Carry On Mr. Bowditch... Really?

[BlsdMama]

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! :)

 

Thought about this last night... Lem died, William died, and Hab died. We only read one chapter. In desperation we googled him and I won't allow reading ahead, lol, we DID find out that he later married Polly & had eight children. It gave us enough respite from depression to take heart and continue the book tonight.

 

You're right, I'm sure he would have liked it too and so I reminded my kiddos last night this was a real man. These people REALLY died in his life this often. It was a good reminder for us. Thank you.

[TXMary2]

We are listening to it on CD in the car - it is 6 discs and we are only on disc 2. We are enjoying it so far. :001_smile:

[Alice]

: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.

 

We haven't read Bowditch but we listened to SFR a few years ago. Ds LOVED It which surprised me at the time. I had gotten it out of the library without really knowing much about it and so didn't realize it was a bit much for a 5 yr old. It did make me and dh laugh a lot though. Every time an animal was mentioned we'd look at each other and go "Uh-oh, looks like they will be having _____ for dinner." We also loved the Dad and would go around saying things like "Oh, look here we happen to have discovered the Rastapixalineriean Xeripflorims root which when boiled and distelled with salt water I turned into rocket fuel for my rocket that I constructed out of coconuts and whale rib bones." for weeks.

[ElizabethB]

We also loved the Dad and would go around saying things like "Oh, look here we happen to have discovered the Rastapixalineriean Xeripflorims root which when boiled and distelled with salt water I turned into rocket fuel for my rocket that I constructed out of coconuts and whale rib bones." for weeks.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Hedgehogs4]

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.)

 

That must have been why they "consulted" it too! Obviously they would be standing watch...and no you're not a geek. We own a two-volume set of American Practical Navigator.

[Catherine]

Ack. My boys loved it until they slaughtered the monkeys. We stopped there.

[FloridaLisa]

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! :)

 

:iagree: Definitely to each his own. We've started several books highly recommended on this board, only to put them down after failure to connect in the first few chapters.

 

I loved the historical period, how he taught himself languages and navigation, taught it to *normal* sailors, and then found errors in what everyone else thought was error-free.

 

Lisa

[Kate CA]

Thought about this last night... Lem died, William died, and Hab died. We only read one chapter. In desperation we googled him and I won't allow reading ahead, lol, we DID find out that he later married Polly & had eight children. It gave us enough respite from depression to take heart and continue the book tonight.

 

You're right, I'm sure he would have liked it too and so I reminded my kiddos last night this was a real man. These people REALLY died in his life this often. It was a good reminder for us. Thank you.

 

That is one of the reasons it is such a powerful book - because it is a real life. Things were SO hard for the early settlers here. I find the fact that he was able to accomplish so much amidst such hardship very inspiring. I want my children to see that. :001_smile:

[EthiopianFood]

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:

[Ibbygirl]

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.

 

I loved that book! hehehe I read that with my dd a couple of years ago. She felt about it the way you did, but I thought it was an amazing story about overcoming adversity. I got choked up reading it several times actually. :)

[michelle l]

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:

 

:iagree: I have to admit, it was not an exciting read. I was pretty bored much of the time. Despite that though, we all got really attached to Nat.

[HLDoll]

We haven't "read" it, but we've listened to Jim Weiss read it on a long car trip, and our family enjoyed it. Enough so that we bought the book and plan to read it at some point. Maybe it was the lack of anything else more exciting to do in a car, but it made for a pleasant trip.

[Caitilin]

:iagree: I have to admit, it was not an exciting read. I was pretty bored much of the time. Despite that though, we all got really attached to Nat.

 

Oh, see, I was never bored. I loved the book. But I am a weird person, and I LOVE details, so the slower parts actual made it come alive for me.:D

[BlsdMama]

I loved that book! hehehe I read that with my dd a couple of years ago. She felt about it the way you did, but I thought it was an amazing story about overcoming adversity. I got choked up reading it several times actually. :)

 

 

Okay, we finished this a bit ago and, feeling guilty, had to update the post. I can't put it in the same category as a page turner, BUT it was worthwhile. I find myself thinking back on it and the choices he made. I even found myself recommending it to a friend today - with the caveat that she push through the slow parts, lol.