The Best Tropical Books!

I  have been on a tropical kick lately, and so I will, at various times, compile lists of the “Tropical Best Ofs”. Please help me if I miss anything really obvious. The first in this series, is the list of the Best Tropical Books. I love reading, but this is not a comprehensive list, and if you have more favorites, let me know. This can be sort of a reading guide to get into the tropical or exotic mood for reading on the beach or locked up in freezing weather dreaming of the tropics. I have read most of these, others I have skimmed, others I read long, long ago, but to really get into the tropical spirit, check these books out:

In the category of Best Humor Tropical Book (Non-Fiction), the winner goes to:

1) Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost.I just finished this book and it really was funny and interesting as well. I now know a lot more than I ever would have about atolls (small reef islands), the South Pacific, the nuclear bombing that the US did on those beautiful little islands and what life would be without much of anything on a modern, overpopulated island like Tarawa (Kiribati). It has some parts that just make you laugh out loud and others that make you shudder in disgust and then the next moment you envy their life of paradise. But isn’t that what life is like? A series of contradictions?

Best Recent FictionTropical Book

The winner in this category is: 2) Telex From Cuba by Rachel Kushner.

I really loved reading this book . It was one of those stories that just wraps you up and takes you there. And there, in this case, is late 1950s Cuba, the height of glamor and revolt. It has multiple vantage points including a burlesque dancer, a 10 year old boy, and a spy, and it gives the feel of what it would have been like to be all of those during this tumultuous time in history. The tropical scenes are just gorgeous, and I didn’t want it to end.

Best Classic Fiction Tropical Books

I couldn’t decide on just one, so there is a big tie. Which do you prefer? The winners are: 3) The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, 4) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, 5) Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFroe, 6) Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and 7) The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

Of course these are the classics! Who could forget the family that lived in a tree or the wild adventures with pirates (Long John Silver, of course), and of treasure on the untamed seas. Or one of the best tales of man against beast -and himself- off the Cuban shores. And of course, the story of greed, corruption and lost innocense in The Pearl.

Best Book of Short Stories

8) Tales from Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet

Just as Jimmy Buffet could never be left off any list of Tropical Music artists, he is also an author with a few books under his belt. This was released in 2002 and is a collection of what he calls “fictional facts and factual fictions”. If anyone can write about the tropical life, it would be Jimmy Buffet since he has traveled all around the world. But he doesn’t just write stories about himself, but rather intriguing, fun stories that probably have a little bit of him in each one.

Best Tropical Book for Children

9) Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Scott O’Dell won the Newbery Medal for Island of the Blue Dolphins in 1961. I remember reading this when I was a kid. It is about a young Indian girl, Karana, who lives alone on an island and survives the challenges of nature and isolation. It is based on a true story.

Best Tropical Book About Puerto Rico

10) Cuando Era Puertorriqueña or When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

This is another book that I just loved. It is an autobiography of Esmeralda Santiago’s life as a poor, rural country girl in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. Her perspective is so full of childlike wonder, it makes you crave to experience a little bit of the life of this young jíbara. Certainly life is difficult for this poor family but the magic of the Enchanted Island creeps into every aspect of life from eating a guava to performing the death rites to an infant. I could feel the sadness in the author as she recalled moving to New York and leaving her beautiful home island. To truly feel the emotions, history and culture of Puerto Rico from a Puerto Rican’s perspective, you must read this book.

And finally, for Most Adventure at Sea Tropical Book

11) Adrift by Steve Callahan

This is a true story of a man that survived for 76 days on just an inflatable raft! It is on National Geographic’s list of the 100 best adventure stories.

What do you think? Is this an accurate list of the best tropical books?

Newly added:

Herman Wouk’s “Don’t Stop the Carnival“.