Welcome to Litsy!

I found this book about jellyfish completely fascinating. The author has the unique perspective of having been trained in the sciences but eventually deciding to pursue writing instead, so this is much more “science-y” than one would expect from a journalist but not such hard science writing as to cure insomnia. I‘m using it for #Japan for #ReadingAsia2020, but it works for #Israel as well.

Holy cannoli! Of the many fascinating facts in this book, this one may be the most mind boggling.

Also, the fact that one jellyfish swarm that caused a power outage by blocking water inflow at a power plant filled 50 dump trucks. 😲

#LitsyATXReadersSociety had their July meeting today and this months theme was #ocean 🌊

These were my picks for the theme. One I liked way more than I thought I would (Verne!) - the other I really wanted to like, but was ultimately disappointed (spineless)

Regardless, I ❤️the covers to both! #whyisntthereajellyfishemojiyet

This was a pretty decent nonfiction book, although maybe I would have preferred more science and less memoir...

The part about eating jellyfish was interesting to me because that wasn't anything I'd ever considered 😅 Apparently, (if properly prepared) it tastes like a crisp, raw vegetable 🤔

Overall, I'll give this one a pick for being short

Less Juli and more jelly, I'll say. It was interesting and I love jellyfish, but the random little interjections of her life felt just that: random and like she was forcing some connection that wasn't there. For a book touting conservation, we sure don't hear much about it until the last 3 chapters. But it's accessible: it talks about jellies in an easily understandable way and I learned a lot!

#goodreads (63 | 80)

Is anyone in the UK interested in reading about jellyfish? @shanaqui wants to give away a Kindle copy! #giveaways

Definitely pop science, liberally sprinkled with "and I got dumped here and this happened to me and here is some filler about my unrelated career", but lots of fascinating stuff all the same.

Still willing to buy one person a UK Kindle copy of this... ?

Suns out, buns out! I'm in the garden with the two younger ones right now. It's still warm from the day but not too bright, lots of birdsong, and the babies binkying around excitedly as I read. Bliss!

Reading this has so far led to me repeatedly looking up to tell my wife jellyfish facts. Always a good sign when I'm reading non-fiction!

If anyone in the UK with a Kindle wants a copy, I'd like to buy it for someone. If you'd like it, lemme have your email address and I'll get right on it! First request only, unfortunately... :)

The mix of personal narrative with solid science writing and whimsical metaphors really worked for me

Had dinner with Dad and now I am finishing my book on the snowy night. Funny to read about tropical marine life from under a wooly afghan on a stormy night.

“The genetic and anatomical features of the jellyfish were so different that it didn‘t qualify for inclusion in any of the known jellyfish families. If [biologists] could have put the Hogwarts sorting hat on the creature‘s bell, it would‘ve said that it was time for the school to expand and introduce a new house of wizards.”

I loved the mix of the scientific elements with Berwald's personal experiences. Jellyfish are fascinating -- and this reading experience prompted me to spend some time watching them at Shedd Aquarium today. Really interesting read. #24in48

I love that moment, only a chapter in, that you realize you are going to love a book.

I‘m enjoying this book, but I wish there were pictures of all these amazing creatures. Also, why is there no jellyfish emoji? Someone needs to get on that.

“Immersing myself in the science of jellyfish nourished a recognition that the fate of ocean, the very cauldron where life began and that still sustains our life on land, is now in our hands. We are responsible for its future, which is also our own - and that of our children.”

I swear this is all I'm buying at the NBF 🤞🏻. I already have 5 other books I brought with me so I'm not sure I can physically carry much more. I also definitely bought the tagged book, Spineless cause I liked the cover 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I'm sure it'll be interesting too #nationalbookfestival

Weirdly, this was more memoir than I was looking for, but it‘s not until the final pages when she has some poignant insights to offer from her experience (which makes this a pick and not a so-so). She presents the jellyfish vividly (it helps to take breaks to search for pictures of what she‘s talking about) and her own life so flatly. Still, I learned some very fun facts and I‘m always a sucker for that.

On the scores of varieties of proteins found in jellyfish stinging cells... the thing that gets me about this is the creatures are chemically prepared to attack structures and traits of creatures so much more complex than themselves.

This is my current #audiobook read. I‘m enjoying it. I think it would be better in print and with pictures. I have no clue what any of the jellyfish look like, and I have to google things to get a better idea. I did get it through my local library and Overdrive‘s Libby app.

Two facts for you— an adult jellyfish is called a Medusa— and there are fossilized jellyfish! (That‘s with a google if you‘ve got some time!)

