Rating: 
Summary: Another from the lady who survived The Perfect Storm
Review: Remember Linda Greenlaw? The captain of the boat that DIDN'T go down in The Perfect Storm? Here she is again, and she's written a beauty of a book, very different from The Hungry Ocean, her previous book about that nasty storm. Greenlaw has given up swordfishing and lives on a teensy island off Maine's coast where she's a lobster-woman. Only 47 souls live full-time on this island, and she figures she's someway related to more than half of them. This book is a collection of essays, many of which are stand-alone pieces, full of Down East eccentric characters that enrich her life, the island, and the world itself just by the largess of their existence.
I recently participated on a panel with Greenlaw at SF's Books by the Bay and found her to be as open, engaging, self-confident, and funny in person as she is on the printed page.
Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Immensely interesting
Review: This book is an interesting chronicle of a life about which I previously knew nothing. Five years ago, Linda Greenlaw gave up her 17-year career as a swordboat captain and returned home to her tiny island off the coast of Maine to fish for lobsters. Quite a change from her previous life on the high seas! She now "captains" a small boat with her only crew member being her father, a far cry from the excitement of swordfish fishing.Greenlaw's unadorned, reportorial descriptions of the trials, tribulations, and sometimes- joys of the life she has chosen made for good reading. She gives us the technical and nautical details in ways that seem almost uncomplicated. I had no idea what lobster fishing involved and think she presented it in a great way. Her love of and respect for the ocean is apparent throughout the book. I especially liked the vignettes of some of the islanders. Most entertaining. The book is really a lovely commentary on life, rather than a "how to" book on lobster fishing.
Rating: 
Summary: more about the people and less about the lobsters, please
Review: Linda Greenlaw made a name for herself as a successful swordfish boat captain based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Sebastian Junger wrote about her in "The Perfect Storm" and she subsequently wrote about herself in "The Hungry Ocean". (I haven't read either of those so no comments there.) Ready for a change, she returned to the small Maine island where she had grown up, Isle Au Haut. The island has only a few dozen residents, and many of them are her relatives. Like most locals, she set herself up as a lobster fisherman, with her father as her assistant. This book describes her life on the island and one lobster season. She does tell some interesting stories about what it is like to live on an island, dealing with winter isolation, summer tourists and year-round local politics. However there were way too many passages like this one..."All traps are equipped with hard plastic escape vents that have oval openings large enough to allow 'short' or undersized lobsters to exit a trap at will. Each of my traps has two vents, one in the door and one in the parlor end. Maine State Law requires that one vent be secured with biodegradable hog rings, while the other may be set with stainless steel, requiring little or no maintenance. The idea behind the mandatory biodegradable vent is to ensure the liberty of all lobsters within a trap that may be lost or neglected. 'Ghost gear,' or lost traps, are not a threat to lobsters' lives because the biodegradable hog rings deteriorate within a season, allowing the plastic vent to flop open, leaving a large exit. All biodegradable rings or remains of rings must be replaced when overhauling traps if a fisherman expects to catch anything. Otherwise, lobsters will find open vents, and fishermen will haul up empty traps. I was clumsy with the hog-ring pliers at first, but found more ease and comfort as the morning progressed."...and on it goes, pages and pages of this stuff. This book would be essential reading for any aspiring lobster fisherman. Not falling into that category myself, I found the level of detail excessive and there simply weren't enough good anecdotes to make up for it. I wish that her editor had been more aggressive. By the end I was glad to wave farewell to both Greenlaw and the island.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely, but incomplete
Review: A wonderful read by the ever engaging Linda Greenlaw who delivers a bittersweet and loving snapshot of her remote home island. A fascinating look inside the traditional lobster trade, the book is really about Greenlaw's own struggles to find meaning in her work, her life, and to begin to accept the mortality of her parents. My only regret is that the book stops quite abruptly, leaving several story lines incomplete, requiring a terse afterword to sketch in some missing pieces. But any time spent with Greenlaw is quality time; her anecdotes manage to be both charming and sharp-eyed. She'll be getting lots of mail over the one jarring section in the book, her rant over dog ownership: Greenlaw derides anyone who stoops to the poop and scoop element. Interestingly, it is this passage which gives us the key to the real theme in this book, Greenlaw's longing for a home, husband and children. Enduring love, like lobster fishing and dog ownership, involves some nasty bits, like handling rancid bait, picking up dirty socks, or dog poop. She understands the connection between the hard, often punishing work of fishing and its rewards...but until she can see what inspires a person to clean up after their dog, she won't be ready for a human of her own. But she'll make it there; this woman has a huge heart and wonderful stories. Buy her books, they are rare treats.
