Welcome to Litsy!

This was my book club‘s most recent pick, and while the others struggled to dive in, I was completely captivated! This National Book Award finalist reads more like a memoir than a science text. Through chapters dedicated to the different octopuses she meets, Montgomery explores her admiration and curiosity for these creatures. This book leaves you feeling hopeful and in awe of the wonders of marine life. Great on audio! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars ❤️📚

This is an endearing book about the personalities of octopuses and the author‘s experience seeing and learning about their intelligence. Good, but slightly repetitive and I‘m probably not likely to love an octopus‘s sucker tasting my skin- I‘m mostly likely to be grossed out.

Bought this book for a friend who passed through town today but I couldn‘t see because I was working. A fascinating look at the consciousness of a very odd creature. More alien than most.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

Hard to pick just 3!

1)Tagged
2) Everything by Rick Bragg
3) Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal - Jeanette Winterson

Thanks for the tag @Read4life 💜. Tagging everyone so I can gather a huge list of recommendations 😁

@dabbe

Meredith from Book Interrupted recommends this book and dreams of an octopus hug too. Check out her thoughts on this weeks Manuscript Monday here: https://www.bookinterrupted.com/post/manuscript-monday-the-soul-of-an-octopus

🐙🐙🐙🐙
Absolutely fascinating

This is such a good book!

#involvesanimals #bookbinge

Alternative titles: 'Adventures at the Aquarium' or 'Octopuses are Nifty'. I had some forewarning by reading How to Be a Good Creature first, but for those interested, Sy Montgomery definitely has a more sentimental, reverent take on animal science. 1/?

I always get some sort of thrill when it turns out a non-fiction wins the tag in my newest grid!

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

Note: To equate quarter ratings to A-F scores, 3.5 and 3.25 both garner a C+, but 3.5 represents my quandary - is it a pick or a so-so!?

After 3 fictional books involving an octopus and a bookclub reason to reread one of them this month, it was time to for a non-fiction book about this cephalopod. I loved this book and when my grandkids head to preschool, I‘d love to spend time as the daily visitor to a Giant Pacific Octopus!

Fascinating read about how the octopus—usually portrayed as a menacing and monstrous creature, really has a unique personality, curious nature and perhaps an even deeper connection with us than we realize. And now I know that the plural of octopus is NOT octopi! 😆
Thx @HeathHof for the gift of this wonderful book.
#BookSpin
@TheAromaofBooks
#LitsyLoveReads
(Author‘s Insta photo: #sytheauthor)

Apologies for the late posting @TheKidUpstairs - thank you for my lovely mug and tasty coffee! #muglove23 , @cinfen

I was gifted this book from a coworker as part of a secret-Santa gift exchange and really didn‘t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. It‘s not a book I would have picked on my own but I enjoyed it.

@andrew65 For today's #WinterReadathonDailyChallenge I'm posting my favorite animals! Most of my favorite animals are sea creatures, except for the okapi. The okapi is cousin to the giraffe and extremely shy. The others are a cuttlefish, and 2 octopus: the dumbo octopus and the giant Pacific octopus! I sneaked this in under the wire tonight after a busy day with a Girl Scouts event!

Octopus & cuttlefish are my absolute favorite sea creatures. In this book, Montgomery explores what an octopus experiences in the world of thought and consciousness. Octopus are some of the most intelligent sea creatures and we follow the lives of Athena, Octavia, Kali and Karma through their aquarium journey at the New England Aquarium, along with their caretakers and friends. Extremely readable while being sciency!

This book is such a delight and truly fantastic for animal lovers; an amazing journey into the universe of this magnificent creature both in captivity and in the wild.

“While stroking an octopus, it is easy to fall into reverie. To share such a moment of deep tranquility with another being, especially one as different from us as the octopus, is a humbling privilege. It‘s a shared sweetness, a gentle miracle, an uplink to universal consciousness.“

Fabulous creatures ?; my favorite bit so far: ?

"Many home aquarists report that their octopuses appear to enjoy watching television with them. They particularly like sports and cartoons, with lots of movement and color. [...] King and her coauthor, Colin Dunlop, even suggest placing the tank in the same room as the TV, so owner and octopus can enjoy programs together.”

I can't do it.... I really tried, I thought I would love it but I actually hate it. I don't feel that the author has the knowledge to do this story justice. The main reason that I struggled with this is the lack of discussion about these intelligent creatures trapped in captivity. She even mentions how aquariums must purchase new ones when they die as it's not a real aquarium without one. ⬇️⬇️

This is a fun book about one woman‘s journey to try to get to know #octopuses. It‘s more like a travel book than a deep dive in the world of octopuses, with each octopuses highlighted and the authors quest to see octopuses in the wild being the main focus of the story. I didn‘t get much of the consciousness issue, but then I‘ve also know how smart octopuses are for years.
3/5 read if you love animals and want to know more about octopuses

If you have seen the Oscar winning documentary, “My Octopus Teacher”, you must read this! If you love animals, this will touch your heart. The author is a naturalist and author of 20 nonfiction books. I know I am repeating the word love, but this is a special love story to the amazing octopus. From a New England Aquarium to the reefs of French Polynesia, it is an immersive journey. I was surprised at how many times I was moved to tears. ❤️ 🐙 ❤️

Current IRL Book Club read.

