CIWSA Book Club

If you are a CIWSA member, love to read, and love all things maritime, this group is for you!  We meet by Zoom, at 7:00 p.m., every-other month, generally on the fourth Thursday of the month. The Zoom link is sent out a few days before each meeting.

Here is our schedule for 2026. Most books are available in multiple forms, including audio.

January 22………..When the Killing's Done , by T.C. Boyle

March 26……………Facing Fear , by Lisa Blair

May 28……………….Log from the Sea of Cortez , by John Steinbeck

July 23……………...An Embarrassment of Mangoes , by Ann Vanderhoof

September 24…….A Pearl in the Storm , by Tori Murden McClure

November 19……….Deep Waters , by Beth Ann Matthews (Note: We’ll meet the third Thursday of the month since Thanksgiving is the fourth.)

To further rock your boat, take a look at the fabulous works we have discussed over the last few years:

• Taking on the World by Ellen MacArthur
• Ten Degrees of Reckoning by Hester Rumberg
• The Perfect Story by Sebastian Junger
• The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
• Escape from the Ordinary by Julie Bradley
• Crossing Pirate Waters by Julie Bradley
• Flying Cloud by David W. Shaw
• A Sail of Two Idiots by Rene D. Petrillo
• Two Years before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time by Dava Sobel
• The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl
• Aka by Tristan Jones
• Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
• Ice by Tristan Jones
• Steady as She Goes: Womens’ Adventures at Sea edited by Barbara Sjoholm
• Diary of a Sea Captain’s Wife: Tales of Santa Cruz Island by Margaret Holden Eaton
• The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
• Rowing to Latitude: Journeys along the Arctic’s Edge by Jill Fredston
• Classic Sailing Stories: Fifteen Incredible Tales of the Sea edited by Tom McCarthy
• An Affair with the Sea by Peggy Slater, with Shelly Usen
• Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
• Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
• Zia by Scott O’Dell
• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

Yes, you too can become a nautical-lit namedropper, simply by joining the CIWSA bookclub! If you’d like more information, please contact Sarah Freifeld at smallfrei@aol.com, or text/phone 661-713-2755.

Hope to hear from you. Until then, happy sails and happy reading!

Sarah