I feel like I get most of my followers on Goodreads because the books I read are so weird, that people are like, trying to figure out my system. "Does she read bodice-rippers on Wednesdays and nonfiction on Fridays? WHERE did she hear about an art coffee table book about stuffed Victorian hunting trophies?" I have weird taste in books, okay? I'm not even going to bother defending it; my taste is eclectic and odd, because so am I. But if there's one thing that's basically guaranteed to snag my attention, it's weird nonfiction books about FUN!SCIENCE.
MUST LOVE TREES is a book written by a dude who is a tree aficionado. (Treeficionado?) I think he might be TikTok famous but I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that this man LOVES trees. In addition to some scientific information, he also creates a fake award set for best trees in movies (he calls them the Treemies), talks about going for walks in his neighborhood and taking paths to see his favorite trees, provides lists about most huggable trees, and then even brags about his impeccable taste in Christmas trees, followed by a breakdown by genus.
I like trees but apparently I don't LOVE trees. Not like this guy, anyway. But I appreciate and admire his enthusiasm. I also appreciated and admired the art in this book, which was cartoony and cute. The cover actually doesn't do this book justice, imo. I'm giving this a three because sometimes this book could be too cheesy and it would make you feel how one-note this book is, hard. For what it is, I think it's really fun, and this would probably be a great resource in an elementary school or middle school science lab because I think kids would get a kick out of it. But it's not something I'd pick up again and again. (Although I miiiiiight be obsessed with sweetgum trees now, SO PRETTY.)
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
YOU LOOK LIKE A THING AND I LOVE YOU was a purely impulsive buy. Last year I made it one of my New Years' Reading Goals to pick up a book about tech every month for work-- and I failed. But I still do really enjoy reading books about technology, especially when they have a slightly comical bent, as this one does. YOU LOOK LIKE A THING is about artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms, how they work, and the funny ways they can go wrong.
The author does such a good job making this book accessible to people who may have only a limited working knowledge of how programming works. She also illustrates her points with funny little comics and illustrations. She says that training AI is like training a dog: you have to be specific and make sure you do the right kinds of trainings; otherwise, the AI will take the path of least resistance. One of the examples was a horse betting AI who decided that the most profitable option was to not bet at all.
She also cautions that sometimes the path the AI chooses as the most efficient may not be the most beneficial to humans. An example for this was an AI playing a flight simulator who found out that if they crashed the plane at high velocity, it overloaded the systems that measured force, which then rewarded the AI for a soft landing at 0 (even though if a landing like this was attempted IRL, it would kill everyone on the plane). Similar problems occurred when a self-driving car AI was only trained on what trucks looked like from behind and not the side (it decided the sideways truck was am overhead billboard sign and collided with it).
If you're interested in AI and tech, you'll love this book. It's very cute and very funny. It gets a little repetitive after a while but I really enjoyed reading it nonetheless.
HOOKED started out strong but ended up becoming a kind of pale shadow of SALT SUGAR FAT. It starts out talking about the seeming addictive qualities of fast food and the lack of success people had trying to hold the food industries accountable for them the way the cigarette industry eventually was. From there, it talks about the various mechanisms in our brains and bodies that make salt, sugar, and fat so addictive, and how the changes in the way we obtain and consume food has led to an increase in obesity and heart problems.
I'm kind of surprised the author mentioned Ancel Keys but not John Yudkin. John Yudkin (correctly) stated that sugar was most likely the cause of obesity and heart problems all the way back in the 1950s, but Keys, an agent of Big Sugar, discredited and mocked his research, claiming that it was fat that made people fat, even though fat has been a dietary staple of humans since, basically, forever, whereas sugar-- especially refined sugar-- has only really come about into the food supply in high quantity in the latter half of the 20th century.
This book could have been better but it felt kind of disorganized and incomplete.
I did not know that this was a children's book when I got it but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. First, NATURE'S TREASURES is a gorgeous book. The edges of the pages are gilt and it has marvelous full-color illustrations and photos on every page. It is divided into three sections: animals, plants, and minerals, with a bonus section at the end about natural oddities (such as honeycomb and fossils). This is basically a celebration of the natural world, praising everything from pyrite (which can form cube-like crystals) to the fruits and leaves of various plants to feathers to seashells to the humble egg.
