While I’m not a surfer, I’ve always had a fascination with the sport. The mystical side of being in the ocean, the raw physicality of the sport, and the counter-culture and sub-culture of people who surf.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite books about surfing.
Tapping the Source is the classic surfer novel. Kem Nunn more or less invented the genre.
Tapping the Source
People go to Huntington Beach in search of the endless parties, the ultimate highs and the perfect waves. Ike Tucker has come to look for his missing sister and for the three men who may have murdered her.
The Dogs of Winter might be my favorite. Kem Nunn does surfer noir like nobody’s business.
The Hawaii Project
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Here’s a look at the dark underbelly of surfer culture, set in Hawaii’s North Shore.
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Here’s a more positive view — the story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian hero.
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Here’s some other ideas:
Barbarian Days
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY 2016 WINNER OF THE 2016 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE Surfing only looks like a sport. To devotees, it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a mental and physical study, a passionate way of life.
The Hawaii Project
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The Hawaii Project
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The Hawaii Project
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Kilometer 99
Malia needs to leave El Salvador. A surfer and aspiring engineer, she came to Central America as a Peace Corps volunteer and fell in love with Ben. Malia’s past year has been perfect: her weeks spent building a much-needed aqueduct in the countryside, and her weekends spent with Ben, surfing point-breaks in the nearby port city of La Libertad.
The Surf Guru
A book of brilliant, adventurous stories from the award-winning Doug Dorst. With the publication of his debut novel, Alive in Necropolis, Doug Dorst was widely celebrated as one of the most creative, original literary voices of his generation-an heir to T.C. Boyle and Denis Johnson, a northern California Haruki Murakami.
The Hawaii Project
The Hawaii Project – personalized book recommendations
Enjoy!