Surfing Waves

Doesn't necessarily have to be a book/novel about surfing, but generally best books/novels you read while on a surf trip. Transit, like airports and air travel, count too.

I've found these books can be the 'background music' to any good trip, the thing you're really into when you're not surfing, either lounging by the pool/at the beach, long haul flight, waiting for a mea or at immigrasi, etc.

For myself: Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, Mark Galeotti's The Vory, Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, and surprisingly Nicholas Eames' Kings of the Wyld.

Interested in establishing some criteria, other than ripping good yearn. Cheers!

Interesting List , deep and thought provoking and then alien shoot ups!
Hmm some good Indo reading fodder.
I take a not of I books now when I travel saves an amazing amount of weight.

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan , Stormrider guide for where I am going a couple of pages of Rough Guide or other travel books a hard and current copy of Peter Neely's Surf Guide and Indo Lingo Great help.

jaffa1949 wrote:Interesting List , deep and thought provoking and then alien shoot ups!
Hmm some good Indo reading fodder.
I take a not of I books now when I travel saves an amazing amount of weight.

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan , Stormrider guide for where I am going a couple of pages of Rough Guide or other travel books a hard and current copy of Peter Neely's Surf Guide and Indo Lingo Great help.

Thanks Jaffa! Funny, all those books were Indo reading fodder. Got plenty more recs, but if you're after thought provoking then: James Scott's "The Art of Not Being Governed," as well as "Against the Grain." For Indo specific: Robinson's "The Killing Season" and the older (still great) Roosa, "Pre-text For Mass Murder" I'd highly recommend.

Have to check out WOT. 2011 Stormrider for Indo still useful? Wow, really dig Neely as well. Salty Indo hand like you still finds him useful eh? Really curious what you'd make of Jarratt's "Between Heaven and Hell," if you've read it. Also recommend, despite the weight, "Surf Survival." A ton of really helpful and even life saving health, ocean, and first aid advice in there for any traveller.

Every Indo trip I would carry a major emergency medical pack with list and permitted antibiotics etc with supporting documentation.
Suturing needle, sterile salt water, I would leave it each time with a local Gus who I knew would use it cost free through the village Doctor who I would also clue up as to what it was for.

BTW sadly Peter Neely has died so treasure your last copy, maybe someone will carry the guide on!

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

I read every day but only non fiction. Fiction doesn't hold my interest anymore.

From experience I can say that reading A Game of Thrones while lazing on a beach in Fiji is a bit jarring.

Anything that isn’t too dark grim fantasy or too psychologically disturbed mystery is good for me.

Unlike Old Man, I only ever read fiction. Read about 50 -60 books a year, give or take

I am not your typical person in so many ways. I used to read lots of science fiction, sometimes a book a day or more but now it doesn't capture my imagination as it once did and I read much slower in my old age. Reality is interesting enough. There are so many interesting things in the world, why waste time with fiction? Learn something. Of course I can understand the appeal of fiction but it's just not appealing for me anymore. I am currently reading a book about natural disasters. It's quite interesting to me. One other change for me is I try to do ebooks as much as possible save the trees for more important things like toilet paper

Thanks Jaffa, jeez didn't know about Peter Neely. Hopeful someone will pick up the mantle there.

https://www.tracksmag.com.au/news/remem ... ngo-549740

I get OMS on non-fiction. I go through those periods myself when fiction just can't hold my interest. Still, keep coming back because who doesn't love a ripping good yearn from time to time?
Just got into Abercrombie's grim dark on an Indo trip few years back and I am hooked! Can't wait to start his new series after I finish Red Country.
CV - Barbarian Days is probably hands down one of the best books on surfing I've ever read. Jarratt's Life of Brine and Bali: Between Heaven and Hell were excellent, likewise Captain Zero (despite the author being a bit ah, 'eccentric' these days), but Finnegan is an exceptionally gifted writer.

A couple of good yarnish reads that give an insight to the fifties and sixties and through to short boards, toby Bob McTavish, “Stoked” and the follow up, “ More Stoked” . I think. had it good then , many East Coast Australian breaks were virgin territory, rough roads rough camping .
Baked beans instant coffee , fireside fart competitions, Epic surf days and almost terminal sun burn and salt eyes!

jaffa1949 wrote:A couple of good yarnish reads that give an insight to the fifties and sixties and through to short boards, toby Bob McTavish, “Stoked” and the follow up, “ More Stoked” . I think. had it good then , many East Coast Australian breaks were virgin territory, rough roads rough camping .
Baked beans instant coffee , fireside fart competitions, Epic surf days and almost terminal sun burn and salt eyes!

Thanks Jaffa! Will have to check that out. Finnegan really captured that for Kirra, less about the beans though
Any recs on Indo? Always so curious, though I think the story about how it became so developed in the 90s is yet to be told vs. the stories of stoned back to country hippies running naked in the jungles

Books that go well on surf trips (nonfiction):


1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Paperback – August 11, 2015 by Robin Wall Kimmerer

2. Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames Paperback – Deckle Edge, September 3, 2002 by Thich Nhat Hanh

3. Moneyball by Michael Lewis

4. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions – April 19, 2016 by Brian Christian (Author), Tom Griffiths (Author

5. And the most important book of all on all surf trips....a blank notebook to record my own Doc- like (Finnegan reference here) records of waves surfed, conditions, lessons learned, philosophies considered, friends and wildlife encountered. Then you have your own surf book collection to dip into later.

I always read on my way somewhere. It might be any comedies or easy-reading novels. But my favorite one is "never fall down", I had never read such an exciting book. I just couldn't keep my eyes off the pages. The name itself intersects with surfing, isn't it?

unsungthen wrote:I always read on my way somewhere. It might be any comedies or easy-reading novels. But my favorite one is "never fall down", I had never read such an exciting book. I just couldn't keep my eyes off the pages. The name itself intersects with surfing, isn't it?

That's true. The art to seeming like you know how to surf is to not fall down. When I was first learning to surf I went out with a group of friends into waves that were overhead maybe 4 foot Hawaiian and it was my first time surfing on a surfboard on waves that size. On the first wave I caught I overturned on the bottom and shot right back up to the top and overturned on the top and shot right back down to the bottom all the time almost falling down and I did a series of top to bottom turns everyone of them feeling to me like I was off balance and overturning. I finally made it to the end of the rideable section and paddled back out hoping no one saw me and one of my friends paddled over and said "I thought you said you couldn't surf?" I answered "Yeah, did you see me I was out of control." He said "Yeah man. You were totally." it was like a compliment but really I was just barely able to stay on the wave from my perspective. lol Welcome to the forum.

unsungthen wrote:I always read on my way somewhere. It might be any comedies or easy-reading novels. But my favorite one is https://freebooksummary.com/category/never-fall-down, I had never read such an exciting book. I just couldn't keep my eyes off the pages. The name itself intersects with surfing, isn't it?

I want to add that my father imparted the love of reading. We always read before sleep in my childhood. I carried that love through the years!

oldmansurfer wrote:

unsungthen wrote:I always read on my way somewhere. It might be any comedies or easy-reading novels. But my favorite one is "never fall down", I had never read such an exciting book. I just couldn't keep my eyes off the pages. The name itself intersects with surfing, isn't it?

That's true. The art to seeming like you know how to surf is to not fall down. When I was first learning to surf I went out with a group of friends into waves that were overhead maybe 4 foot Hawaiian and it was my first time surfing on a surfboard on waves that size. On the first wave I caught I overturned on the bottom and shot right back up to the top and overturned on the top and shot right back down to the bottom all the time almost falling down and I did a series of top to bottom turns everyone of them feeling to me like I was off balance and overturning. I finally made it to the end of the rideable section and paddled back out hoping no one saw me and one of my friends paddled over and said "I thought you said you couldn't surf?" I answered "Yeah, did you see me I was out of control." He said "Yeah man. You were totally." it was like a compliment but really I was just barely able to stay on the wave from my perspective. lol Welcome to the forum.

That's so funny!

My first time was similar, but I just always fell.

Splat is part of everyone’s ego diminishment, often when you think you are flying.

unsungthen wrote:
That's so funny!

My first time was similar, but I just always fell.

I had been surfing about 2 months on my own. This was the first time I went out with others and the first time I went out in waves with 8 foot faces. Another incident about not falling down was when I was re learning to surf after quitting for 12 years. I was working at relearning in small waves and a young (compared to me) Korean woman was learning to surf as well in the same place. She had said this a couple times in a very strong Korean accent but came over to me and said "You very good surfer" I answered "You mean that other guy over there, he is very good." She says "No! YOU very good surfer." I said "I used to be a very good surfer but I am not any more" She said "NO. You very good surfer." I asked "why do you think that?" She said "I see you surfing here all the time. You very good surfer. You no faw down."

oldmansurfer wrote:She had said this a couple times in a very strong Korean accent but came over to me and said "You very good surfer" I answered "You mean that other guy over there, he is very good." She says "No! YOU very good surfer." I said "I used to be a very good surfer but I am not any more" She said "NO. You very good surfer." I asked "why do you think that?" She said "I see you surfing here all the time. You very good surfer. You no faw down."

Success is all relative and in the beholder’s eye.

After the first time in the water with a board riding whitewater (and being brutally introduced to how hard and exhausting paddling was) I was in awe of the surfers who were out back trimming across the waves on longboards. I recognize now that they were for the most part just a handful of competent beginner intermediates but at the time I told myself that if I managed to be able to do what they were doing I’d be thrilled & satisfied at the same time.

I just read the Storyteller By Dave Grohl. I was reading it when I heard of Taylor Hawkins death. To me it was a slow starter but a good read Grohl surfed but not sure if he could be called a surfer because surfing only takes up a couple sentences in the entire book. I recently read Thai Stick about surfers who gave up surfing for smuggling drugs which was a good book for me