Rating:
Summary: I always wondered about those claw bands!
Review: I read The Lobster Chronicles before The Hungry Ocean, and enjoyed this second tale from Linda Greenlaw. I know many people who read them in chroniclogical order and were disappointed that this followup story of Ms. Greenlaw's new life and profession couldn't measure up to her first book. I disagree. The Lobster Chronicles describes a place, and a passion for that place, on the part of the author. Anyone who has been to a Maine island will recognize the different patterns and nuances of life offshore. Ms. Greenlaw brings out the colorful character of a very small and isolated community, and some of the many challenges and benefits it enjoys. An aging population, quirky citizens, unavailable healthcare, unlocked doors, lack of social life, beautiful vistas, abundant freedom, small town politics...the author provides a vivid illustration of life on Isle au Haut, Maine. Her passion for the island and its community comes with her bloodlines. She frequently returns to writing about her family members, and indeed, spends most of the summer running a lobster boat with her father as crew. With good humor, she parallels her failure to catch lobster with her inability, thus far, to catch a mate. Ms. Greenlaw writes gracefully and with great nobility about her family's encounter with devastating illness. Warning: Unfailingly, lobster fans will need to devour a buttery tail or two after finishing this page turner. A terrific summer read!
Rating:
Summary: laughter among the lobsters
Review: Our discussion on Linda Greenlaw's second memoir-type book, was full of laughs. This is in contrast to her first, very serious effort about the death defying Hungry Ocean and being captain of a swordfish boat. Returning home to live on an island of only 70 year-round residents, with 30 being related to Linda, would require humor. She provides daily events which entertain and reveal true Maine island characters. Lobstering is not easy either, but her family and island friends make the long, cold winter an intimate affair. Who wants to attend those community meetings, anyway? Same problem in crowded cities on shore...I am looking forward to Greenlaw's third book, fiction next, I believe?
Rating:
Summary: Lobster Chronicles
Review: I highly recommend any audiobook, especially if you spend alot of time in the car.... This was the first audiobook that I have heard and it was very entertaining so that now I'm hooked on audiobooks! I was able to finish the abridged version (only 3 cassettes) driving back and forth to work over a couple of days. The Lobster Chronicles is a true story of the author's experiences as a lobster fisherwoman from a 40 year old's perspective. The author grew up on a small rustic island off the coast of Maine and returned home recently to become a lobster fisherwomen after pursuing other career options on the mainland. Originally, I heard the author speak on "Book Notes" and was captivated by her unusual career as a woman. Because the author reads her own story, she easily draws you into her unique experiences and family history.
Rating:
Summary: lobster chronicles
Review: Its a good book on tape but the author should have had a professional do the narration. Her spoken communications are not too great.
It would have been easier to follow. This is in reference to the audio tape version.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet read
Review: I don't find time to read many books, but was glad that this book found it's way to my night stand. This is a sweet read. I found myself looking forward to my 20 minutes of reading time every nite to experience life in a small island community. I have not read Linda's other book "The Hungry Ocean", but now it's next on my "books to order" list. Thanks Linda, for inviting us into your home!
Rating:
Summary: Not on the same level as "The Hungry Ocean"
Review: First time authors and musicians who experience success often have a problem: what do they do for an encore? Frequently, authors fail to be as successful with their follow-up effort; hence the term "sophomore jinx." Unfortunately, Greenlaw faces that problem. While her writing style remains engaging and welcoming, there' s just not a lot of substance to this recounting of her time on Isle Au Haut, the "very small island" of the title. Its not really her fault, there are items of interest here, its just the whole thing doesn't prove to be very compelling. The book possibly should have been shorter and it might have worked better. Unlike "The Hungry Ocean," which had the hook of her being the only known female swordfish boat captain, and offered the danger of sailing the ocean in sometimes dangerous waters, lobstering just seems a little, well, boring. To her credit, she may have realized this and, in reality, lobstering isn't the primary focus of the book. But still, despite more than a few interesting characters populating the island, there's just not a lot of interest going on here. Having said that, I still recommend the book. As noted, she does have an engaging writing style and, as with her previous book, you finish wishing you could go somewhere and sit down for a drink with her.
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