Sunday, April 1, 2018

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery book thoughts


Title: The Soul of an Octopus
Series: N/A
Author: Sy Montgomery
Published Date: May 12th, 2015
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 247
Format: Physical Paperback
Genre: Non-Fiction/Science/Autobiography/Memoir
Days to Read: 5
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
My Social Media: Youtube | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads | Instagram

Goodreads Synopsis

Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.

In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.

Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

My Thoughts

I promised a review so dang it i'm gonna try. It's not that I don't want to, I want to shout about my love for this book and wish everyone would read it! My issue is I feel I don't have a whole lot to say besides that.

I was captivated from beginning to end. I've always loved animals and Octopuses have always fascinated me in particular but I didn't really know much about them. I also do believe in the concept of souls (this book isn't preaching any religion or anything like that, though they do go to a Church of the Octopus somewhere later in the book) and believe that all living creatures, which of course includes Octopuses, have a soul. Also that different animals evolved differently, that doesn't make them stupid. So I didn't think of Octopuses below us humans, and I was STILL blown away by how amazingly smart and individual these animals are!

This book made me realize I need to quit making my tabs mean anything by color because then I will quickly run out of certain colored tabs and have to change it up, so now my tab colors mean nothing but i'm still color coding by highlighters. And I was highlighting SO MUCH through-out this book! And that is a huge compliment to how much I loved this!

I learned so much about Octopuses that I never knew. I also learned about some other marine animals in the Aquarium in Boston as well as about the people who love them. Several different people, sharing in their love for these animals. And the animals would show it back, but of course many people will just roll their eyes at that but this goes into detail and shows you just how these animals do that.

Each Octopuses had a different personality and they all came alive in the book. Each time one would pass away I ended up crying. But I was also choking/tearing up at other parts of the book. I went into the book expecting to like it and learn about Octopuses, and I got that and so much more. I don't know how much more I could really say so i'll tell you I felt it was awesome from beginning to end, getting even better as it went on and my glowing recommendation!

"One person consistently fed a particular octopus, and another always touched it with a bristly stick. Within a week, at first sight of the people-looking up at them through the water, without even touching or tasting them-most of the octopuses moved toward the feeder and away from the irritator. Sometimes the octopus would aim its water-shooting funnel, the siphon near the side of the head with which an octopus jets through the sea, at the person who had touched it with the bristly stick."

I'd love to add more quotes (and I know there are far more powerful ones but I don't want to spoil them!) but then I just want to go down a rabbit hole and quote the entire book when really I just want everyone to experience it for themselves. I learned a lot, it never felt like a text book, and I got attached to both the people and the animals. I will revisit this book again and again and I honestly just feel like I can't find adequate words to say how much I loved this book! Can I live in this book now please?

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