I‘m only in chapter one right now but I‘m really enjoying this book! I bought it at the Charleston Aquarium last year on vacation.

I bought this book for husband as a gift. It was fun to read together (I read aloud to him certain books that we think we‘ll both like…does anyone else here so that???) overall it was okay. A bit redundant. A fun little museum/octopus/scuba diving related book. But there‘s probably better ones out there. Hopefully.

⭐️⭐️ I feel bad being hard on this book, but it just didn‘t work for me. I heard the author talking about the book on the Ezra Klein show a few months ago and it sounded really interesting, but it turns out all of the interesting (to me) information was in that interview, which left 9+ hours of other, not particularly interesting content. To me, a book version of a meeting that could have been an email.

I‘ve learnt so much about these amazingly intelligent creatures & about a different way of looking at every species. The authors level of curiosity & wonder is infectious. It‘s a problematic book though - because her love for the creatures jars with her acceptance of their use & living conditions. I felt incredibly sad for these intelligent, creative & inquisitive creatures living in confined tanks & being sought in the wild for tourist pleasure.

This is incredible. Animal lovers, be prepared for tears. The author‘s narration is so full of love for living creatures and a devotion to communicating.
Plus, gorgeous octopus pictures.

I‘ve already bought multiple copies for surprise gifting!

#octopus #oceanography #biology #animallover #love #ocean #reporting #journalism #symontgomery #thesoulofanoctopus #soulmates #water #nonfiction

On the corner of each page there‘s a photo of an octopus - making a fab flip book - octopuses everywhere!

This book looks random - but I was intrigued by the idea of the octopus an an emotionally co ones and spirited creature. Looking forward to learning lots!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a marvelous and fascinating read! It made me want to rush out to the nearest aquarium to look at the octopuses (and all the creatures) with a new perspective! 🐙

Highly recommend!

4/5

This was a super interesting look at the intelligence of octopus. It follows Montgomery's relationship with four Octopus: Athena, Octavia, Kali, and Karma. It was a fascinating read that I really enjoyed.

#newyearwhodis @monalyisha @Johanna414 #nywd22

1. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne, and Good Enough by Kate Bowler

2. The main goal is to read every #bookspin and #doublebookspin this year. I'd also like to also fully complete 1 reading challenge, but that's more of a bonus goal.

3. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

That time my friend connected with an octopus 🐙. Red color indicates happiness!! Happy World Octopus Day.

Happy World Octopus 🐙 Day! Thank goodness for Sy Montgomery and her incredible talent for illustrating many of the ways octopuses are incredible. This book remains one of the reads most often mentioned in my conversations.

A moving account of the author‘s friendships with several highly curious and intelligent octopuses.🔸#augustreads2021

#LibraryHold #NewForMe #LiveAndLearn 🐙🎧

Got a new kindle case and I'm in love! 😻🐙

Halfway through this and loving it so, so much!!! Which has me thinking... I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, but the few nonfiction titles I've absolutely adored have been in that nature/science niche with some memoir thrown in. Now I clearly need to explore this further! I've read and loved Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Bailey. What should I read next?!?!

Starting a book I've been wanting to read for years, and settling in for an evening of #audiostitching
Can anyone tell what I'm working on?

“A lot of people are freaked out by octopus,” he told me... “With Athena, I‘ve had four of her arms on me, and you peel them off and then the other four arms are on.”
“I think we‘ve all been on dates like that,” I observed.

I let my seniors vote this year and they unanimously chose this over Macbeth. Now, I love Macbeth, but I was also think after such a rough year that students may want something lighter. They have been loving their aquatic science class and I think this will be a good connection to that. I‘ve never read it (other teachers at school have used it) so I‘ve got some speed reading to do!

Give me all of the books like this. Love them.

Amazing story about our beautiful world God gave us along with all the unique creatures. This book made me think about how limited our own visual world is compared to creatures of this world. All life has an important role here and this book explains that perfectly. A fun quick read, helps you learn something new, easily. Not too scientific either.

#12Booksof2020 #Day9. Another non-fiction pick. This book was surprisingly fascinating and touching. I didn‘t expect to be still thinking about it almost a year later but I do.

I think this book was probably intended for people who didn‘t already like cephalopods, as it seems absolutely insistent on selling octopus to you. It made the whole beginning drag, and I only got about half the way through the book before I decided it just wasnt for me

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. Montgomery‘s enthusiasm was infectious. The relationships between all the people and animals were nice to read about, and even though this ended up being more memoir than I expected, I still learned a lot about octopuses and other marine animals. But... there was one thing that bothered me. I already had mixed feelings about these animals being kept in captivity before, and while Montgomery seems ⬇️

⚓Part of my holiday bookhaul ⚓
Fond memories... I could do with another holiday now after one week of work 😝 I miss the sea and the seaside... 🌊

1. No, I didn‘t know that was a thing that was happening.
2. My anniversary
3. The Soul of an Octopus 🐙 I‘ve only read one chapter, but I‘m enjoying it so far.

#ThoughtfulThursday

Here are #3books I plan to read this month:

The Soul of an Octopus- already started for #booked2020 #liveandlearn

Above Us Only Sky- for #lmpbc

Saga- for my #friendrecchallenge

A touching story about the author's interactions with octopus, captive and in the wild. It'll for sure make you pause a little longer at the next octopus exhibit, and likely skip the menu items where octopus is featured.