NATURE'S TREASURES is packed with all sorts of trivia. For example, giant clams get as large as a double-bed and actually get so big that they lose the ability to close and can live for over one hundred years! Puffins are also apparently the only birds that molt their beaks (they have a summer beak and a winter beak). Fossilized trees are basically living spectroscopes and they are sometimes called rainbow wood because you can tell what type of minerals formed in them based on the color. Oh, and ginkgo is so old that it predates plants that flowered or bore fruit.
This would make a great gift for a precocious kid who's into life sciences, but it would also make a gorgeous coffee table book for a nerd who loves art (because the illustrations in this book are, again, gorgeous). It's on par with some of those Eyewitness books, but more artsy, just to give you an idea of how this book is constructed. I also like that it doesn't balk at defining the scientific terms for kids.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
I bought this book on impulse because it was on sale and the picture on the cover was so pretty. Would this be a book of celestial maps? Well... sort of. SKY ATLAS actually ended up being more-- and less-- than what I thought it would be. In the beginning, there are a number of pictures of maps created by indigenous people and early civilizations (and even later ones!) as part of their mythological/spiritual beliefs about the sky, but then SKY ATLAS catapults into the scientific discoveries of the great minds from antiquity to the present day.
I actually haven't taken all that many hard sciences so some of this book was over my head, but I thought the author did a great job taking difficult subjects and simplifying them for the layman (layperson?). For example, comparing the theory of relativity to lying on a trampoline and then shooting a marble at the person (#rude) and the marble getting caught in the dip created by your mass. I understood that! There were also some really fascinating, tell-all-your-friends facts in here, too, like how an Egyptian vizier was executed for allegedly communicating with Saturn or how Venus apparently rotates at the speed that most people walk. Facts like these I could totally get down with and made the book totally worth it IMO, because knowledge is power! (Or... something.)
One of the best things about this book, though, is how inclusive it is. By including spiritual and mythological discoveries, Brooke-Hitching doesn't exclude indigenous people and THEIR observations of the sky. He also talks about the Middle East and Asia, and there are a TON of women scientists featured in here. Some of the things he talked about I had never learned and it was kind of cool to see how many women star-gazers there were and what their contributions to astronomy were.
Overall, SKY ATLAS ended up being a really fun and interesting read, kind of like Bill Nye for adults, and I think that the author has a really fun and accessible narrative "voice" that makes the book even more engaging, despite the difficulty of some of the subject matter.
It's impossible to read this book and not hear David Attenborough's voice in your head. He's, like, the quintessential life sciences narrator. I guess this was originally published in the 70s but I'm guessing-- hoping-- it has been updated since then, since science is constantly evolving, and things are always being renamed and reclassified as we understand our world better. For example, slime molds used to be classified under the Fungi kingdom and have now, I believe, been reclassified into three classes under-- I think-- under the kingdom Protozoa.
There are all sorts of fun and interesting facts in here, like how the Grand Canyon is a sort of living timeline set in stone for scientists to peruse, or how scorpions do a fun little mating dance as they join claws, or how electric eels aren't actually eels, or how sea cucumbers launch their organs at you as a defense mechanism, or how hyenas casually talk about what's for dinner tonight, Zebra? before attacking a herd.
I'm giving it a three because sometimes the text can be incredibly dry and it's often disorienting how Attenborough starts out talking about one animal before flowing into another, or six, sometimes leaving you a little disoriented. The paragraphs are also incredibly long and dense, which makes this book feel more like a textbook and less accessible than his shows/movies. The pictures are lovely and break up the text in a nice way and part of me wishes there were more of them, even though I understand that full color pictures ramp up the costs of the book and sporadic insertion means less money.
I bought this on impulse because it was on sale in the Kindle store and whenever I see something having to do with SCIENCE, I immediately flash back to grade school, when my teacher would roll out the AV equipment and I knew that it was going to be a Good Day because we were about to watch a video. About SCIENCE. Because science rules.
