Discover how the freedom of sucking at something can help you build resilience, embrace imperfection, and find joy in the pursuit rather than the goal. What if the secret to resilience and joy is the one thing we’ve been taught to avoid? When was the last time you tried something new? Something that won’t make you more productive, make you more money, or check anything off your to-do list? Something you’re really, really bad at, but that brought you joy? Odds are, not recently. As a sh*tty surfer and all-around-imperfect human Karen Rinaldi explains in this eye-opening book, we live in a time of aspirational psychoses. We humblebrag about how hard we work and we prioritize productivity over play. Even kids don’t play for the sake of playing anymore: they’re building blocks to build the ideal college application. But we’re all being had. We’re told to be the best or nothing at all. We’re trapped in an epic and farcical quest for perfection. We judge others on stuff we can’t even begin to master, and it’s all making us more anxious and depressed than ever. Worse, we’re not improving on what really matters. This book provides the antidote. (It’s Great to) Suck at Something reveals that the key to a richer, more fulfilling life is finding something to suck at. Drawing on her personal experience sucking at surfing (a sport she’s dedicated nearly two decades of her life to doing without ever coming close to getting good at it) along with philosophy, literature, and the latest science, Rinaldi explores sucking as a lost art we must reclaim for our health and our sanity and helps us find the way to our own riotous suck-ability. She draws from sources as diverse as Anthony Bourdain and surfing luminary Jaimal Yogis, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jean-Paul Sartre, among many others, and explains the marvelous things that happen to our mammalian brains when we try something new, all to discover what she’s learned firsthand: it is great to suck at something. Sucking at something rewires our brain in positive ways, helps us cultivate grit, and inspires us to find joy in the process, without obsessing about the destination. Ultimately, it gives you freedom: the freedom to suck without caring is revelatory. Coupling honest, hilarious storytelling with unexpected insights, (It’s Great to) Suck at Something is an invitation to embrace our shortcomings as the very best of who we are and to open ourselves up to adventure, where we may not find what we thought we were looking for, but something way more important.

Move over, dude! The Kook’s Guide to Surfing shows what it means to be a real surfer. This clever, often hilarious guide shares with kooks (those guys on surfboards who just don’t get it yet) the truths and know-how of a lifelong wave-lover. The secret: surfing responsibly and sharing the waves. You don’t have to be “too cool for school” to be cool in the water. But surfing like a pro isn’t just about courtesy, and neither is The Kook’s Guide to Surfing. The ultimate guide to great surfing, it’s got tips on choosing the right board for the right wave, stances and paddling, avoiding injuries and staying safe, and—once all that has been mastered—how and where to show off your skills in the big competitions. Other topics include: First lessons and helpful tips Physical fitness Types of waves Surf etiquette Buying surfboards An index of the best surf locations Filled with witty illustrations, a glossary of surfing terminology, and fun “Hey, Kook!” trivia, The Kook’s Guide to Surfing will turn even the greenest beginners into knockout surfing pros.

Have you ever wondered where surf­ing waves come from, what makes every wave dif­fer­ent, why some peel per­fectly and oth­ers just close out; why, some days, the waves come in sets and other days they don’t, and how the tides, the wind and the shape of the sea floor affect the waves for surf­ing? If you have, this book is for you. Now in its third edi­tion, Surf Sci­ence is the first book to talk in depth about the sci­ence of waves from a surfer’s point of view. It fills the gap between surf­ing books and waves text­books, and will help you learn how to pre­dict surf. Surf Sci­ence is also a use­ful intro­duc­tion to ocean­o­graphy and the sci­ence of waves. You don’t need a sci­entific back­ground to read it – just curi­os­ity and a fas­cin­a­tion for waves.

After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost everything: his health, his job, his girl, and, he was beginning to suspect, his mind. Kotler, not a religious man, suddenly found himself drawn to the sport of surfing as if it were the cornerstone of a new faith. Why, he wondered, when there was nothing left to believe in, could he begin to believe in something as unlikely as surfing? What was belief anyway? How did it work in the body, the brain, our culture, and human history? With the help of everyone from rebel surfers to rocket scientists, Kotler undertakes a three-year globetrotting quest. The results are a startling mix of big waves and bigger ideas: a surfer's journey into the biological underpinnings of belief itself.

The founders of a surf school for women provide both a practical how-to guide to the sport of surfing and a witty look at the surfing lifestyle, integrating advice from professional surfers and tips on how to stay safe while having fun.

Three expert physicians/surfers trained in emergency medicine, sports medicine, and family medicine explain everything you need to know to stay safe in the water. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, an SUPer or a bodyboarder, Surf Survival is the only book that every surfer must have in his or her backpack, car, and beach house. This practical handbook explains everything from how to reduce a shoulder dislocation to understanding waves and currents, from how to treat jellyfish stings to how to apply a tourniquet. Whether you are surfing a crowded beach in California or a remote island in Indonesia, be prepared to handle surfing-related emergencies from hypothermia and drowning to wound care and infections. Topics include: • Fitness for surfers • Prevention and rehabilitation of common overuse injuries • Wilderness first aid • Surviving the sun • Surf-travel medicine • Surviving big surf • SUP • Surfer's ear • And much, much more! Written by three expert physician surfers, packed with color photos and illustrations, this is the authoritative medical guide for surfers and watermen.

From the author of Welcome to Paradise, Now Go To Hell, a finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction One of Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament's Top 10 of 2018 It's no surprise that surfers like to party. The 1960-70s image, bolstered by Tom Wolfe and Big Wednesday, was one of mild outlaws--tanned boys refusing to grow up, spending their days drinking beer and smoking joints on the beach in between mindless hours in the water. But in the 1980s, as surf brands morphed into multibillion-dollar companies, the derelict portrait began to harm business. The external surf image became Kelly Slater and Laird Hamilton, beacons of health, vitality, bravery, and clean-living. Internally, though, surfing had moved on from booze and weed to its heart's true home, its soul's twin flame: cocaine. The rise of cocaine in American popular culture as the choice of rich, white elites was matched, then quadrupled, within surf culture. The parties got wilder, the nights stretched longer, the stories became more ridiculously unbelievable. And there has been no stopping, no dip in passion. It is a forbidden love, and few, if any, outside the surf world know about this particular rhapsody. Drug use is kept very well-hidden, even from insiders, but evidence of its psychosis rears its head from time to time in the form of overdoses, bar fights, surf contests, murders, and cover-ups. Cocaine + Surfing draws back the curtain on a hopped-up, sometimes-sexy, sometimes-deadly relationship and uses cocaine as the vehicle to expose and explain the utterly absurd surf industry to outsiders.