amazons with my 7 year old. She's really into it!

SWMBO and I both very much enjoyed "The Boat That Wouldn't Float", read it years ago and still laugh thinking about it.

I loved that book also. It's chock full of "blow your drink out your nose" moments.

THE STRANGE LAST VOYAGE OF DONALD CROWHURST is a must read. Might remind you of one of our CA buddies in places. I read it when I had just moved to Boston. I was quite depressed and the Crowhurst book cheered me up. I thought, "I'm depressed but I sure as helll are not as depressed as this guy."

UNDER THE RADAR by Michael Tolkin as a great yarn, a bit dark but very real, for sailors and written by a very good friend of mine. Michael owned a Saga 35.

I really don't read much fiction and I almost never read sailing books anymore. There was a time when I was young when sailing books wereall I read. My high school English teacher, Mrs. Doan, forbid me to do another book report on sailing.
"Ok Mrs. Doan. How about I do a book report on a book about the China tea trade? It's not my fault that this is where the great clipper ships were perfected."

I think the very best book I have ever read is COMPANY OF RIVALS, by D.G. Kearns. It's a very comprehensive book about Lincoln and how he assembled a cabinet of his worst enemies and actually made it work. Maybe Obama should read it.

I mainly listen to books on MP3, these days, which means I get through a lot of material while I drive and do the dishes, even if the input channel is a bit noisier than real reading. In any case, I have been making up, very enjoyably, for my poor education in history and the classical fiction canon and will reach dementia with plenty of marbles to lose. Which brings me to Moby Dick and my point: The Audible edition, narrated by William Hootkins, is one of the great listens of all time. Even the didactic sections, which were tedious in high school, are attention-holding and the pervading vein of satire is never far from the surface.

I'm going to look for the Mowat books.

Sail:
Blown Away and You Can't Blow Home Again - Herb Payson and family recount their adverntures sailing off int the sunset.

A little known one, perhaps, but a hard core cruising adventure - Overboard by Hank Searls. (also Jaws II ?)

Non sailing reads:
Anything by John Irving.
A Prayer for Owen Meany, Son of the Circus, the Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding, The World According to Garp

Homer Hickum (October Sky) has proved to be a witty bard - The Light Keepers Son, The Ambassadors Son, and The Far Reaches.

Exceptionally good sci-fi:
The Mote in God's Eye, or Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
and ALL of the Man Kizn Wars stories and all of the Tales of Known Space stories.

Galatea 2.2 - probably not for everyone, but a powerful emotional and intellectual tour de force.

Einstein's Bridge - John Cramer

Down the Bright Way - Robert Reed

Non fiction:
Hackers - Stephen Levy
The Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder
The Mythical Man Month - Fred Brooks

A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo
The Fire Dream -Franklin Alan Leib
The Thirteenth Valley - John del Vecchio

I have read entire libraries.
There were times when I had little else to do.

Cave, have you read Matterhorn?

.

Orestes Munn wrote:Cave, have you read Matterhorn?

Oh yes!

I can relate to the "read entire libraries", Cave. Growing up in Saskatoon, there wasn't much to do in winter, so I started out at one end of the branch library and read through to the other, skipping things that were way out of my age range. That took me a couple of years. Then I started on the main library, and read all the books in all the sections that interested me. I was a voracious reader...

On Sunday, we were cleaning out a closet, and I rediscovered three boxes containing my favourite science fiction. Right on top of the first one was "The Ringworld Engineers". Totally agree on Larry Niven's books and the man-kzin wars. John Varley is another, his book "The Persistence of Vision" was exceptional. I packed those away long ago, it has probably been twenty years since I read any fiction. There's too much real stuff to learn.

On a sailing theme, Silver Donald Cameron's book "Sailing Away From Winter" took me by surprise. I expected to not like the book, because his boat was not what I considered a purist's sailboat. I couldn't put it down. Heartily recommended.

I havn't read a lot of fiction lately. Indeed last year the only fiction I read were a couple of Maigret's by John Simenon. Classic crime fiction, wonderful stuff. Most fiction I read is Crime .... usually British or Scandinavian ... ian Rankin, Harken Nesser are two of my favs.

Bought myself a Nexus 7 tablet last year and loaded it up with some free stuff from Project Gutenberg including a few Conrads and some PG Wodehouse. Must admit that despite my reservations there is nothing to compare with a tablet for reading in the cockpit at night. You retain most of your night vision which is nice. I confess I was of the "nothing compares to paper" school but I am a convert. Yes, I still prefer paper but practicality has to come into it and there the tablet wins hands down.

btw , only bought the N7 cos there was zero stock of the N10 in Oz. While we wll get an N10 or similar, for reading I think the 7" wins out.

Anywho, you already know about Conrad and Wodehouse. I also spent some time reading Peter Ackroyd's History of England Vol II, what can I say ? I'm a sucker for well written history and few do it better than PA.

I notice a couple of Sci Fi fans and while I have read bugger all Sci Fi in the last few decades, for me Iain M Banks stuff is better than most. I'm currently reading Kim Stanley Robinson's "2312". Not bad but it hasn't really grabbed me thus far. I'd hoped for more as the Mars trilogy was an old favourite.

However ... the standout piece of fiction so far this year and probably so far this century has been "The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. An utterly splendid piece of nonsense that I recommend wholeheartedly.

otoh .... O'Brien .... I tried, I really did but after a few of them you start to realise that he just wrote the same bloody story over and over and over again. Different locations and a few plot variations but really ... all a bit of a yawn I'm afraid. To make matters worse now I can't get that twassock Crowe out of my head ....

oh yes ... and Neil Young's autobiography.

There isn't much that's funnier than Wodehouse.

