I was initially gonna include some of these in the weather post I did recently. However, once I finished the first one by Susan Casey, it sent me down this rabbit hole. So many ocean books, so little time. Very enjoyable reads.

I first fell in love with Susan Casey as an author after reading her book, The Wave, which is about surfing. Now I’ll pretty much read anything she writes, including her latest release, The Underworld, this time about deep sea diving. Let me just stop here and say that I am claustrophobic. Like a lot. So the thought of sealing myself into a human-sized space and sinking into the dark abyss below is terrifying. Unless somebody else does it and I can read about it. There are a lot of things swimming around beneath us that I had no idea even existed. Overall this was a great read, but there are parts that make me sad. Like the discussion of how water temperature is affecting the ocean current. Or that companies want to begin deep sea mining that will totally destroy the ecosystem. If you enjoy oceans and marine life, definitely check out Casey’s work. She’s always a good read.

I am not a science geek. I appreciate it for what it is, but it’s just not my jam. So when I tell you that I have no idea how science things work, trust and believe. That’s why I enjoyed this read so much. It seems like a lot of people are talking about, “Oh the oceans do this,” or “Oh the oceans do that,” and I’m like, “Huh?” Czerski is an oceanographer studying, of all things, bubbles in the ocean. I didn’t even know that was a job, but it sounds pretty cool. She travels to different parts of the ocean and studies the bubbles. I learned so much from this one that I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious. I wish she had talked more about how the weather and the oceans are related, but then in one part she described being in the North Sea during a storm, and I was very glad to not be her. Be sure to read the last part that explains how and why our changing planet effects our oceans. This one takes some effort to read, but it was very worth it.

When I think of coral reefs, my mind immediately goes to lush, tropical locales with brightly colored fish and gorgeous, aquamarine water. So when this book started out with the author traveling from England to the Middle East to study reefs in the Red Sea, I was a little shocked. I’ve mentioned before that my geography knowledge is not the best, so I had to look up the regions that he mentions. He does eventually make it to more familiar locations, like The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Maldives. The pictures are stunning and the stories kept my attention. It’s just sad that so many of our reefs throughout the world are struggling due to warmer and more acidic oceans. Nature is always evolving and the author still thinks there’s hope for the oceans and their beautiful corals.

So those are my latest ocean finds. Not too bad for someone who has been landlocked her whole life. Check one out today and expand your world.

Happy oceaning…
🙂 Amanda