We have never enjoyed reading more than these last couple of strange years. The team have selected some of our favourite books that feature, explore or are inspired by the big blue. Whether you are looking for a novel to take on a well-needed sea view holiday this year or hoping to be transported by the waters edge by a great book we have you covered.
BLUE MIND
Wallace J.Nichols PhD
A book that will change your perception of the power of water forever. We don’t say that lightly!
A non-fiction book by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols on the remarkable effects of water on our health and well-being. Covering a human connection to water through topics such as; Why are we drawn to the ocean each summer? Why does being near water set our minds and bodies at ease? The book delves into scientific proof about the benefits of being in, on, under, or simply near water.
THE SALT PATH
Raynor Winn
Winn really takes us along for the ride on this epic, life-changing journey that she goes on along the Cornish coast path, re-shaping her life as she goes. The Salt Path is a true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of sea and all the nature that surrounds it. §
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Ernest Hemmingway
The Old Man and the Sea is a story that celebrates wisdom, strength and friendship. We go on a journey with the main protagonist – learning about the hardships Santiago faces as an ageing fisherman who struggles through repeated bouts of bad luck.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Virginia Woolf
This novel was published in 1925 and is a sea lovers’ classic. Woolf explores themes of marriage, perception, memory and the passing of time. She spent the first 13 summer holidays of her life with her family at Talland House, St Ives, Cornwall. In this book, however, she takes their eight children to their summer home in the Hebrides (a group of islands west of Scotland). Across the bay from their house stands a large lighthouse. Six-year-old James Ramsay desperately wants to go to the lighthouse, and Mrs. Ramsay tells him that they will go the next day if the weather permits…
DARK, SALT, CLEAR
Lamorna Ash
A debut novel from this young author and ‘new star of non-fiction’. A stunningly beautiful portrayal of life in the Cornish town of Newlyn, the largest working fishing port in Britain. This book explores the Cornwall Lamorna Ash knew as a child – the idyllic, folklore-rich land where she spent her summer holidays. Then there is the Cornwall she discovers when, feeling increasingly dislocated in London, she moves to Newlyn, a fishing town near Land’s End. This Cornwall is messier and harder; it doesn’t seem like a place that would welcome strangers. An enrapturing take on real Cornish life and the people who live it.
THE LIGHT BETWEEN THE OCEANS
ML Steadman
A genuinely moving tale of love and loss by the sea that is also a now a major film. A boat washes up on the shore of a remote lighthouse keeper’s island. It holds a dead man – and a crying baby. The only two islanders, Tom and his wife Izzy, are about to make a devastating decision. They break the rules and follow their hearts. What happens next may leave you sobbing, you have been warned.
We hop you enjoy these reads and they transport you to other lives and journeys and research on the big blue. If you have any others you think we should be adding let us know.
Happy Reading x
