Sea voyage terminology

Use this forum to discuss the April 2019 Book of the month, "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon
Post Reply
User avatar
Nellbathory
Posts: 10
Joined: 22 Mar 2019, 03:52
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 18
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nellbathory.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz

Re: Sea voyage terminology

Post by Nellbathory »

I am so glad to hear someone had as much of a hard time as I did. English is not my first language and even when I translated those terms I didn't know what they meant! I mean I live in a country that's hours away from any kind of sea or ocean and only saw it like once in my life. I have never been on a ship or something like that which made it really difficult to understand most of the vocab there. But still kudos to those who did understand and no hate to the author about it. It was a good book despite the dictionary trips.
User avatar
Prisallen
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5678
Joined: 27 Feb 2019, 18:57
Favorite Book:
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 233
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-prisallen.html
Latest Review: Nirvatra by April Thomas

Post by Prisallen »

These were all new words for me, as well. So, I tried to figure out what they meant by the context in which they were used, as much as possible, and I tried to focus on the storyline. I don't think it really impacted my understanding of the story.
User avatar
NL Hartje
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1262
Joined: 04 Jan 2018, 12:58
Favorite Book: Kushiel's Dart
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 385
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nl-hartje.html
Latest Review: Looking forward as the Journey continues by George Mills

Post by NL Hartje »

I certainly don’t skim books, but I will admit to eventually overlooking consistently used words that are foreign to me. If they don’t have bearing on the story (like emotion or action words) I generally just don’t bother myself with them. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll look it up on its first appearance, but I won’t take the time to continually rereference.
“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”
-Dr. Seuss
User avatar
aolayide
Posts: 504
Joined: 24 Jan 2019, 08:36
Currently Reading: Are Your Kids Naked Online?
Bookshelf Size: 39
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-aolayide.html
Latest Review: Of Zots and Xoodles by Zarqnon the Embarrassed

Post by aolayide »

I am actually indifferent about the sea voyage terminologies used. Did i understand them perfectly? No. Was I irritated with them? No. I think the entire story has a good flow to it.
User avatar
Swat3737
Posts: 333
Joined: 02 May 2018, 01:16
Favorite Book: Mists of avalon
Currently Reading: Good Omens
Bookshelf Size: 631
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-swat3737.html
Latest Review: Sherlock and I A Memoir of Medical Mysteries in a US Rural Practice by Frederick Kassis, MD

Post by Swat3737 »

My favorite aspect of reading ebooks is the ease of looking up definitions, which I used often in reading Adrift. I was slightly familiar with the language of boats/sailors but still looked up a lot of definitions.
"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star." - Friedrich Nietzsche
User avatar
Eclecticmama
Posts: 168
Joined: 03 Apr 2019, 16:45
Favorite Author: Patricia Briggs
Currently Reading: Chasing Fireflies
Bookshelf Size: 90
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eclecticmama.html
Latest Review: The Engine Woman's Light by Laurel Anne Hill
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S
fav_author_id: 4314

Post by Eclecticmama »

Oh my word, the dictionary has come in handy with this one for me. At one point I looked up four words on one page, which drastically slowed me down.
It was a minor irritation, but didn’t ruin the story. It was made much easier using the dictionary right in the kindle, though!
User avatar
Stephanie Elizabeth
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2989
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 15:41
Currently Reading: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Bookshelf Size: 212
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stephanie-elizabeth.html
Latest Review: Do You Remember Me? by Wm M Crouch

Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

I found I had to keep looking words up! I have absolutely zero knowledge of nautical language..until now that is!
Smiley 25
Posts: 95
Joined: 06 Jan 2019, 00:42
Currently Reading: Individual Advantages
Bookshelf Size: 85
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-smiley-25.html
Latest Review: Homecoming by Jude Austin

Post by Smiley 25 »