THE BIG, BAD BOOK OF BOTANY is a collection of plant facts about various plants, organized in alphabetical order. I'm not really sure how the plants in here made the cut-- maybe they were just ones the author thought were particularly nifty?-- but they were all pretty interesting. Like, I didn't know there was such a thing as cyanide grass or that avocados are considered berries(??) or that there are extant trees that are still alive that date back to pre-Bronze age. CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING 5,000 YEARS OLD? Only two things live that long: vampires and trees. (Maybe that's why wood kills vampires?? They're rivals.)
I see that a lot of botanists rage-quit this book because the author got some minor details wrong. I'm guessing that this is a layperson's book for people who are just looking for trivia to tell their friends and family. The only thing I really picked out in this book that made me unhappy was the tobacco section when the author was like Columbus discovered tobacco! No, Columbus columbused tobacco from Native people who were using that tobacco way before that jerk swaggered his way into America.
Overall, though, this was fun and informative and I'm keeping it on hand for reference because it had so many interesting facts that I think I might like to revisit another time.
On behalf of everyone's inner-child everywhere, I would like to let you know that this book about dinosaurs is only ~$1.99~On behalf of everyone's inner-child everywhere, I would like to let you know that this book about dinosaurs is only ~$1.99~...more
I enjoy reading trash as much as the next person but I do have a degree in the (social) sciences and I actually love biology, so whenever I can get my hands on books about botany, biology, psychology, or the natural world, I start to get grabby. Looking at the other reviews for GONE, I wasn't really prepared for what it was going to be about. I thought it was going to be about animals that were thought to have been extinct but weren't (such as the frilled shark or the coelacanth), or about weird animals that have been extinct for years that are really cool looking (like eohippus or the smilodon). Instead, the focus of this book was mostly about recent extinctions and features some pretty graphic descriptions of animal cruelty. What happened to the great auk and the huia were particularly upsetting.
GONE focuses on several creatures recently lost to history-- great auk, spectacled cormorant, Steller's sea cow, upland moa, huia, South Island kokako, Xerces blue, Pinta Island tortoise, dodo, Schomburgk's deer, and Ivell's sea anemone. Each chapter features beautiful full color illustrations of what the animals would have or were thought to have looked like in life, a description of their behavior and habitat, and, when known, the means of their destruction (usually human beings). Every animal gets its own chapter.
The tone of this book is, as others have pointed out, strange. Blencowe definitely adopts an elegiac air for these stories that shrouds them in gravitas, but there are odd notes of humor (that aren't disrespectful, just sort of read as the author trying to keep things from getting too dark). At times it reads like a travelogue because he is physically going to all of these animals' stomping grounds or to the museums that house their remains, and there are even moments where the narrative can feel almost whimsical. There's an incredibly darkly funny passage in here about a scientist who was so consumed with hatred over one of his rivals that he kept a piece of his spine on display after his death. I mean, that's just purely ridiculous. But then there are the really sad passages about animal deaths that are hard to read, and I think would be very upsetting for the animal lovers who might be tempted to pick this up.
I think if you really enjoy natural history and are okay with the darker side that sometimes accompanies scientific curiosity left unchecked (if presented as a cautionary tale), you may find this book interesting. I learned a lot and found parts of it fascinating and I loved the illustrations, but I would not read it again.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
This is such a beautiful book. It's hard bound, with actual thread in the spine holding the pages together. I haven't seen a book like this in years, it's so wonderfully made. I've always loved biology-- it was the only science I ever really felt passionate about-- so obviously I couldn't pass up the chance to get this book that's part art book, part history book, and part science book. HOW ZOOLOGISTS ORGANIZE THINGS is a history of taxonomy, yes, but it also has many beautiful full-color illustrations (at least one per page, I would say), and lots of interesting history about how the way we viewed the natural world changed over time.
