Welcome to Litsy!

This is not exactly doing what it says on the tin. Yes, it is a first contact narrative about a marine biologist studying a colony of octopuses in Vietnam who have developed their own culture & language of symbols, but that‘s layered with linked plot threads about human trafficking, artificial intelligence, & meditations on the human condition.

An eco-science tech thriller that brought a humanist Michael Crichton* to mind. Recommended if you ❤️🐙

I felt my mind expand while reading this.

#currentread

I read the first 80 pages, but nothing really happend.

It‘s my birthday today and several people whom I love dearly are all enablers lol. #bookhaul

I really liked this, but it took forever to read! I think I haven‘t been in the right headspace this past week and it‘s been difficult to focus 😵‍💫 This is definitely a book that requires concentration and less distraction - at least IMO. #readyourkindle #april 🐙

Another weird and wow book recommendation from @rachelsbrittain's #AuldLangSpine list.

Speculative Fiction of first contact with possibly sentient species, on Earth.

This was full of information about how brains work, how AIs gain sentience, how different species from humans might communicate with each other and (!) humans. And it's about how much of a planet destroyer humans actually are.

@monalyisha

#52bookclub24 - Features the Ocean

#12BooksofChristmas #March

“The great and terrible thing about humankind is simply this: we will always do what we are capable of.”

I‘ve almost completed the audio and am curious to see how it wraps up. I like the sprinkles of ‘building minds‘ and would have like to see an extra helping of that part it kinda felt like a split POV version of ‘Arrival‘ but with an Octopus.

I have to say this is a great read, it makes you think about possibilities. What would it be like to communicate with other… species of the world. How would the world react to an octopuses ability to communicate. I also wonder if the author is going to write another book that provides a future look into this process… great read

I had a really hard time deciding between Anne Boleyn and The Mountain in the Sea but ultimately decided the sci-fi book had to move forward. #2023ReadingBracket @chasjjlee

#Scarathlon #photochallenge #monster & #purple 🐈‍⬛
Taken while bookshopping in Berlin, Germany

@BookwormAHN @5feet.of.fury @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @hes7 @LibrarianRyan @Read-y_Picker @TEArificbooks @TheBookDream @TheQuietQuill #blackcatcrew

Love science, love octopi, loved this book. The mystery of the octopus on this Earth is alien. Loved how at the end I understood the AI‘s beliefs! Speculative fiction at its best. 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙. Read it!

My top read of July was The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler #TopReads2023 #2023ReadingBracket @chasjjlee

A scientist is brought to an island for a secretive project to determine whether a group of octopuses have evolved to create language and culture. But corporate greed and human indifference threatens the project and also all of humanity. And even if they can prove these octopuses are sentient, what will humans do about it? And perhaps even more importantly, what will the octopuses do about the humans? A first contact in the sea story.

Reading one book by Ray Nayler and just got an arc of another on Netgalley. I'd call that a good day!

Rainy day Sunday reading

This weekend I'm reading about cephalopods, archeology adventures, and creepy language cults. #WeekendReads

"There is no silence in the living nervous system."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Any litsy friends trying out threads? 👀

A very appropriate pool read

My #WeekendReads . What are you reading this weekend?

I went in for one book for a coworker's birthday present. Whoops.

Getting ready to start this one after finishing some witchcraft studying. I got this one simply for the first sentence of the summary. “Rumors begin to spread of a dangerous species of hyper intelligent octopus that may have developed its own language and culture.” #library #octopus #raynayler #themountaininthesea

Today‘s #bookhaul

This weekend is the member sale at Politics and Prose. So of course, I had to go.

Wow. This book packs so much into it and I feel like I‘m going to be thinking about it for a long time. The topics discussed in here range from communication and consciousness in humans, animals (primarily hyper intelligent octopuses), and AI, to environmentalism and conservation. It‘s both scientific and philosophical, and it‘s clear how much research and work Nayler put into his craft. There‘s a lot to chew on here. Overall, I liked it, ⬇️

Our oceans are in dire peril. This is a timely mashup of real science, oceanic changes, AI, Tibetan monk clones, massive and evil mega corporations, exiled islanders, and a robot too human for their own good partnered with a marine biologist hoping to discover how to communicate with the alien, fierce intelligence of the octopus- brains in 8 legs and a briefest of lifespans dying after making sure their eggs hatch. What‘s consciousness?

