Two Years Before the Mast (Richard Henry Dana Jr.)

Your captain regrets to say that after two weeks at sea with Mr. Dana, she has decided to quit reading Two Years Before the Mast.  It's not a decision that I come to lightly, as I hate quitting books, but I'm just not getting into it, and it's been two weeks of on-and-off reading and I've barely made any headway.

Now, the story itself is actually a memoir by a young Harvard student who starts losing his sight.  In an effort to fix what the doctors could not, he decides that working as a sailor will be just the cure he's looking for (a strange conclusion, but okay...).  Anyway, he goes on to spend two years as a sailor and recounts the experience.

The book had the potential to be really interesting, but it also had the potential to be very boring.  And it fell somewhere in the middle, but closer to the boring side.  Still, I enjoyed some of the passages, but had to stop about 20-30% in.  I would, however, be curious to learn if Dana ever went back to school, or if he chose to pursue the life of a sailor full-time.  I'm guessing, since he wrote this book, that he went back to continue his studies. 

If you are looking for a true story of life at sea, then this is certainly the book for you.  However, if you are looking for more of a high-seas, swashbuckling adventure, than I would advise you to choose a different book.

Fourth of July (Fireworks and a New Friend)

As I'm sure many of you know, I'm terribly afraid of spiders.  I hate, hate, HATE them.  But last night, as we watched the fireworks from a small side window, I noticed a creepy crawly friend chilling in the window frame (on the outside).  He was just hanging there, completely relaxed, his little face turned towards the fireworks, enjoying the show.  I wonder what spiders think of when they see fireworks.  Was he enjoying it, or just confused about the bright lights in the dark sky?  Either way, it was nice to enjoy the sight with my family and a new, eight-legged friend.

Captains Courageous (Rudyard Kipling)

Ahoy!  We have a special guest for this entry in the Captain's Log.  Those of you who follow me on Goodreads know that I have been having many reading adventures with my grandpa (who appears in my reviews as Dz.).  This was our 30th book together, and since it's a nautical book and we're reading it this summer, I wanted to include it in my list.

As the crew of the Arabella continued on our way, we watched as a young boy fell from the side of a cruise liner and fell into the water.  This was Harvey Cheyne, who was picked up by the crew of a local fishing boat and taken aboard as a new crew member until they were able to return to America and bring him home again.

The adventure was strong in this one, and Kipling's language really brought the story together.  It was a beautiful tale, very well-written, and there would be times when you could practically taste the salty sea air and feel the spray of the sea on your face.  It was  grand time.  This is one of the best books that I've read for my Summer at Sea so far.  We just finished reading this afternoon, and already, I'm thinking about reading it a second time.  I'll let it sit for a few days before I do, but I would love to give it another go.

If you're looking for a well-written adventure on the high seas, this is it.  It's not a swashbuckling tale (much to my grandfather's chagrin), but it was engaging and interesting, and felt very "real".  There was a romance to the tale, and it never got too graphic, but it also didn't feel like a fairy tale, either, striking the perfect balance between fantasy and realism.  If the rest of our adventures are anything like this one, I feel that we are in for a real treat!

The Devil and Dark Water (Stuart Turton)

We are pulling into port in Batavia, just in time to witness the shocking arrest of Samuel Pipps, the great detective.  What was his crime? we ask of the crowds.  They do not know.  What will happen now?  Execution.  Curious, the crew of the Arabella prepares to follow the ship setting out for Amsterdam.  Things are never simple, however.  Strange symbols appear on the ship's sail, a leper calls out an ominous warning, and soon, there are deaths.  The ship is cursed, everyone claims, but who knows if our crew will be able to survive in order to find out what happens!

So, your captain has a few choice words to say about this book.  First and foremost, it was an excellent, gripping tale that was nearly impossible to put down.  But, the ending took a turn that I didn't approve of, and I would argue that Turton lost the plot and sort of messed everything up in the last 2-3 pages.  Which is frustrating anything you're reading a book, but when that book happens to be over 450 pages, you feel somewhat cheated for committing that much of your time to it.  I lost so much sleep over trying to finish "just one more chapter" and to have the ending that it did just galled me.

I guess I would give this an average rating, since most of it was so good and the ending was so poor, they sort of balance out in the middle.  Would I recommend this?  Maybe?  I guess there are others who wouldn't feel the same way that I did about the ending.  And I'll be honest, the rest of the book was really good.  But, I feel somewhat cheated.  Although, I guess in keeping with a book's theme, a deal with the devil will usually leave you feeling cheated in the end.

Regardless of my review, Stuart Turton really is a very good writer, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else he writes in the future.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

The next time the Arabella docks, there's a wedding.  We all clamber down the boat onto the shore, hands laden with gifts-- golds, jewels, and pearls--for the happy bride and groom.  Up ahead is the best man.  But, what's this?  Someone steps from the shadow of a doorway and stops him before he can enter into the feasting hall.  Let's step a bit closer and see if we can hear what they are talking about.

The stranger from the shadows is a grizzled old sailor, or mariner, with a grip like iron.  He's clutching at the wedding guest's arm, and the guest is struggling to get away.  Let's step a little closer still, to see if we can hear what they're talking about...

The mariner shares his story, about how he was once sailing on a ship, and how the ship's luck took a terrible turn after he shot and killed an albatross that was flying around them and hanging out with the sailors.  Of course, no one could have realized the terrible bad luck that this would bring down upon their heads, but soon enough a thick fog blankets the water, and another ship appears, bringing with it two terrible passengers.

I read this back in high school and absolutely loved it.  Reading it again now was a special treat, as it had been...well, years since I had read it last.  The pacing, the tone the rhyming, it was all excellent.  Besides being an interesting story, this is just a genuinely fun piece to read.  4 of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The Sea Fairies (L. Frank Baum)

Our first stop aboard the Arabella is actually underwater.  So, we're going to lower the anchor and prepare ourselves to leap overboard.  This is The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum.  The story is centered around a young girl named Trot and her friend, a grizzled old sailor named Cap'n Bill.  One day, as Cap'n Bill is explaining to Trot how no one has ever seen a mermaid and lived to tell of it, a mermaid appears and tells the pair that she had heard what they said, and that the mermaids all agree that they want to prove Cap'n Bill wrong.  After some slight hesitation, Trot and Cap'n Bill jump out of the boat, exchanging their legs for tails, and go on a deep-sea adventure.

Your captain (that's me) will freely admit that I did not finish this book.  I read it back in grade school a couple of times, and remembered liking it.  But, reading it again, I was struck by how slow it was.  While as a child, I would have been dazzled by the beauty of this underwater world, and all the amazing sights to be seen, as an adult, I kept checking my watch, or skimming, or even dozing off in the sunshine while I waited for something, anything to happen.  C'mon, I thought to myself, let's have someone get eaten by a sea monster or get trapped in an underwater cave or something!  But, nothing happened.  Until about 120 pages in, when the evil sorcerer plot started up.  But, by that point, I was kind of done, so I pulled my bookmark and moved on to new adventures.

Summer Reading 2021

All aboard the good ship Arabella (named for the ship in Rafael Sabatini's adventure story, Captain Blood).  Today, I want to talk about my Summer Reading theme for the year: A Summer at Sea. 

So, I know what you're thinking.  Yeah, yeah, this is one of Emmy's summer reading posts that never amounts to anything.  And, yes.  You're probably right.  But, this year, I'm really going to try.  I'm going to actually have a theme and stick with it.  And it's going to be awesome!

So, as I said, this year's theme is A Summer at Sea.  Not to be confused with any of my previous Summer Reading themes:

• 2010: Gothic Novels
• 2011: Scary Stories and Mythical Monsters
• 2012: A Summer in Middle Earth
• 2013: Summer School
• 2014: It's a Mystery!
• 2015: To Read or Not to Read
• 2016: Professional Fan-Fiction
• 2017: [Skipped this year]
• 2018: Monster Mash
• 2019: [Skipped this year]
• 2020: [Skipped this year]
• 2021: A Summer at Sea

As I've attempted in previous years, I'll provide lists of the books I'm reading as well as reviews.  If you want to see EVERYTHING I read, you can check out my Goodreads account here.

So, toss on your rain slickers, hoist the mainsail, and raise the anchor, because we're going out to sea!

The Skunch

Okay, so this has been making me laugh way more than it should.  And today, I'm going to explain why.

So, on the surface, funny picture, right?  But, what got me was the caption.  And I know what you're thinking.  Ha ha, sorta funny, right?  But, it gets better.

First, it's this derpy Grinch.  And I love it so much.  I would totally put that up in my yard.  It looks great!  But, it clearly is not a perfect Grinch.   But, then you read the caption and it's referred to as the Skunch.  Which means that this is not a mistake--this is its own thing!  (Oh, wow!)

And then, the first part of the line: "Oh shit".  Not only is this the Skunch, which is now a known quantity, but the Skunch elicits a reaction that is less than positive.  This is not "hooray" or "oh boy!" or even "hey, look".  No, this reaction implies that the speaker is not happy to see the Skunch.  And judging by the look on its face, it knows this.  The Skunch is a thing to be feared.  And it knows where you are.

The first time I showed this to someone, I laughed until I cried.