Carry On Mr. Bowditch... Really?

[BlsdMama]

I took the high praises and did this one as our next read aloud.

 

:glare:

 

Yes, I LOVE that he was self taught. I found it inspiring.

 

But truly? It's boring. It's drawn out. There has only been one chapter where someone didn't die. Instead he got married. Oh, but wait, last night? Yes, in last night's chapter SHE died.

 

We normally look very forward to our family evenings of reading aloud. This book has BARELY been tolerated. The children, and possibly the husband, are planning mutiny if it isn't over soon.

[LidiyaDawn]

If you and your family dislike it that much, why in the world have you kept plodding through it?? :001_huh:

 

Life is too short for boring books. ;)

[Mejane]

:D Reminds me of Swiss Family Robinson, another "classic." Long, boring, with lots of 'oh look, an interesting new animal! Let's slaughter it!' My kids despised it. We quit about halfway through.

 

Bowditch is one we never got around to.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Mejane

[Jean in Newcastle]

Obviously it's not a good read-aloud for your family. We loved it though.

[texasmama]

Obviously it's not a good read-aloud for your family. We loved it though.

 

:iagree: Both of my boys loved it.

[Tohru]

OH! Thanks so much!

 

Yes, we found it dreadful and a terrible bore. I don't admit that to any one though because it's suppose to be so "fantastic." We got to about 1/3 of the way through and decided we really didn't care how it ended and moved on to something else. I thought maybe there was something wrong with us for not liking it.

 

Yay! My family is not alone :D

[Kate CA]

I took the high praises and did this one as our next read aloud.

 

:glare:

 

Yes, I LOVE that he was self taught. I found it inspiring.

 

But truly? It's boring. It's drawn out. There has only been one chapter where someone didn't die. Instead he got married. Oh, but wait, last night? Yes, in last night's chapter SHE died.

 

We normally look very forward to our family evenings of reading aloud. This book has BARELY been tolerated. The children, and possibly the husband, are planning mutiny if it isn't over soon.

 

OK. It is based on a true story. Sorry it isn't happier for you! I am sure he would have liked it to be too. LOL

 

ETA: FWIW, we loved it. To each his own! :)

Edited May 24, 2011 by Kate CA

[joannqn]

It's our current family read aloud. We're on chapter 5. DS likes the fact that the main character likes and is good at math like he is. Can't say what our overall feeling of the book is since we aren't too far along.

[Ali in OR]

We loved this book. I still remember talking about "sailing by ash breeze"--that quote may not be exact. But that the oars are made of ash wood, and sailing by ash breeze means you have to put work into it. We just got a lot out of the book. But it was school reading (daytime) rather than fun reading (pre-bedtime)--maybe that makes a difference in expectations. So it was definitely preferred over say math, but maybe not as fun as Harry Potter!

[DianeW88]

Obviously it's not a good read-aloud for your family. We loved it though.

 

:iagree: One of our favorites.

[In the Rain]

OK. It is based on a true story. Sorry it isn't happier for you! I am sure he would have liked it to be too. LOL

 

 

:lol:

 

I'll admit I couldn't get into the book, but my 9yo dd read it to herself and loved it! I think she has read it 3 times, and considers it one of her favorite books. In fact, she has a fish named Bowditch. :lol:

 

If you dislike it so much, choose a different book. I'd rather abandon a book than have people start developing bad feelings about the book or family read aloud time.

[Paintedlady]

We hated that book--it was so boring! Got half way through before I asked the kids if they wanted me to read the rest of the story. They both said no, so I happily put it aside and never looked back.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Isn't it odd how different books appeal to different people. I read SFR when I was about nine and loved it. It is one of my favorites. Oddly, I really liked the part where they cut up the whale.

 

I've not read Mr. Bowditch, but my oldest read it at about 9 and enjoyed it.

 

OTOH, there are others that he will NOT read... Spiderwick for example.

