75 books like Song for the Blue Ocean

This is the story that first got me interested in science fiction. Of course, we now recognise some of the flaws in the science, but consider that at the time of its writing steam propulsion was still in its infancy, most ships were still built of timber, and Verne envisaged a ship capable of indefinite travel beneath the ocean surface – something not even possible until the advent of nuclear power almost a century later. Even today Verne’s vision and the story he wove around it can inspire.

I first read this book long before I ever set foot south of Ensenada, and was immediately captivated by it—I loved how Steinbeck would wax deeply philosophical at times, but never lost the thread of the story of their journey.

This book is funny too! When Russel and I were sailing in the Sea of Cortez, we would pick it up and read the sections about the temperamental outboard engine Steinbeck dubbed the “Sea Cow,” and laugh out loud at his anecdotes. I am also fascinated by science and the ocean, and reading the book was like an overview class on oceanography and marine biology.

Although more than half a century old, Rachel Carson’s The Sea Around Us still reads as fresh and evocative as it did when first published.

Carson, the environmentalist writer more famous for Silent Spring, was perhaps the finest science communicator of the twentieth century. The Sea Around Us endures today through the forceful and convincing case it makes for the importance of the intimate relationship between human societies and the sea.

What is so striking about Caron’s work is her ability to offer such a highly textured account that shifts seamlessly from describing the awe-inspiring vastness of the sea to its most minute details, from its brutality to its beauty.    

“Her Deepness” Sylvia Earle is an authority on ocean explorations, so this is another must-read for all ocean lovers. Sea Change recounts Earle’s decades dedicated to the discovery of the sea. With contagious enthusiasm and vivid prose, this internationally renowned author and scientist narrates her many underwater adventures while urging readers to respect the oceans and their creatures.

The classic “David and Goliath” theme of a smaller hero conquering a mighty adversary—but with a fishy twist! A school of small red fish and one black fish, Swimmy, all live together happily until “one bad day” a huge tuna gobbles up all the red fish. Only Swimmy, who is faster than the others, gets away. At first Swimmy is lonely without his friends but then bravely begins exploring the wonders of the sea. When Swimmy finds a new school of red fish, he tries to get them to come out to play. But they are too afraid to go out because a big fish might eat them. Then Swimmy gets an idea. He trains the school of small red fish to swim in formation like one big fish, with him as the eye. 

Children love being unique and different. We live in a culture that celebrates beauty and shiny, glittery wealth and even “having” a lot.

The beautiful rainbow fish was indeed beautiful on the outside but this did not endear the fish to her peers. This book teaches that in gratitude and service to others, we show our love.

When we show our heart and share from the heart, this is a sign of true beauty, and this helps us better connect with others. And in this way–when we give love, we feel love. 

I loved Anglerfish because you really feel like you are traveling with this particular creature on her journey to the deepest reaches of the ocean. She starts out this really cute, vulnerable baby and ends up pretty darn ferocious looking (here I should add that I think the illustrations are just outstanding!!)

We see her morph from a regular looking baby fish to one that has ferocious teeth, and more unusually, a lantern sticking out of her forehead! This has GOT to be one of the weirdest creatures on the planet! Plus to see the size difference between the female (big) and the male (teeny tiny) was amazing. I turned back to those pages several times. 

Finally, a food book. But more than that, Mediterranean Seafood recounts a personal journey, as Alan Davidson learned to identify the diversity of Mediterranean catches and how best to use each species. It was an invaluable guide on my visits to the market at Sète, and as I pored over the displays I listened to conversations between sellers and buyers, exchanges of gossip and cooking tips, and marvelled at the ingenuity of these Mediterranean women in accommodating seafood in so many different ways when my palate knew only fried or grilled. Part catalogue and part cookbook, it combines the best of both. If only eighteenth-century travellers had the benefit of such a guide, they might have been more daring in their eating. 

In The Little Black Fish, our hero is the black fish who observes, thinks, and decides to do things his or her way. The picture book was banned in Iran because the author of the book, a beloved school teacher and thinker, spoke up passionately to advocate for children. When I lived in Iran, the country was managed by one person, the king. When one king or one idea rules with absolute power, people have minimal or no say in the way their country and lives are managed. Rulers at the top are happiest when people do not read, think, or protest the ways that their society is run. This gorgeous book encourages thinking, analyzing, speaking up, and action.

(Mina Javaherbin has read Little Black Fish in its original text, Persian. She has informed us of numerous translations of this book in English and numerous languages. This particular translation… show more.

This is one of the most eye-opening and fascinating books I have read.

Having spent much of my life amongst the islands and coastal communities of the British Isles I was intrigued learn more about the fish and I did learn so much. We all know the fishing industry has shaped these islands, but the author delves deeper into what has created and influenced the many varied communities of coastal Britain, as well as illustrating the development of our many styles of fishing vessels.

It is a colourful and enlightening account.