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.