Snipe Holiday Book List 2012

As an author and sailor, I tend to prefer books about the sea. Better yet, novels about dinghy sailing… but those are very few and far between*. Here are five sailing-related works of fiction you might enjoy, just in time for those of us in the northern hemisphere to enjoy during the winter reading season.

The Fulcrum Files (Mark Chisnell)

Here’s a book I could recommend to anyone, especially those who enjoy thrillers. This is Mark’s first (and hopefully not last) historical novel, deeply linked with racing boats (though he likes to remind me that there is actually no sailing in it): it is actually a story of international intrigue set on the south coast of England just before World War II. Originally published as an ebook, it’s now available as a paperback.

Read my full review: Balancing between the Fulcrum Files and Real Life 

Uncharted (Bridget Chicoine)

This lovely debut novel could also be recommended to anyone: salty sailors, armchair writers, lovestruck teens.

This is the only book I’ve ever read that combines shipwrights, shipwrecks, sailing, Maine, the tropics, Kansas, and a few peculiarly strong women into a page-turning love story. Here’s the opening paragraph, which quickly launches us into Sam the narrator’s head:

“I easily lost track of time in the boatshed, where minutes and hours hung in the air like fine sawdust, and so I couldn’t say for sure how long I had been running my sander when I noticed the intruder. At a glimpse, I thought it was my hired guy. On a double take, the skirt was definitely not his style.”

Read my full review: Uncharted is off the Charts

Circle of Bones: a Caribbean Thriller (Christine Kling)

This is a book to sink your teeth into, especially for sailors: a classic crime thriller set in large part in the Caribbean on a sailboat. The author is one of the founding members of WriteontheWater.com and lives part time on her cruising sailboat, so the salty language rings true. Visit Christine’s website for more info.

By Force of Arms (James L. Nelson)

This first of a five novel series is set just before the American Revolution, based on and around Narragansett Bay. Narrated by a captain loosely based on John Paul Jones, the excellent sailing detail reflects author Jim Nelson’s time on replica warship The Rose. Jim has also written two other fictional series, The Brethren of the Coast Trilogy (about pirates) and the award-winning Samuel Bowater Books (three novels about a young Confederate ship captain during the American Civil War). All are highly recommended. For more info, visit Jim Nelson’s website.

The Wind and the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)

This is an old childhood classic, the story of Water Rat introducing his new friend Mole to life on the River. “Believe me my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Originally published in 1908, the language is a bit dated… but the story still pleases my modern nieces and nephews. Read it or reread it! It’s still in print, available at your local bookseller’s or online.

*And last but not least…

I can’t help mentioning the only novel that I know of about dinghy racing, even though I happen to be the author. Game of Sails is an Olympic love story about two opposites who team up to make it to the Games, in a doublehanded boat that is what a Snipe would be if it had a trapeze and assymetrical spinnaker. One reviewer said, “If you like sailing, romance and some revenge, you will like this book.”

Best wishes for the holidays, and I hope to see you on the water in 2013!