Reading list: Six books we love about the sea

To celebrate the launch of BookKind, and to mark Surfers Against Sewage as our inaugural featured charity — the BookKind team has put together a special reading list.

From an International Booker shortlisted novel about migration to the extraordinary true story of a couple’s shipwreck, we’ve picked a selection of sea-themed books we’ve read and loved.

Buy any book from our site, and you’ll have the option to donate to Surfers Against Sewage, a UK-based charity dedicated to the protection of the ocean and our wild waters, campaigning for cleaner water and fighting plastic pollution by taking action on the ground that triggers change from the top.

Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst

Tired of their 1970s suburban life, Maurice and Maralyn hatch a bold plan to sell everything, build a boat, and sail to New Zealand. But halfway around the world, disaster strikes when a whale destroys their boat, leaving them stranded in the Pacific, adrift on a small raft.

The sea in this extraordinary true story is more than setting; it’s a relentless force that shapes every moment of their survival. Harsh, vast, and unforgiving, it tests their endurance, stripping life down to what truly matters. This isn’t a romantic tale of adventure, but a raw, gripping tribute to resilience against nature’s power. The ocean becomes both their greatest threat and the key to their survival. Highly recommended.

By Sara

Salt on Your Tongue by Charlotte Runcie

In Salt on Your Tongue, Charlotte Runcie blends memoir, myth, and cultural history to explore the deep connection between women and the sea. Written during her pregnancy, the book evolves from a general love of the ocean into a powerful feminist reflection on motherhood, longing, and creativity.

Runcie shifts focus from male seafarers to the women left onshore, those shaped by the sea’s presence without ever crossing it. Each chapter draws on mythological female figures and weaves in folklore, poetry, art, and sea shanties, highlighting how the ocean mirrors emotional and physical transformation.

Both lyrical and reflective, Salt on Your Tongue is a moving meditation on the sea’s role in shaping identity, memory, and the stories women carry across generations.

By Zoe

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

William Finnegan's Pulitzer prize-winning memoir charts his lifelong obsession with surfing. It’s about living a surfing life and the endless pursuit of great waves. His search for the perfect break takes him around the world, from the banks of the Hudson to a remote Indonesian island. To me, it’s a perfect memoir, balancing sensitive reflections on human nature with exciting tales.

Surfing, as described in this book, is alluring and exotic as well as addictive and frequently dangerous. The prose is crystalline and restrained yet conveys an almost childlike wonder at the power of the sea and the beauty of nature. Barbarian Days invites you to engage in a more intimate and physical way with the natural world and to accommodate some adventure in your life.

By Greg

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Cornwall, 1972. Three lighthouse keepers vanish without a trace from a tower miles out to sea. The door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The log speaks of a terrible storm, but the skies were clear. What really happened on that isolated rock? The sea keeps its secrets well.

Stonex writes the sea not as scenery but as the story’s pulse. The isolation of the men on the lighthouse, cut off by endless water, is intensified by the ocean’s moods. Sometimes it’s eerily calm; other times it thrashes with violence. Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters is a gripping, atmospheric novel full of salt, silence, and unanswered questions. This was chosen by my book club and was one of our highest rated reads yet.

By Sara

First Encyclopedia of Seas and Oceans 

If your children are interested in nature or learning about the sea, this book is one of the best investments you will make. This book, perfect for 4-7 year olds, has been taken in for show-and-tell, used for school projects and returned to again and again for interesting facts. It has been read so often in our house that some pages are now held in with sticky tape. Full of colourful illustrations and easy to understand facts, your little ocean-lovers will be able to tell their bottlenoses from their belugas.

By Zoe

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

I loved this book by Yvon Chouinard, CEO of Patagonia. Let My People Go Surfing is a brilliant mix of memoir and business manifesto, where he famously encourages employees to surf, or simply get out into nature, when the waves or weather are right. The idea is simple: if the conditions are good, go, and make up the time later.

I really love this idea of balancing work and building trust with personal freedom and environmental connection. Alongside this, a lot of businesses could learn from Patagonia’s company purpose: “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Their progressive approach and ongoing commitment to looking after our planet and tackling the climate crisis is inspiring. It feels like a fitting book to choose as we launch the new shop, BookKind, especially alongside our first featured charity, Surfers Against Sewage.

The sea often calls me at lunchtime… maybe I should start answering more often.

By Gemma 

Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix

In November 2021, a migrant dinghy capsized in the English Channel, leading to 27 deaths. Despite multiple distress calls, French authorities mistakenly directed the migrants to British waters, causing a delayed rescue. This book is a fictionalised account of that disastrous night, telling the story through the eyes of the woman who took those calls. Accused of failing in her duty, she questions why she alone should be blamed when larger forces—the sea, war, and systemic crises—are to blame.

I picked up this book after it was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize this year, intrigued by the synopsis. Despite being a relatively short read, the novel delivers an impactful, thought-provoking story about responsibility, migration, and the unforgiving sea. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a book that not only tells a gripping story but also challenges our perceptions of reality, empathy and accountability in the face of crisis.

By Hattie