The Books Every New Scuba Diver Needs

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I'll agree with the Reef set.

But what makes your book indispensable? I'm always a little skeptical about self-promotions like this.

Edit - I just noticed it's in Kindle Unlimited. I will read it and report back.
I read it and cannot recommend it. Much of it is completely generic advice that is frequently wrong in the details. Here's a few examples.

While a wing is still a BCD, as you will see, there are no “standard” features because many are custom assembled from parts purchased at a local dive center... [The author means BP/W, but apparently doesn't know the term, referring to them sometimes as "wing" and other times as "backplate". He also appears to be unaware that they mostly bought as a package these days.]


A yoke-style regulator can be used for a maximum of 3,000 psi. Most aluminum tanks are filled to 3,000 psi, so this isn’t an issue; however, steel tanks can be filled higher. If you plan on diving tanks with more than 3,000 psi, a yoke-style regulator is not a good choice for you....


The advantage of using a balanced regulator comes into play in deep diving. balanced first-stage regulators are more efficient in supplying air as the ambient pressure increases. Whether you are at 10 feet or 100 feet, it will deliver the air consistently. It will also continue to work the same regardless of how much pressure is left in your tank. An unbalanced regulator will breathe with more difficulty if a diver is deep, or breathing heavily because of exertion...


First, if you are diving aluminum tanks, then the more air you consume, the lighter your tanks are. With 3000psi in it, an aluminum 80 tank is roughly 1.5 pounds negatively buoyant. As you breathe through your air though, it becomes lighter. At 750 PSI that same aluminum 80 tank is 3 pounds positively buoyant. The more air you consume, the lighter you will become. This is not true of steel tanks.


There's also the usual proofreading issues you find in self-published materials.

I'll be more specific. The gear selection section, which is the largest in the book, is completely worthless. It feels like it was written by chatGPT There is nothing that new divers could take from that section that would help them to actually select gear.

The next section about cleaning and caring for gear is OK. Although I suspect most experienced divers would take issue with at least one aspect of his recommendations for cleaning regs.

Then we go back downhill in the chapters on proper weighting and buoyancy. Again, generic and often wrong on the details.

It gets a little better in the section on boat and shore diving. I could actually see this making a first time diver a little less nervous.

The final section on tipping is, IMO, the only one that is really useful for students and beginning divers, at least for Florida dive ops. I'm pretty sure this has to do with the author's first hand experience as the person being tipped.
 
I loved Shadow Divers but not sure it would be considered a "must read" for new divers.... But if you liked Shadow Divers then maybe try "The Last Dive" .......basically the story of Chris and Chrissy Rouse. Although I don't consider myself a Tech Diver, I have done some technical diving and this book seemed to me to do a decent job of digging into some of the "evolution" of tech, cave and wreck diving.
 
Are you looking for fiction, dive guides, fish guides, general technique? The list for Carib would be pretty long. I agree with Reef Guides. Shadow Divers is good, there are several in that genre.
 
It's strictly for new scuba divers. It explains a lot of things that I wish people had told me when I was a new diver.

It's a combination of lessons I've learned over the years and answers I've given to my students when they have questions.

While I sell a few on Amazon (and yes, it's included on the list partly for self-promotion) the majority of copies out there have been me giving an ecopy to my students. I think the info is that important.

Cheers! :)
=C=
sounds like an awesome book. Gonna have try to locate a copy
 
Super tough crowd. I think the world is big enough for more websites catering to divers, especially regional. Keep at it. :)

When I started diving I read all the disaster books I could find! I wanted to avoid the errors others had made, and as they say, "you don't know what you don't know" so I had to find out what I didn't know. Still more to learn.

I read some heady stuff and I also read garbage. So for what it's worth, here's my list - some are fiction.
  • I enjoyed all of Kathy Brandt's books - fiction.
  • Confessions of a Divemaster by Kris Mears - it's been a while and I don't remember if I liked it
  • Lost Wife, Saw Barracuda by John Kean - loved the title but don't remember much about the book
  • Shadow Divers by Kurson - loved it
  • Dive Deep and Deadly - Glen Marsh Alam
  • Scuba Snob's Guide to Etiquette - Dennis Jacobson - good for beginners so they don't make newbie errors
  • Diver Down - Michael Ange - loved it
  • The Last Dive - by Bernie Chowdury
  • Bahamas Bucket List - Nate Riley (he's just such an awesome person!)
  • All of those Reef Guide books are great, but if you can download them into Kindle, even better. It's a pain to pack those guides because they're very heavy.
 
my son gave me a book for a birthday present, Its called the worlds 100 greatest dives or something like that. Unfortunately he has no intention of providing the funds to enable me to visit those dive sites!
 
I've also compiled a list of over 50 technical diving books and more than 60 general scuba diving books. They have affiliate links so if you're really not down with that then just note the book you like and don't click my link- It probably earns me one beer per month.

Technical diving books – The Technical Diver- 50 of the best books for tech divers.

Scuba diving books- 60 of the best books for scuba divers

Also listed the most prominent diving apps:

 

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