[Caitilin]

This is so funny to me--I reread that book at least once a year because I love it that much. I, too, love the "sailing by the ash breeze" aspect, and I love that he is SO serious about math that he goes and wakes the captain to tell him about the errors in the logarithmic tables, and how he teaches all the men before the mast to do mathematics, and, and, and...Sorry, a BIG fan of Nat Bowditch here.:lol:

[sassenach]

We didn't love it either. You are not alone!

[angela in ohio]

This is one of my favorite books ever. I did it with a group of 12 junior high students last year, and the opportunity for discussion was amazing! It's hard to complain about not having the newest mp3 player with a straight face when you've just read that book. :D I did have one student who didn't like it because of all the deaths. We were laughing as he described how he didn't bother to get interested in new characters, as they would just end up dying anyway. My kiddos and I still refer to it when we talk about overcoming obstacles to learn. I htink all young teen boys should read this book, and all girls should read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

 

Of course, we also loved Swiss Family Robinson. I appreciate the model of a curious family.

[Robin M]

We enjoyed it and for my aspie son, lead to some great discussions about emotions.

[patchfire]

This is so funny to me--I reread that book at least once a year because I love it that much. I, too, love the "sailing by the ash breeze" aspect, and I love that he is SO serious about math that he goes and wakes the captain to tell him about the errors in the logarithmic tables, and how he teaches all the men before the mast to do mathematics, and, and, and...Sorry, a BIG fan of Nat Bowditch here.:lol:

 

Me too! My kids think it's hilarious how much I love that book.

[Chris in VA]

We read it because a df recommended it--loved some things about it, like how he was self-taught, used the Bible to learn languages, helped others so much--BUT hated the writing, and how all the deaths sneak up on you!

We ended up not finishing it--then dd finished it on her own time several months later.

[Sparkle]

I couldn't stand that book either. I read it to my oldest, but never again.

[samba]

We read this book when dd was 9...she LOVED it! I mean, REALLY loved it. I liked it but was surprised that she enjoyed it so much. This is still one of her all-time favorite read-alouds. :confused:

 

Carolyn

[beezus]

I was scratching my head in disbelief when I read this book too. I bought it after noticing all the rave reviews. I was going to assign it for my daughter to read, but after pre-reading it, I quickly tossed in in the Goodwill pile. Maybe it found a home with someone that will love it more than I did. Judging from the responses here, there must be quite a few who would. Funny how a book can evoke such responses on both extremes.

[BlsdMama]

If you and your family dislike it that much, why in the world have you kept plodding through it?? :001_huh:

 

Life is too short for boring books. ;)

 

Because it was SO highly recommended that we kept going. And, well, at this point it seems silly to stop. And, I admit, we suspect he'll marry Polly. It is a bit difficult to find read alouds we ALL love - Myself, DH, and kids ages 15-1. :)

 

There are GOOD lessons in the book. I have NO doubt about that and I'm certain we all have to sail by ash breeze occasionally. :) However, wow, with the recommendations I was expecting a STELLAR book, kwim?

 

I think it has some wonderful lessons in it and I will say I want to like math more now ;) but I can't imagine reading it aloud again.

Edited May 24, 2011 by BlsdMama

[Imprimis]

 

There are GOOD lessons in the book. I have NO doubt about that and I'm certain we all have to sail by ash breeze occasionally. :) However, wow, with the recommendations I was expecting a STELLAR book, kwim?

 

I think it has some wonderful lessons in it and I will say I want to like math more now ;) but I can't imagine reading it aloud again.

 

And, see, I can't wait to read it aloud again with my 7 yo. My older two and I LOVED this book and would place it in the "stellar" category.

[Nakia]

I thought it was pretty sad and boring, so I was ready to quite about 1/3 of the way in. My oldest kept reading it and loved it!

[funschooler5]

My kids loved this book, but I have to admit that we all giggled every time somebody died (except for the first time, when sister died). Every time anybody had a cough, or went missing, it one of my kids would say "uh oh..." and what do you know, a few sentences later, the person was dead.

 

Everybody has a dark sense of humor at our house. :D

[Hedgehogs4]

I took the high praises and did this one as our next read aloud.

