If you drop in here regularly you might already know I am very fond of seafaring tales. There's nothing like being completely landlocked and thousands of miles from anything resembling a coast that makes you wish that that's exactly where you lived. I've seen the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well the Irish Sea. I've beachcombed and swam in them and even been on boats. I wanted to be an oceanographer and learn how to scuba dive when I was young. My one failing is I can't do seafood. But all this is neither here nor there. Via Pages Turned I discovered that I Heart Paperbacks is hosting a Seafaring Challenge from November 1st-December 31st. Now I know my track record with challenges isn't always very good. And I realize I am already involved in two other challenges, not to mention my own personal projects. So I am in the contemplation stage at the moment. One challenge will be over before this one starts. I could just pick one book to read. And I really want to read a seafaring book before the end of the year....So while I rationalize, now's as good a time as any to list ten books I could choose from (since they are waiting patiently on the TBR piles):
- Horatio Hornblower by C.S. Forester -- I love Horatio. Such a gentleman. I meant to read more of these books this year and haven't yet cracked open a single one!
- Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien -- Not only have I heard good things about this whole series of novels from many other readers, buy the first book has been on more than one of my book lists this year!
- The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown -- I am waiting for a library copy of this one. It is a NF book about a Medieval woman who may have crossed the North Atlantic eight times. Thanks to Kristin Lavransdatter I have a new interest in Scandinavian topics.
- The Terror by Dan Simmons -- I've heard this is a page turner (maybe what I need next--a little change of pace)
- Birds of Prey by Wilbur Smith -- I've owned this little paperback for longer than I care to admit.
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad -- Reading this would have the added benefit of being on the Modern Library 100 list (which I've made little progress on this year).
- Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana -- This was one of the recommendations I got last time I asked for ideas on good seafaring reads.
- The Rising Sun by Douglas Galbraith -- Another old book in my collection.
- Voyage by Philip Caputo -- And another old one.
- Under Enemy Colors by S. Thomas Russell -- And a new one coming out that I am waiting for at the library.
You can see my other seafaring list here. This list is pretty heavy on male authors and male subjects, but my other list does have more titles centered on the female experience. I think I will at least read one of them...