In conjunction with the Kiawah Island Conservancy, this category will feature books about the natural world–flora, fauna and the environment.
Setting: The Appalachian Trail in Maine The Book: Heartwood, by Amity Gaige The author says that her story is patterned after a real person who went missing on the trail in the summer of 2013. Our fictional character is Valerie, a nurse who sets out to unwind from months of caring for patients with Covid. Her disappearance is the main feature of the book, but
We have recently read a lot about James, the alternative narrative of the enslaved character in Huckleberry Finn. That novel and many others are set, in part, on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is certainly, in many ways, a defining natural feature of the United States. It either borders or runs through ten states. Remember trying to learn how to spell Mississippi. I still
Before I introduce you to the new book that Craig Foster wrote, I want to talk about a video he made. “My Octopus Teacher”, documentary film Oscar winner of 2021, is an incredible story that takes place in the depths of the ocean off the coast of South Africa. It is here that Foster meets an octopus one day while diving. He keeps company with
People often use the word ‘awe’ is ways that don’t do it justice. For example, we may say to someone, “That was just awesome!” when what we witnessed was that person doing something exemplary but not necessarily really ‘awesome’. Young people seem to use the term quite a bit. Another expression we may say is, “I am just in awe of the way you make
The blog entry about our natural world was published BEFORE the turtle book showed up! We know turtles can move slowly, but they should have been worth my waiting for. Oh well, here it is–Of Time and Turtles Need I say more? Probably not because many of the blog readers are already crazy about turtles. Sy Montgomery is a well-known naturalist and a gifted writer
Those of us who live on Kiawah and in other scenic parts of the world know how much joy we derive from communing with nature. In my case, it’s the wildlife I love the most. This time of year, I look out onto the golf course and see, every morning, about 8 white ibis congregating on the bank of the pond and then pecking their
A pescatarian is a person who does not eat meat but eats fish. A pescatarian may or may not eat animal products such as eggs or cheese. So, why do I mention this on a blog about books? BECAUSE, I have a personal interest in the topic! I am a pescatarian and I just read about a new book that explains the entire reason I
Remember High School Biology? How much fun was it to draw and label cells. I especially liked the Golgi bodies. If you liked biology and learning how things in the body work, then you might enjoy a new book by Suddhartha Mukherjee. Dr. Mukherjee’s lab at CU/NYU Presbytarian Hospital focuses on discovering new cancer drugs. He has written a number of books about cancer and
Many public figures have written books about the lessons learned from the pandemic. Numerous ‘experts’ in the field of medicine, science and politics have taken a stab at looking at what went wrong in order to respond better to the next world-wide pandemic. Last night I was watching The PBS Newshour and heard Dr. Scott Gottlieb talk about his book Uncontrolled Spread. While some reviewers
I was happy to post yet another review of a book about a female scientist. For a review on The Code Breaker, go to Reader Recommendations on this blog and look for Book Review. I read Lab Girl about five years ago, before I read the book about Jennifer Doudna. What is similar between the two stories is that both women were time and again