 

:glare:

 

Yes, I LOVE that he was self taught. I found it inspiring.

 

But truly? It's boring. It's drawn out. There has only been one chapter where someone didn't die. Instead he got married. Oh, but wait, last night? Yes, in last night's chapter SHE died.

 

We normally look very forward to our family evenings of reading aloud. This book has BARELY been tolerated. The children, and possibly the husband, are planning mutiny if it isn't over soon.

 

AAAAA! Heresy!! :svengo:My DH graduated from the USCG academy, and he said that when they sailed the would read "Bowditch" for fun. "Bowditch" is not referring to the COMB read-aloud we are referring to, but the actual American Practical Navigator. He was thrilled to read this book aloud as a family, and we LOVED it. Couldn't wait to read it every night. Yahoo! It is one our family's favorite books, bar none.

[WishboneDawn]

:D Reminds me of Swiss Family Robinson, another "classic." Long, boring, with lots of 'oh look, an interesting new animal! Let's slaughter it!' My kids despised it. We quit about halfway through.

 

 

You got farther then we did. Heck, my daughter could mention enough patience to listen to some Plutarch (alas, not me) but SFR defeated us both only a couple of chapters in.

[Mommyfaithe]

:iagree: Both of my boys loved it.

 

Mine too...but hated the Wizard of Oz....go figure:confused:

[Tammyla]

:iagree:Same here. My ds loved it.

 

Obviously it's not a good read-aloud for your family. We loved it though.

[Angel]

I took the high praises and did this one as our next read aloud.

 

:glare:

 

Yes, I LOVE that he was self taught. I found it inspiring.

 

But truly? It's boring. It's drawn out. There has only been one chapter where someone didn't die. Instead he got married. Oh, but wait, last night? Yes, in last night's chapter SHE died.

 

We normally look very forward to our family evenings of reading aloud. This book has BARELY been tolerated. The children, and possibly the husband, are planning mutiny if it isn't over soon.

 

Thank you! I love information like this about books. We don't like depressing books here (why Sonlight was a horrible fit for our family). I will now know not to pick this one up ;)

[Mejane]

You got farther then we did. Heck, my daughter could mention enough patience to listen to some Plutarch (alas, not me) but SFR defeated us both only a couple of chapters in.

 

We were supposed to read it for book club or we wouldn't have made it that far. I think someone was "sick" on book club day. :D

[Carol in Cal.]

I feel like this about Red Badge of Courage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

depressing

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[BlsdMama]

:D Reminds me of Swiss Family Robinson, another "classic."

 

GASP!

 

Loved Swiss Family Robinson - FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME.

Loved Wizard of Oz too. ;)

[angela in ohio]

Thank you! I love information like this about books. We don't like depressing books here (why Sonlight was a horrible fit for our family). I will now know not to pick this one up ;)

 

It's really not depressing as a whole. there are just depressing moments in it.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

AAAAA! Heresy!! :svengo:My DH graduated from the USCG academy, and he said that when they sailed the would read "Bowditch" for fun. "Bowditch" is not referring to the COMB read-aloud we are referring to, but the actual American Practical Navigator. He was thrilled to read this book aloud as a family, and we LOVED it. Couldn't wait to read it every night. Yahoo! It is one our family's favorite books, bar none.

 

You weren't allowed to read "books" on watch, but you could consult professional material. So I used to keep Bowditch around to page through (mostly to try to stay awake). One of my favorite sections has all of the names of strong local winds. (Would it be too geeky to confess that I own my own copy of American Practical Navigator?)

 

I loved Carry On, Mr. Bowditch when I first read it, because it resonated with so many things that I'd done in the Navy.

 

Having said that, I think it can be a real challenge as a read aloud. It is a complex story with complex language and might be better read individually rather than read aloud.

 

(But I also agree with passing on books that really aren't working for you. Life is short. There will be something else that you love.)

[Ginevra]

Swiss Family Robinson - I wanted to gouge out my eyes with a rusty spork!

