Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

What to read while you’re at sea: Southern Fried Science’s favorite ebooks for a multi-month research cruise

Posted on February 1, 2013February 1, 2013 By Andrew Thaler 5 Comments on What to read while you’re at sea: Southern Fried Science’s favorite ebooks for a multi-month research cruise
Uncategorized

AndrewThumbUntil March 9, 2013, I’ll be at sea. I love that phrase. At sea. For this expedition, we’re leaving from Jamaica, returning to Antigua, and spending several days on a research program separate from ours. I have a lot of travel and a little downtime to look forward to. When I started going to sea almost a decade ago, this meant that I carried a couple books and dozens of research papers, and traded them around with the rest of the science team, the crew, and the ship’s library.

Now, thanks to kindles and other e-readers, I can carry entire libraries with me, loading them up with all the books I want to read and stockpiling thousands of research papers. This. Is. Awesome.

So, if you find yourself with a kindle and a long stretch of travel time, consider checking out some of my favorite ebooks. I’ve read  all of these over the last year and they all look great on an e-reader. This reading list should keep you occupied during the quieter moments of your travels.

Singles

  • John McAfee’s Last Stand
  • Here Be Monsters… 50 Days Adrift At Sea
  • Jellyfish Dreams
  • Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way
  • Genie

Science and Conservation

  • Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World’s Most Polluted Places
  • Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
  • Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World’s Greatest Wildlife Rescue
  • Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food
  • An Unnatural History of the Sea

Science Fiction

  • Old Man’s War Trilogy – Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony
  • Year Zero: A Novel
  • The Sigil Trilogy – Siege of the Stars, Scourge of the Stars, Rage of the Stars
  • The Oblivion Society
  • Makers

Ocean Adventures

  • My Father, the Captain: My Life With Jacques Cousteau
  • Looking for a Ship

Social and Political

  • Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
  • From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive: The Social World of Coffee from Papua New Guinea

Poetry

  • Radial Symmetry (Yale Series of Younger Poets)

Feel free to recommend your favorite ebooks in the comments below.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: adventure books Conservation Science science fiction

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Inaugural Post: Fishermen Are Not Evil
Next Post: Introducing ScienceOnline: Oceans! ❯

You may also like

Weekly Salvage
Dead whales, glass sponges, 3D-printing for the ocean, and more! Weekly Salvage: October 14, 2019
October 14, 2019
Popular Culture
I was the entertainment at a 5th birthday party: A new favorite science communication gig
January 24, 2024
Conservation
What can Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs teach us about ecology, sustainability and conservation?
December 21, 2014
Uncategorized
A thought provoking quote about conservation
March 2, 2010

5 thoughts on “What to read while you’re at sea: Southern Fried Science’s favorite ebooks for a multi-month research cruise”

  1. Jenn says:
    February 1, 2013 at 9:16 am

    Thanks for the tips! I’m always looking for good books. Of the ones on your list, I’ve only read two: Visit Sunny Chernobyl was wonderful. Depressing, but intriguing, and I loved the author’s premise. Looking for a Ship was also a good read, (it’s hard to think of anything by John McPhee that isn’t).

  2. Matt Rigney says:
    February 1, 2013 at 11:29 am

    Hi Andrew–

    This is a great list of books. You’ve got some of my favorites up there, including Roberts’ “Unnatural History of the Sea.” On your next voyage, perhaps you’d like to try “In Pursuit of Giants: One Man’s Global Search for the Last of the Great Fish.” It was published by Viking/Penguin last June 2012 and recounts the story of my five-year, 75,000-mile journey to encounter the great fish of the sea–marlin, bluefin tuna, and swordfish–and to tell the story of their decline. If you have a moment, take a look at the website. It features reviews, a short two-minute video trailer, and links to my Facebook page and various means to get the book.

    link: http://www.inpursuitofgiants.com

    Best wishes~

    Matt Rigney

  3. Andrew David Thaler says:
    February 1, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    Hi Matt,

    Thanks! I just put In Pursuit of Giants on my kindle. Looking forward to reading it while floating around the Caribbean.

  4. Michelle Lotker says:
    February 1, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    I recommend The China Voyage! Awesome sea adventure on a traditionally built raft.

  5. Mike Bok says:
    February 12, 2013 at 10:13 am

    I would add Darwin’s, ‘Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the various countries visited by H.M.S. Beagle’. Very interesting, if not action packed, but tremendous in scope. It is a very gratifying look into the head of someone who most biologists regard in a demi-god like status. Reading his travel narrative humanizes him to a huge degree and you can’t help relating to his enthusiasm and wonderment for the natural world.

Comments are closed.

Recent Popular Posts

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?July 15, 2025David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?May 29, 2024David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Considering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceConsidering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceJuly 7, 2025David Shiffman
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown