Melissa B. (dragoneyes) -
Helpful Score: 2
The octopus is one of my favorite creatures. I was so excited to dig into this book. I loved the author's way of writing. It was fun, entertaining and informational. As much as I thought I knew about the octopus, I ended up learning more. The author would also veer off so we could learn about other creatures. This was enjoyable as well. The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is that sometimes these tangents that the author would go on could be a bit boring, especially when it was about all the people she would get to know along the way. Ready to read more from the author though.
Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness on + 1221 more book reviews
This was an interesting book about the author's love and dealings with octopuses and other denizens of the deep and elsewhere. Sy Montgomery is a German born, American naturalist, author and scriptwriter. In SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS, she "explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus and the connections it makes with people." As I was reading this, I couldn't help but relate it to my granddaughter's favorite TV show, Spongebob Squarepants. The book not only discusses octopuses (not octopi), but also other creatures such as starfish, crabs, and plankton. Her description of a large orange sunflower sea star fits Patrick to a tee: "with an arm span of more than two feet...this largest of all the species has no eyes, no face, and no BRAIN!" Then the intelligence of octopuses reflects Sqiuidward, the smartest of the Spongebob cast....
But seriously, the book really gives a life and death overview of octopus. Montgomery travels frequently to the New England aquarium to relate first hand with the sea life there. She gets to know the staff and volunteers there including a young autistic girl who is enthralled by the octopus. She is able to feel the octopus as they grab onto her arm with its tentacles (not sure If would be able to do this).
The octopuses encountered by Montgomery have very different personalities and show their cleverness in many different ways. These include escaping from their enclosures, jetting water at people to get attention, and playing tricks to get food. Unfortunately, octopuses don't live very long--only a few years--so when one is nearing its end, the aquarium gets a new one to fill its place. However, in some cases the new octopus has to live in a dark barrel for many months before it takes the old one's place. This seemed a little cruel to me given the intelligence and cleverness of the species. Sometimes I feel that animals should be left alone and not put in zoos or aquariums but then again this would be prohibitive to science.
But seriously, the book really gives a life and death overview of octopus. Montgomery travels frequently to the New England aquarium to relate first hand with the sea life there. She gets to know the staff and volunteers there including a young autistic girl who is enthralled by the octopus. She is able to feel the octopus as they grab onto her arm with its tentacles (not sure If would be able to do this).
The octopuses encountered by Montgomery have very different personalities and show their cleverness in many different ways. These include escaping from their enclosures, jetting water at people to get attention, and playing tricks to get food. Unfortunately, octopuses don't live very long--only a few years--so when one is nearing its end, the aquarium gets a new one to fill its place. However, in some cases the new octopus has to live in a dark barrel for many months before it takes the old one's place. This seemed a little cruel to me given the intelligence and cleverness of the species. Sometimes I feel that animals should be left alone and not put in zoos or aquariums but then again this would be prohibitive to science.
Jeane C. reviewed The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness on + 6 more book reviews
this is an amazing book and I would rate it as one of my all time favorites. I also listened to the audio book read by the author and Sy Montgomery's voice is messmerizing. After reading this book I became obsessed with Octopus, they are so intelligent and interesting and this book teaches you so much. Just recently a documentary won an academy award called My Octopus Teacher, it includes only a fraction of the information on Octopus that this book does. Read it, you will be in love with these amazing and mysterious creatures.
John O. (buzzby) -
I made it to the 2nd paragraph and learned that "octopi" is not the proper plural (only works for words of latin origin), which utterly destroyed me (I've been teaching elementary school kids wrong all these years, fortunately, most of them do not listen to what I have to say), so I decided to keep my sanity, I would not finish the book.
