Looking for a good book to read? We’ve compiled some summer reads that will appeal to all, some are great beach reads and others more thought provoking. From surf classics to romantic romcoms and inspiring autobiographies, take a look.
New In
It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground
David Litt
After moving from Washington, DC, to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing at the age of 35— and turns for help to the only other surfer he knows: a tattooed, truck-driving, Joe Rogan superfan who happens to be his brother-in-law.
David Litt, the Yale-educated writer with a sensible fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with two motorcycles and a passion for death metal, had always coexisted from a comfortable distance as brothers-in-law.
Yet in 2021, as David wallowed in existential dread while America’s crises piled up, he couldn’t help but notice that Matt was thriving. When he wasn’t making money rewiring New Jersey beach homes, Matt was riding waves at his favourite spots in the state.
Quietly, David started taking surfing lessons. For a few months, he suffered through wipeouts but to his surprise, he soon became obsessed. And once he got a sense of the ways that fully committing to surfing could change him both in the water and on land, he set his sights on an unlikely goal: riding a big wave at Hawaii’s famously dangerous North Shore. To get there, he’d need Matt’s help.
At a moment when the fault lines of class, education, and culture threaten to tear our country apart, this book is a blueprint for becoming braver when it takes courage just to read the news, a love letter to surfing in the vein of William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days.
Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker’s Guidebook
For anyone who is passionate about environmental and social justices Patagonia’s new book is so important and timely. Tools to Save Our Home Planet addresses the urgent need for strategic planning, clear goals, and safe collective action.
The book features contributions from the environmental leaders Patagonia has supported and collaborated with over the years. It also includes chapters by presenters from Patagonia’s biannual Tools Conference, which extends stories from the conference to a broader audience, supporting the people who are working for solutions to the climate crisis and for environmental injustice.
“We can’t wait for government to lead on climate,” says Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. “We’re all dependent on the same living planet, and we need to unify people who recognize that change is urgent.”
Surf Novels
One With The Waves, by Vezna Andrews
Can surfing change your life? For Ellie, it most certainly does. Vezna Andrews’ debut novel is set in 1980s Southern California, where sixteen-year-old Ellie discovers herself through her love of surfing. Born and raised in New York City, Ellie’s world is turned upside down when, at 15, her father unexpectedly dies and her mother sends her to Manhattan Beach, California to live with her aunt, Jen and her husband, Uncle Charlie—both avid surfers.
Eventually, Ellie finds a group of like-minded souls who show her what true friendship is. Through surfing, Ellie develops the confidence and strength needed to navigate her own path in life—surfing literally saves her.
Foam by Laurel H. Senick
After tragedy strikes, Cassandra Lee, an out-of-work journalist, runs to the tropical island where her dreams were supposed to come true. Attempting to get her life and career back, Cass begins research on a local freediver’s death but instead uncovers a drug ring and kidnapping plot. With trouble on her heels (if you could call flip-flops heels), she realises this sleepy surf town has more spines than a sea urchin.
Strap on your leash and paddle out with Cass as she gets tangled in the dangerous undertow of addiction, death and disappearances. She must claw her way to the surface and trust some unlikely characters to survive. But will she trust the right ones?
Check out our interview with Laurel here
Classic Surf Novels
Barbarian Days, A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
An immersive memoir of a life spent travelling the world chasing waves through the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa and beyond. Finnegan describes the edgy yet enduring brotherhood forged among the swell of the surf.
Breath by Tim Winton
Set in a small Western Australian logging village in the 1970s, this is a story about the the treacherous power of the waves, wildness of youth and learning to live with its passing. A story of extreme sports and extreme emotions.
Caught Inside, Daniel Duane
After leaving his mundane and meaningless job, Daniel Duane went to California, to surf for a year. This book is his account of Cali life, surfing, culture, the ocean and his relationship with fauna and flora. Informative and funny!
Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer’s Quest to Find Zen on the Sea by Jaimal Yogis
Fed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis runs off to Hawaii where he discovers surf, spirality and a deep understanding for Hawaiian culture. A coming of age story focused on a quest for surf and serenity.
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn
The inspiration behind cult class Point Break, this is the fictional tale of Ike Tucker who has come to Huntington Beach to look for his missing sister. His search takes him on a journey through surfing subculture, surf gangs, highs and lows.
Surf Autobiography
Surf Like A Woman, Pauline Menczer
Surf culture in the 80s and 90s was exceedingly toxic — particularly for women. Ignored by sponsors, underpaid (if paid at all), underestimated and insulted, female surfers had to overcome countless hurdles to make it on the professional surfing circuit. Surf Like A Woman is Pauline Menczer’s inspirational story of a true underdog battler, whose fearlessness and grit broke down the door of surfing’s boys’ club for the next generation of women.Surf Like A Woman is both the sports memoir of a surfing icon, and a rousing feminist manifesto celebrating the resilience, strength and power of women in sport.
Readers outside Australia and New Zealand can purchase Surf Like a Woman via Readings bookshop who offer international shipping.
Stop Press
An interesting initiative has just launched. BookKind is the UK’s first online bookshop, empowering readers to support charities with every purchase. BookKind customers can choose a charity representing one of eight causes including Surfers Against Sewage, to receive 10% of the purchase value, meaning that readers can make a difference with every book they buy.