The book begins with bestiaries and theology, and the mysticism with which people in the dark ages viewed animals and wildlife. The animals are quite funnily drawn, with faces that look more like human faces placed on an animal body, and it's quite strange. The lore they came up with about these animals is also ridiculous. Apparently at least one author believed that hedgehogs were evil, mischievous critters who rolled in fruit to have it stick to their spines so they could steal it away. How funny!
During the Renaissance, the observations become more scientific in nature, and obviously, in the 19th century, it became a full-blown field that had explores tromping off into the far reaches of the world, looking for new specimens. Lest you think that the author ignores the darker side of that research, he does not. The racism and colonial entitlement of these explorers is noted several times on the page; scientific discovery advanced before people's ethics did, with catastrophic results.
The book ends with some of the more modern advancements we have made with our current science, bringing the book full circle. We start out with codices of bible stories, and end on microscopic images generated with computers and powerful microscopes. There's still lots we don't know about the animal kingdom, though, and I think the one constant in this book is that sense of wonder and innate curiosity that led to these sorts of studies (even if that curiosity could, and did, end up becoming quite cruel).
This is not an easy read but it is very image-heavy and the images are absolutely gorgeous and have very helpful captions. Anyone who loves biology and history might consider buying this book for the images alone. I've already had several family members ask to borrow this book when I'm done because they were so impressed by the illustrations. The author, David Bainbridge, is a veterinary anatomist at Cambridge, and his knowledge really shines through in this book.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Okay, before I even get into this review, how perfect is this guy's name? Not only does he study mushrooms, he has a name like a professor in one of the Harry Potter books. Which is perfect, since mushrooms do have a bit of a reputation for being mysterious, sinister, and even kind of spooky. Which, if you read this book, you'll find out is a reputation that they totally deserve.
ENTANGLED LIFE is all about fungi (because they're fun, guys!), written by an author for whom this is clearly a passion project. It's like a non-stupid version of Goop Lab, only completely mushroom-oriented... or like Bill Nye for a higher grade level. In his quest to study the wild shroom, Sheldrake does all kinds of things like tromping through the rainforest to count flowers for a mushroom network, experiencing a "fermentation bath" (rotting wood and mushrooms-- ahh, relaxing!), or tripping out on LSD in a controlled lab environment... for SCIENCE!
I learned so much from this book that I didn't even know, like how cordyceps mushrooms (zombie fungi) take over carpenter ants, march them to their place of death mafia-style, only to consume the ant and sprout a mushroom out of its head when they're finished like they're some sort of hideous nightmare Pikmin creature! Or that mushrooms are actually more closely related to animals than plants. Mushrooms even have sort of a "hive mind" dynamic, because if you measure the electrical output of mushrooms while exposing one of them to a flame or chemical stimulus, several other mushrooms in the network will give a jolt of electricity. The author also quotes a scientist who refers to lichen as "a sensational romance...[an] unnatural union between a captive Algal damsel and a tyrant Fungal master."
OH MY GOSH you guys. I knew there was a reason I thought lichen was cool! It's basically the scientific equivalent of a medieval bodice ripper. SIGN ME UP.
Also, I learned about a really cool plant called "ghost pipes," which would be an excellent name for a Goth rock band. Ghost pipes are basically albino vampire plants that look like mushrooms and don't need to photosynthesize because of the presence of... FUNGUS. (Yaaaass!)
The book ends with some of the more practical applications of mushrooms, like how mycelium can be used to make furniture, biodegradable packing materials, and even clothes. Or how the presence of fungus can change the taste of bread, spices, and other foods for the better. And then there's a chapter about yeast and how it is used to create ciders and beers. Whether it's tasty, scary, or poisonous, this book isn't afraid to delve into it, as long as it's mushroom related.
I know we're all quarantined right now but if any of you are ever in San Francisco, there's a stall in the Ferry Building that's entirely mushroom-related and they have all these really exotic edible mushrooms that are hard to find, as well as colorful posters depicting mushroom taxonomies. I thought of that stall several times while reading this book.
ENTANGLED LIFE is definitely a must-read to learn more about the fungus among us.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨
>
Books:
bill-nye-the-science-guy
(34)
Loading...
