Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
7 reviews
acsmallwood's review
I stopped at the end of chapter 6 when Kali dies. It is absolutely gut wrenching and didn’t need to happen. She spent her whole life cooped up and when she was moved to a tank that they hadn’t ensured was octopus proof, she escaped and died. The fact that they didn’t have a 24/7 watch on her despite knowing that it might not be secure is shockingly lax. The author does not do nearly enough exploration into what it means to hold such intelligent creatures in captivity, especially non-display animals. Really disappointing and I couldn’t keep reading even though I was almost done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Suicide
mlynch133's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Chronic illness, Excrement, and Cancer
sapphic_in_the_stacks's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A narrative nonfiction story that details the author's journey observing and befriending octopuses at the New England Aquarium. From her first encounter, she was hooked and began to dedicate time to learning about octopuses and visiting often. After the first octopus she meets and bonds with dies suddenly, she grieves her friend while also finding joy in meeting the new, young octopus who takes her place. She goes on to meet several octopuses as they come to the aquarium, and forge friendships with a group that shares her interests. That group includes several aquarists, as well as aquarium volunteers, and octopus enthusiasts who spend time observing the octopuses with her. The author goes on to learn how to scuba dive in order to observe wild octopuses, she discusses her journey to become certified as well as her several trips. Throughout the book, there is a running thread the author continues to return to on the nature of consciousness, and how it relates to humans, octopuses, and friendship.
I read this book after it was recommended to me by my tattoo artist. She said that it was a narrative nonfiction that read like a fiction book, and I think it lived up to that description! The narrative was well paced, and I never felt bored or like I was just waiting for the next thing to happen. The factual information was written in a way that felt like you were learning alongside the author, rather than being dictated to, which made for a much smoother read in my opinion. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this read.
*Disclaimer: There were a few instances of insensitive, outdated, or challenged language. I will include censored versions of the words I picked up below tagged as "spoilers" for anyone who would like to know or potentially avoid this word usage. Topics included language used to refer to Autistic individuals, and words derived from language used to refer to Romani people.
Word used: g*pped, Discussion of: Asp*rger S*ndrome
I read this book after it was recommended to me by my tattoo artist. She said that it was a narrative nonfiction that read like a fiction book, and I think it lived up to that description! The narrative was well paced, and I never felt bored or like I was just waiting for the next thing to happen. The factual information was written in a way that felt like you were learning alongside the author, rather than being dictated to, which made for a much smoother read in my opinion. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this read.
*Disclaimer: There were a few instances of insensitive, outdated, or challenged language. I will include censored versions of the words I picked up below tagged as "spoilers" for anyone who would like to know or potentially avoid this word usage. Topics included language used to refer to Autistic individuals, and words derived from language used to refer to Romani people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Animal death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit and Drug use
kathleencoughlin's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Interesting book about Montgomery's fascination with octopuses and the relationships she builds with them and their aquarists.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Animal death
Minor: Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Suicide
eladnarra's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Chronic illness
kayesomething's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicide, and Medical content
Minor: Grief
cammiem8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I couldn’t put this one down! I learned so much about octopuses and the author does a fantastic job of framing the information around her stories of encounters with octopuses in the wild and at the aquarium. This is a great introduction to the subject, a very quick and easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit
One section does include a character discussing the suicide of a friend, in which the manner of death is described briefly, and her own struggles with suicidal thoughts. The animal deaths in the book are sad but all are of natural causes and are not gruesome, the octopuses die of old age except for one
More...