Gripping Tales of the Sea

I’ve always been a reader, and when I was a child, novels were my jam. Only rarely could nonfiction hold my attention for any length of time. But when I was in the seventh grade I came across a history book, The Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer, that caught fire inside my head. I loved that book, that story, so fiercely that when my seventh-grade history teacher neglected the naval war in the Atlantic in his coverage of World War II, I protested that he had “skipped the best part!” He invited me, with tolerant amusement, to make a presentation to the class on “the best part” of a really horrible war for the benefit of my fellow students and for extra credit. I didn’t need the extra credit, but I did do the presentation, recapping for my (less tolerantly amused) fellow students the story of the massive German battleship that led the British Navy a merry chase around the Atlantic.

As a reader, to this day I prize the discovery of That Book, the one that catches you off-guard, grabs you and drags you through it without once letting go, that book that makes it hard to pick up the next book because most books aren’t like that. Even if you love books, most books aren’t like that. Reading is a real treasure hunt that way.

Not only do I love that feeling myself, I love facilitating that experience for other people. So it makes me happy that one of my Book vs. Movie students seems to have had that experience twice in the course of a single class. In the fall, it was A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. One of my students — who had declared to the class earlier in the year that she does not read books, ever — devoured A Christmas Carol and told us all in class that it was “The best book ever!” and “Her favorite book of all time!” I pointed out that, as she is a non-reader by her own account, this is probably not much of a distinction, and she allowed that I was probably correct. Regardless, the book had clearly caught fire inside her head.

Now we are reading The Finest Hours, a nonfiction account of the Coast Guard rescues of February, 1952. I really like the book, but it does have its share of lists and long-winded explanations that drag down the pacing of the narrative in places. So I was a little surprised when my Dickens-loving non-reader took to it passionately.

Student: You guys. This is the best book. I’m not kidding, I already finished it. It is amazing.

Me: Wait… what about Dickens?

Student: Oh, this book is EVEN BETTER than A Christmas Carol!

Me: It’s better than A Christmas Carol?

Student: It is SO good!

So if you’re looking for the next book that is going to grab you and not let go – or better yet, grab your 13-year-old non-reader or fiction reader, well, do I have a couple of gripping tales of the sea for you!

Enjoy!