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Reviews tagging 'Suicide'
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
27 reviews
bonsai_delores's review
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
A good book for learning descriptive narrative. Does an excellent job “humanizing” many types of ocean creatures.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Animal death
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Dementia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
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*Disclaimer: There were a few instances of insensitive, outdated, or challenged language.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
justinlife's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.75
This was a nice read. Nothing really stressful or tense, but just a fun trip to the aquarium. The author observes the octopuses in captivity at the Boston Aquarium and other aquariums as well as going to the open sea . She learns to scuba and creates bonds with the people she meets along the way.
It’s somewhat relaxing and calming. Her journey in animal science is a fun one and it felt quiet. I learned more about the octopus species than I did before and it opened my eyes to how much we don’t know about the ocean and her creatures. If one reads this, I recommend doing a chapter at a time and treating it as a podcast. It felt like one.
The book is 100x better than My Octopus Teacher. While the documentary is stunning in the videography, the audience doesn’t learn as much about the world as we would in this book.
If you’ve been reading a lot of serious reads or a lot of tense books, this would be a nice palate cleanser.
It’s somewhat relaxing and calming. Her journey in animal science is a fun one and it felt quiet. I learned more about the octopus species than I did before and it opened my eyes to how much we don’t know about the ocean and her creatures. If one reads this, I recommend doing a chapter at a time and treating it as a podcast. It felt like one.
The book is 100x better than My Octopus Teacher. While the documentary is stunning in the videography, the audience doesn’t learn as much about the world as we would in this book.
If you’ve been reading a lot of serious reads or a lot of tense books, this would be a nice palate cleanser.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
jourdanicus's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Great book. I learned a lot, not only about octopuses but other sea creatures and non human animals. Originally having heard about this book from the Currently Reading podcast, I heard it described as very emotionally moving and even life changing. I already knew non human animals were awe-some (in the literal sense of the word), so what I learned here may be more astounding to a reader who is new to the natural world. Regardless, it's worth a read; an excellent example of narrative non fiction that really breathes soul into an already interesting topic.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide
feebles640's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide
loryyyy's review
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Animal death, and Suicide attempt
lilsneakybandit's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.75
A lovely and informative book that really makes you think about the minds and personalities of both octopuses and humans. However, it was a bit slow for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
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
parkyparkpark's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Animal death
Moderate: Suicide, Death, and Child death
Minor: Death of parent