 

And - dare I say it? I'm almost certain I am the only human being who feels this way, but I detest any version or media format of Alice in Wonderland. I despise that story.

:leaving:

[Aubrey]

Thank you! I love information like this about books. We don't like depressing books here (why Sonlight was a horrible fit for our family). I will now know not to pick this one up ;)

 

I don't like depressing books, either, but I loved this one. Ds is especially sensitive, but I knew this would be a good book for him, so I just gave him a heads up. He did enjoy it. :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

It's really not depressing as a whole. there are just depressing moments in it.

 

:iagree:

 

I enjoyed it. I'm waiting until my son is a bit older to do it as a read aloud, he's very good at math but not quite old enough to appreciate the book.

 

People did die earlier more often back then.

 

Edit: I was going to start a new thread, but I'll just post the question here, there might be enough general interest on this thread. The other day when we were watching a movie with the term starboard, my children asked for an explanation. Since my husband has sailing experience, I asked him what larboard meant. (I read it in some classic!) Anyway, he had no idea so I had to Google to find out that it was "used well into the 1850s by whalers." Any ideas what I might have been reading that used larboard? Mr. Bowditch? Another maritime classic that I read in the original?

Edited May 25, 2011 by ElizabethB

[Mrs Twain]

My husband read it aloud to our 6-year old. It was one of their all-time favorites. If you have never read it, I would at least recommend giving it a try before you cross it off your list!

[oraetstudia]

My oldest read it and hated it. His main complaint was that someone died in practically every chapter.

[Kalypso]

We have all liked the book and I have read it aloud twice ... so far.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Ds loved it. He has read most of the books in the series. He calls them 'keepers' which means they will remain on his bookshelf and will not, under penalty of death, make it to the garage sale or donation stacks.

[angela in ohio]

Edit: I was going to start a new thread, but I'll just post the question here, there might be enough general interest on this thread. The other day when we were watching a movie with the term starboard, my children asked for an explanation. Since my husband has sailing experience, I asked him what larboard meant. (I read it in some classic!) Anyway, he had no idea so I had to Google to find out that it was "used well into the 1850s by whalers." Any ideas what I might have been reading that used larboard? Mr. Bowditch? Another maritime classic that I read in the original?

 

What is the children's book about whaling in early America?

 

There are also a lot of boat terms in the Hornblower series (so much that I have trouble following at times! :glare:) Was it one of those?

[ElizabethB]

What is the children's book about whaling in early America?

 

There are also a lot of boat terms in the Hornblower series (so much that I have trouble following at times! :glare:) Was it one of those?

 

Good ideas, but no.

 

I'm pretty sure Hornblower was in the era of port and starboard, or at least the books were. I read those about 6 to 8 months ago and don't remember there being a larboard in them. It was something I read a month or two ago, but I cannot remember what! It was for at least middle school age and may have been a young adult book or may have been an adult book, I don't remember.

 

My mom says that one good thing about getting old is that you can re-read your old favorites and still enjoy the ending!!

[Annie Laurie]

 

Any ideas what I might have been reading that used larboard? Mr. Bowditch? Another maritime classic that I read in the original?

 

They do use that term in Mr. Bowditch.

[Annie Laurie]

Is the children's book about whaling that Angela refers to called The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed?

[ElizabethB]

They do use that term in Mr. Bowditch.

 

It must have been Bowditch, then! Thanks!! I did read Bowditch fairly recently. But, I read a lot of things and sometimes have a hazy memory of some of it.

[Lizzie in Ma]

My kids loved this book, but I have to admit that we all giggled every time somebody died (except for the first time, when sister died). Every time anybody had a cough, or went missing, it one of my kids would say "uh oh..." and what do you know, a few sentences later, the person was dead.

 

Everybody has a dark sense of humor at our house. :D

 

:lol:

[lionfamily1999]

Obviously it's not a good read-aloud for your family. We loved it though.

:iagree: We found his life pretty compelling.

 

The autobiography of Mark Twain was WAY more depressing. Go figure.