My parents took my brothers and me on a vacation in Greenland, among other places, back in the late 60s, and somewhere there are Kodachromes of me seated in the tiny wheelhouse of a one-lung diesel fishing boat, passing through a multi-colored wilderness of ice with my nose firmly implanted in a volume of Jeeves.

Eric:
What is this "Jeevs" you speak of?

When we moved here from Australia I thought I had struck literary gold when I found MAD Magazine.

bob perry wrote:Eric:
What is this "Jeevs" you speak of?

When we moved here from Australia I thought I had struck literary gold when I found MAD Magazine.

And so you had.

VALIS wrote:Being on the water can really enhance the experience of reading a sea story. Some of my favorites are:
Conrad - His short stories are wonderful, and his novels immerse you in another world. His use of the English language is exquisite.
I'll be back with more...

Not bad for someone for whom English was his 2nd language.

The only use of the word "valetudinarian" I've seen in a novel.

Speaking of books, Hal Roth's "Chasing the Wind", about the BOC Challenge race, is interesting because he is very frank about the myriad failures he suffered and what should be done different, but it is also a long, around the world book review. He basically read his way around the world and reviews all the books as he goes. Great book.

A DOG's PURPOSE by Cameron - touching story of being a dog and taking care of your people, from the Doug's point of view.

ONE BULLET AWAY by Fick - great and realistic read about being a Marine Corp Officer

Farley Mowat has already been mentioned...spins a great tale. 'The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" would be a terrific book for a boat.

Yes, Conrad was Polish, but preferred the English language for his writing. The result is beautiful.

Speaking of foreign language, here are two translations that I really enjoyed. I have no idea how these might feel in their native tongue, but the English translations are wonderful:

Roadside Picnic, by Russian brothers Boris and Arkady Strugatski. This is a science fiction novel about the long-term aftermath of a brief visit by extraterrestrials. The aliens and their ship were never seen, but what they left behind has profound effects (just as much psychological as technical). The main character is a "Stalker" -- one who guides people into "The Zone" in order to bring back alien artifacts. Roadside Picnic is actually somewhat of a Sci-Fi classic. It was made into the movie "Stalker", directed by Tarkovski, who also directed Solaris (the Russian version). Tarkovski's films are bit too atmospheric for me.

Long John Silver, by Bjorn Larsson. Written in Swedish, the English translation sounds perfect, with a great use of idiom. This is the "autobiography" of Long John Silver (from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island). Silver is an old man settled down in Madagascar, his end approaching as he writes his memoirs. We learn of his youth, and his pirate days (including his meditations on the events told of in Treasure Island). We learn of his friendship with Daniel Defoe, and much more. All in all, it's a great story and one well-told.

Back to the english language, I really enjoyed C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower books. Certainly one of the prototypes for Patrick O'Brien's "Jack Aubry" novels, but in fact both Hornblower and Aubry were inspired by the real-live Thomas Cochrane (and/or perhaps Edward Pellew). There is a very good A&E mini-series of Hornblower available, and it's quite enjoyable.

Oh,,,,that Jeeves. I'm a bit slow. I've never read any of the books but I have seen episodes of the series on PBS a few years ago.

We have a Jeeves series on DVD and it's just about time to run them again. Rumpole has our attention at the moment and it's not likely we'll be diverted, unless a new series of "Have Gun Will Travel" or "Foyle's War" is released on DVD. TV without commercials is liberating.

Picked up a copy of "The Proving Ground" about the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race, that became a survival effort for most of the fleet. So far, I've only skimmed a bit of it. It's on my list to read, but I'm not quite ready for all that carnage. We've had enough this year. Edit - finished it this weekend. Recommended!

Recently went back through "You Are First", which is about Dorade's Trans Atlantic Win, the history of the Stevens family, and background on the SS design firm. The chapter on Rod's war time involvement with the DUCK development reminded me that it's not always easy to sell an idea, even if it's a good one.

But in the short term, I'm tied up with a stack of Loui Lamor books. Certainly not very literate, but still a good escape. The first one was about white slavers. How can you put down a book that covers both pioneers and pirates.

Heinlein's books are a good read, but the last Heinlein I tried was by an author who was using his notes to write what would have been Heinlein's last book. It's not to my taste and will likely get returned to the library resale box.

Yes - a long voyage with time to read would be quite nice. A very good item for the bucket list. Pat

I was recently hired by an author to provide an illustration for his new novel. He gave me some brief specs for the boat that will apear as an illustration in the book. That's all I should tell you. That's all I know.
I thought it would be a pice of cake to draw a sail plan for a design that didn't exist. It was difficult. As I told Tim, "It's like being asked to play lead guitar on a song you have never heard that has no chord changes."
But after fussing around for a few days I began to get into it. I'm open to suggestions if you have any that would help bring the sail plan to life.

Quite good looking. Should help sell a few books - maybe even a bunch of loto tickets. Pat

Bob writes new book:

"The boat who wouldn't exist."

That boat looks great Bob. Sadly, I have no suggestions for improvement.

The rudder looks small because there are twin rudders. That was one of thre author's specs.

Bob P.

BeauV wrote:A DOG's PURPOSE by Cameron - touching story of being a dog and taking care of your people, from the Doug's point of view.

ONE BULLET AWAY by Fick - great and realistic read about being a Marine Corp Officer

A little to the party again,but if you enjoyed "Dogs Purpose" I hope you have read "THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN" by Garth Stein,a wonderful book for those who love dogs.
Bob this one has got your name all over it. Note if you do go to get it be sure to get that title and not" RACING IN THE RAIN MY LIFE AS A DOG" same book but the latter has been dumbed down for younger readers.

I liked The Art of Racing in the Rain as well Viktor. Great book.