The nautical terms throughout the book caused me to read slower than normal. I am slightly familiar with boats and some of the terms still stumped me. I agree with the above comment: it would have been nice if the author had put the definitions for these terms in the footnotes, or even in the front of the book for reference. The most confusing terms for me were wiper, reefer, and lee. One entire sentence boggled my mind completely: “we’ll go into the foc’sle, find some come alongs, use them to get the loop of the cable over the bits.” Even the character, Travis, was confused by that one. :lol2: I laughed when I read that part.
User avatar
Stephanie Elizabeth
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2989
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 15:41
Currently Reading: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Bookshelf Size: 212
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stephanie-elizabeth.html
Latest Review: Do You Remember Me? by Wm M Crouch

Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

The most foreign words for me were "aft" and "winches" I kept dismissing them in the beginning but eventually thought it was important to look them up!
User avatar
Brenda Creech
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3382
Joined: 09 Mar 2019, 13:34
Favorite Author: Mary Pat Ferron Caines
Favorite Book: The Reel Sisters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 356
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brenda-creech.html
Latest Review: Was She Crying for Me? by Jerry Hyde
fav_author_id: 253250

Post by Brenda Creech »

I was familiar with some of the terms, but also learned a few! I really didn't react to any of the terms in one way or another, I just read them and moved on!
B. Creech
"Like beauty in the eyes, the divinity of the rose may be in the nose that smells it, and the lover that beholds it." Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
User avatar
Katherine Smith
Posts: 1463
Joined: 30 Mar 2017, 10:56
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 524">Nancy Drew</a>
Currently Reading: The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
Bookshelf Size: 504
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katherine-smith.html
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
Reading Device: B01KVZV52A

Post by Katherine Smith »

Some of the terms in the book were slightly familiar to me because I have watched movies and television shows that focused on sailing. The word that confused me was aft and I didn't know if that was a typo or not. I had the look it up to find out what it meant before returning to the story.
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
User avatar
Lady-of-Literature
Posts: 284
Joined: 24 Dec 2018, 20:36
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 29
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lady-of-literature.html
Latest Review: Twisted Threads by Kaylin McFarren

Post by Lady-of-Literature »

I could hardly understand what the sea terms meant, my knowledge begins and ends with Pirates of the Carrabiean. Still, I had no trouble researching the terms when necessary. I liked it actually. It further engrossed into the world of a sailor.
User avatar
frowngoclownfish
Posts: 78
Joined: 03 Feb 2019, 14:27
Favorite Author: Rick Riordan
Favorite Book: Speaker for the Dead
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 108
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-frowngoclownfish.html
Latest Review: Arsenic and Old Men by Glenn Ickler
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S
fav_author_id: 2909

Post by frowngoclownfish »

LV2R wrote: 01 Apr 2019, 23:25 I basically just ignored the nautical vocabulary and focused more on the story. It didn't bother me, but it did show that the author was used to the terms since he had experience on boats himself.
I've never considered ingoring the terms. I'm the type of person who has to read every single word or I feel like I've missed an important part of the story. Did it make following the story any harder than normal?
"I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else."
― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at The End of the Lane
User avatar
Manang Muyang
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 11161
Joined: 02 May 2017, 20:17
Favorite Book:
Currently Reading: Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
Bookshelf Size: 685
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-manang-muyang.html
Latest Review: Your Great Name by Shawn Funk
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by Manang Muyang »

I am no mariner, but those words need to be there for realism. Sheldon was a fisherman and sailor so he could wield those words easily. I didn't mind them, but I'm sure the ship-savvy appreciate them.
EllieLieberman
Posts: 81
Joined: 03 Mar 2019, 12:37
Currently Reading: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Bookshelf Size: 42
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ellielieberman.html
Latest Review: Adrift by Charlie Sheldon

Post by EllieLieberman »

I thought the terminology was cool. I hardly understood any of it, but I felt it helped set the scene and made the story feel more authentic. My experience with reading it kind of reminded me of when I read A Clockwork Orange. At first it was impossible for me to understand, but as I got going it was easier to understand. None of it stuck when I finished the book, but while I was reading, I was able to get the gist of what they were saying based on context clues.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon”