Looking for a book this summer? Here’s what we recommend. Photo: James D. Morgan/Rex Features
Summer is in full swing. And for most, that means long days at the beach, family vacations, surf trips, camping, hiking, and (if you’re lucky) some free time to sit with a good book. Here at The Inertia, our staff is united by a common passion for surf and the outdoors, but beyond that interests diverge. We asked members of our staff to share their favorite tomes for your consideration this summer, and the result is a pretty eclectic mix. It’s like the president’s summer reading list, except nothing like the president’s summer reading list. Surf and outdoor fiction and non-fiction are expressly left out with few exceptions, because, well, it’s a wide, wide world out there.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
(Zach Weisberg, The Inertia Founder)
If you have a dog, or like dogs, you should read this book. It’s written from the perspective of a dog, and it might make you tear up and think about how great dogs are and how great (and how hard) life can be. Dogs are great.
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer
(Joe Carberry, Senior Editor)
It isn’t the lightest of reads but it’s surely important. Jon Krakauer’s Missoula delves into the rape culture on a college campus, a toxic environment that has become something of an epidemic at universities across the country. And many of the crimes are perpetrated – and covered up – by members of football programs. Krakauer, who has penned epics like Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, has turned his aggressive, unapologetic style lately to subject matter on the periphery of the outdoor world – like he did in Under the Banner of Heaven. In that vein, Missoula isn’t always a comfortable page turner, but it exposes the difficulty of prosecuting rapists. And the trauma inflicted by the perpetrators of sexual crimes.
The Terror by Dan Simmons (Alex Smolowe, The Inertia Films Manager)
Dense, researched, elegant horror by one of the grandmasters of the genre, The Terror delivers a new perspective on the doomed 1845 Arctic expedition of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus – by presupposing a more sinister, supernatural cause for the infamous shipwrecks. I’d recommend picking up a Kindle to carry this monster on your travels (along with Simmons’ other great sci-fi works, including Ilium/Olympos and the Hyperion Cantos), as it comes in just under 800 pages.
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski (Dylan Heyden, Associate Editor)
Bukowski’s classic semi-biographical tale about adolescence charmed my pants off. I bought this book in an airport, ravenously consumed its words over some hours on a flight, and was heartbroken when I left it in the seat pocket in front of me. I was so transfixed that I bought it a second time to finish it. Narrated by Bukowski’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, Ham on Rye tracks a young boy’s earliest memories in Germany through the oh-so awkward transition from childhood to adulthood in post-war Southern California. Hilarious, relatable, and honest, this book is worth your time.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Juan Hernandez, The Inertia for Good Editor)
Not a surf story. Not even a little bit. Not a new story, either. But a great tale about faith, intuition, and trusting yourself. A shepherd has a series of recurring dreams that convince him to leave his herd in search of a treasure. The treasure is somewhere far away, only he has no map or tangible proof that it even exists. The further he travels the more he learns he’s really just chasing his personal destiny. Kind of that awesome little life lesson that our dreams are not random, they’re connected to our purpose and we should follow them.
If nothing else, this is required reading for dreamers, or those of us who’ve been bitten by the surf bug once or twice, left with a feeling that the best ride of our life is the next one.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (Lauren Dunn, Editorial Intern)
If you haven’t already read Agatha Christie’s classic, Murder on the Orient Express, it is a must-have on your summer reading list. There’s no better time than now because 20th Century Fox is actually releasing a movie version in early November. If you’re like me, then you’ll want to read this murder mystery right away to soak up the extra detail and character development from the Queen of Mystery herself, before seeing it unfold on screen.
The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak (Mikaela Duhs, Editorial Intern)
The Book Thief follows a young girl, Liesel, through her journey to her foster parents’ home. Upon learning she can’t read, her foster father, Hans, teachers her the beauty of books. An upbringing in the throes of Nazi Germany proves an unstable life as Liesel pursues the written language, which becomes her escape into another world. She’s threatened by the Nazis practice of burning valued literature and even steals a book from a bonfire. When her foster father then takes in a young Jewish boy, the stakes are raised even further.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed (Jordyn Romero, The Inertia Films Intern)
Wild kept me entertained, opened my eyes and inspired me to add the Pacific Crest Trail to my bucket list. The autobiography motivated reflection of my own life and encouraged me to throw on a pair of hiking boots and get outside. Did I mention girl power? Because if there is one take away in Wild, it proves the cliché true: that you can achieve anything you set your mind to, no matter how many people try and discourage you.
He’s not actually holding the book. But he likes it!
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (Zach Weisberg)
I’m not one for the obvious, but if you’re a surfer and you appreciate strong writing, this book is well worth your time. I put this one off. Big time. Despite hearing ad nauseam how I “had to read this surfing book,” I was skeptical. After reading an Op-Ed from William Finnegan a few years ago that supported the privatization of Tavaura, I wasn’t a fan. I understood his perspective – that the wave’s caretakers had developed a sort of surf utopia that deserved protection, but it seemed like an audacious proposition: to regulate locals’ access to a wave, that by nature, should be theirs. That seemed indefensible, and the words he used to make that argument seemed equally obnoxious. As a result, I declined many opportunities to read his Pulitzer-winning, Obama-endorsed memoir, Barbarian Days, and I resented its unrelenting recommendation.
My good friend (and our Associate Editor, Dylan Heyden) pushed the book on me pretty hard, going so far as to lend it to me for a full eight months. During that time, I took the book on nine flights, ravaged its book jacket, and completed thirteen entire pages. Finally, I promised that if I didn’t make a dent in one final flight back to the East Coast, I would return the book. Newly motivated, I committed to pushing past the first two chapters, and I couldn’t put it down. After reluctantly carrying Barbarian Days around the earth for ~240 days, I managed to inhale 400+ pages in about three, relishing Finnegan’s intimate descriptions of getting acquainted with waves, the cultures around them, and the relationships that drove his life forward. Finnegan writes about how that obsession to chase surf waxes and wanes through a lifetime, and I could very much relate. I longed for a moment where I was totally consumed by a wave. Beyond reawakening in me a committed surf lust, I thoroughly enjoyed his writing. The book is ambitious. Finnegan ties in sociopolitical stirrings, personal triumphs and failures, and their relationship to the lingering guilt of the surfer: our uselessness when compared with a life much larger than the ocean. It’s an enriching page turner. I’m glad he wrote it. And I’m glad I read it.