1. Purple
2. The Venture Brothers, Trollhunters (a friend of mine voices Toby)
3. Everyone has already said I'll Be Gone in the Dark, so instead of murders, this book had me googling peaceful videos of different jellyfish species
4. Thousand island dressing, or ketchup, Mayo, and relish (i.e. thousand island dressing)
5. Grad party, maybe Philly's pride parade

#friyayintro
@jesshowbooks

Berwald manages to inject so much of her own gushing fondness and awe of these faceless creatures, interjected with anecdotes of her own professional/personal growth, that you won't be able to help but grow a fondness for them too.

Starting this on audio and already l o v e ❤️ it.

Another fish 🐠 book, this time about the mysterious and amazing jellyfish. A mix of science writing and memoir that generally worked well. The kind of book where I didn't know how much I didn't know until I started and then I was hooked. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #nonfiction2018

Interesting book about the complex world of jellyfish as well as the author‘s minimal memoir. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of jellyfish and was intrigued by a home tank (way too expensive). Octopuses are still more interesting to me, but this book definitely has me intrigued by jellyfishes.

When I wasn‘t accepted to any graduate school program to study invertebrate biomechanics, I had to reckon with the twin pressures that mold so many of our lives: passion and economics. Passion pushes our curiosity, drives innovation, and breaks through boundaries. Economics makes rules, sets boundaries, and forces compromise.

I was hoping for a more of a book about jellyfish. Jellies are present throughout, but mixed in are stories about the author's past, travel stories, and conversations about the past, present, and future of our oceans. It is well-written, well structured, but more of a memoir than a science book. Still enjoyable.

This fascinating research was mentioned in the book I am reading. Crazy!

The title could read like a self help book, but it‘s really a book about jellyfish! Jellyfish have been in existence for over half a billion years! (That‘s longer than any other animal on the planet) They‘re mesmerizing and venomous and graceful. I‘m so loving getting to know them better (especially from the safety of my living room.)

Planning to follow this up with Soul of an 🐙 #marineliferocks

“Maybe the time of the jellyfish‘s origin was an era before hunting, before aggression, before violence. Maybe when we think of prehistoric times, we should recall not a fierce place where dinosaurs stalked the Earth, but a time before that, a time of peace.” -Juli Berwald, page 69 of Spineless

Some of my tbr books for this year! #rogue hits my goal of finishing series I‘ve started, #spineless will help me read more non-fiction and #thestrangeandbeautifulsorrowsofavalavender just sounds amazing! 💜💜💜
I‘m also showing off my new reading socks! #christmasgift #myfiancelovesme

Diving into the world of jellyfish! @Liberty please tell Rebecca that it‘s from her recommendation on All the Books! Because I l know Rebecca was stressed about whether or not I would read it! 😂

Currently reading this beauty! First book of the year!

#TBRtemptation post 4! Recently released. Part science exposition, part travelogue, part memoir. The former ocean scientist studies the jellyfish--the oldest marine swimmers alive today, one of the most toxic animals, having the fastest motion among all animals, 95% water, chameleons, and literal luminaries. Largely ignored until recently, jellyfish have revolutionized biotechnology. They've also brought destruction. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-EY

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5 ⭐️s

Not quite what I was expecting it to be. Thought I‘d be getting something along the lines of Kolbert‘s The Sixth Extinction through the lens of jellyfish science, and though the book DOES aim for that it doesn‘t play as nice with the memoir aspect as I‘d like. Pretty good read, but could be better and more substantial.

Whoa how cool does this sound!? Billed as part memoir, part science book. Stacked! Also that cover is 😍😍

(I might be on a library ban for the rest of the year - trying to knock down the owned tbr a little - but that hasn't stopped my library wishlist from growing...)

🍜+📖=🤗💜🤤

So I totally failed at not buying any books this November, but I did better than I USUALLY do. Once I decided I needed Spineless, my willpower broke. The illustrated version of Neverwhere is so gorgeous.

Star Trek Catan is photobombing, but I swear it was a gift, not a purchase! *Side note, who's gonna play Catan with me....?

#neverwhere #spineless #catan #startrek #bookhaul #tbr

The Jellyfish Overlords, touted by the San Jose newspaper some years ago - author Juli Berwald begins researching jellies and becomes immersed in the story and, as all things oceanic, what we don‘t know about 70% of our planet. What a fact-filled and immersive journey we take with her as she researches jellies across the oceans. #NonFictionNovember @SkeletonKey now I say go ahead and buy it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am so glad i am reading this now so I am ready for when the “Jellyfish Overlords” take over!!! Really interesting information! #NonFictionNovember

Today‘s #NonFictionNovember lunchtime reading- Jellyfish for brain health in a whole new way!!😁

At this panel at the #TexasBookFestival. I find this book intriguing and I think it‘s going to be mine soon.

Fascinating treatise about jellyfish; their unassuming presence that affects so many aspects of oceanlife. It also ties into the environment and what's going on in the world today. The only thing I could have done without was the author talking so much about herself.