This was my pick for March‘s #12Challenge recommended by Soubhi. I loved this and it‘s my top read for March.

At least for a bit I wondered if some of this was too smart for me, but I was sucked in. I had to stop and watch videos of cuttlefish and then octopuses. This one definitely gives you a lot to think about. Just so good.

“The great and terrible thing about humankind is simply this: we will always do what we are capable of.”

Another recent #BookMail was this very intriguing SFF book about sentient octopuses(or is it octopi?)in a near future that has humans(of course)scrambling to exploit them. I saw this on Litsy but can‘t remember who it was that loved it(sorry💁🏻‍♀️)and it sounded so intriguing. I freakin LOVE octopus🐙 , have you watched that video of a large one escaping a ships deck through a 10cm hole? Amazing creatures.
EDIT: it was @Soubhiville Thank you!

I loved this one. This reminded me of Michael Crichton (my teenage favourite author). I like when real science is extrapolated and mixed with a good story, and this does it well. It has octopuses, AI, hackers, what else do you need in a good read? I love octopuses ever since I read Sy Montgomery's book which gives me a slight bias.

Book mail! This was a preorder, so it was 2022 me who is to blame, not current me 😇

Wow I read a lot in December! Granted a bunch are short, and I worked long hours which means more audio time.

Quite a few faves this month! The tagged, Lark Ascending, Into the Planet, The Book of Eels, Nothing to See Here, The Light Pirate, and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet we‘re all excellent. 📚😁

I finished this a few days ago and I haven‘t stopped thinking about it. Beyond being a beautiful book, from dust jacket to edges to the cover underneath, I loved the story.

Complex Sci-Fi with AI and robots, oceanic science, sinister corporations, a big cast of diverse characters, and best of all an Octopus species with what might be a visual language and highly developed culture.

I devoured this and loved it. 5⭐️ for me!

🐙🐙🐙 picked this one up because of the cover and my love and fascination with the octopus.

It was a dry, unfeeling but interesting read. It just didn‘t wow me.

This book is so freaking good. Reminds me of Jeff Vandermeers Area X books a bit, more 'approachable' though. Revived me from months of reading slump.

#TexasBookFestival purchases. There were two others I wanted to get today that had already sold out, so I‘ll be picking them up later. I‘ve got one more session to attend shortly, the one for the tagged book, which I‘m really excited to hear about. I‘ll try tagging the others below, including the two I couldn‘t get today.

This was part thriller, part philosophical musing, part sci-fi dystopian novel all based on the octopus. I have a fascination with cephalopods anyway and this book was about their intelligence which I really enjoyed. Lots of pondering on the nature of consciousness and being human. I liked all the parts and would recommend this book! 4🌟

Ha, a scientist, is brought to a remote island chain to investigate tales of an intelligent sea creature living in the bay. What follows is a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of consciousness, identity, language and connection, set against a background of artificial intelligence, corporate greed, and environmental devastation. A truly remarkable book.

"There is no silence in the living nervous system."

Loving this one so far!

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Current mood. Interesting fore edge painting.

#currentread

🎧 We‘ve got intelligent octopuses, dangerous octopuses & AI that‘s more human than human … need I say more?

It‘s a very thought provoking story. They hold the key to advancing the human brain, intelligence, need for sleep, etc. but will we survive the 1st encounter without a way to communicate?

Corporate greed. Environmental issues. The author did an impressive amount of research.

There‘s a lot going on! Definitely worth a reread.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What would happen if we discovered a species of brilliantly intelligent octopus that had developed its own symbolic language and culture. Oh and also they are deadly dangerous and are actually discovered by the planet‘s biggest and greediest corporation. This is the premise of Ray Nayler‘s The Mountain in the Sea and it is a deeply inventive work of speculative fiction, perfect for readers who enjoy anthropological/ecological/linguistic themes. 🐙