Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods With Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife by John Marzluff [Yale University Press, 2014; Guardian bookshop; Amazon UK hardcover; Amazon US hardcover/kindle US]
Publisher’s synopsis: Welcome to Subirdia presents a surprising discovery: the suburbs of many large cities support incredible biological diversity. Populations and communities of a great variety of birds, as well as other creatures, are adapting to the conditions of our increasingly developed world. In this fascinating and optimistic book, John Marzluff reveals how our own actions affect the birds and animals that live in our cities and towns, and he provides ten specific strategies everyone can use to make human environments friendlier for our natural neighbours. Over many years of research and fieldwork, Marzluff and student assistants have closely followed the lives of thousands of tagged birds seeking food, mates and shelter in cities and surrounding areas. From tiny Pacific wrens to grand pileated woodpeckers, diverse species now compatibly share human surroundings. By practising careful stewardship with the biological riches in our cities and towns, Marzluff explains, we can foster a new relationship between humans and other living creatures -- one that honours and enhances our mutual destiny.
My first impression: Large cities are an entirely new ecosystem, argues John Marzluff, one that can provide homes to birds and other wildlife as well as humans. Ok, I admit that I’m skeptical because I’ve lived in some cities -- Tokyo, for example -- which was home to an astonishing variety of birds, insects and other wildlife and I’ve also lived in cities -- Seattle, for example -- where just a few dozen species of birds and a handful of wildlife species lived. However, Professor Marzluff (who also happens to live in Seattle), argues that if city-dwellers learn how to meet the needs of birds and other wildlife, needs that he has distilled into “Nature’s Ten Commandments”, and do what we can to welcome birds and wildlife into large cities, then they will come. The writing is optimistic and engaging, the ideas are thought-provoking and realistic, and the drawings by Jack DeLap are lovely.
Materials: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Hall [Oxford University Press, 2014; Amazon UK paperback; Amazon US paperback/kindle US]
Publisher’s synopsis: The study of materials and their properties forms an important area of research. Christopher Hall introduces the field of material science using gold, sand, and string -- familiar things that represent the big families of metals, ceramics, and polymers. By explaining their properties, how materials are created, and the processes involved in their fabrication into objects, he shows how materials science brings together engineering and technology with physics, chemistry, and biology. He also shows how materials influence communications, the media, architecture, building, and the fine arts.
My first impression: If you enjoyed Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik, which won the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize for popular science books, then you will enjoy this book, too. The author, an emeritus professor of materials at the University of Edinburgh, is an expert on the subject and has written a readable account about three main types of materials -- metals, ceramics and polymers -- how they are made, objects they are fashioned into and significance of these materials in modern society.
The Giver by Lois Lowry [HarperCollins Children’s Books; New Ed edition, 2014; Guardian bookshop; Amazon UK hardcover/paperback/audio CD; Amazon US hardcover/paperback/kindle US/audio CD]
Publisher’s synopsis: In a perfect world, Jonas begins to see the flaws…
The Giver is the classic award-winning novel that inspired the dystopian genre and a major motion picture adaptation for 2014 starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift.
It is the future. There is no war, no hunger, no pain. No one in the community wants for anything. Everything needed is provided. And at twelve years old, each member of the community has their profession carefully chosen for them by the Committee of Elders.
Twelve-year old Jonas has never thought there was anything wrong with his world. But from the moment he is selected as the Receiver of Memory, Jonas discovers that their community is not as perfect as it seems.
It is only with the help of the Giver, that Jonas can find what has been lost. And it is only through his personal courage that Jonas finds the strength to do what is right…
The Giver is the award-winning classic of bravery and adventure that has inspired countless dystopian writers as the forerunner of this genre.
My first impression: I am a fan of dystopian literature, and this particular book is one of the most influential in the genre. This title is often banned in the United States (the reason I’ve never read it before), so of course, I had to read it! Having just purchased this book, I’m spellbound; I am almost halfway through it. Although this is a children’s book, it feels more appropriate for teens and adults. Its relentlessly growing menace is absolutely captivating and morbidly fascinating.
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When she’s not got her nose stuck in a book into the wee hours, GrrlScientist can also be found here: Maniraptora. She’s very active on twitter @GrrlScientist and lurks on social media: facebook, G+, LinkedIn, vProud and Pinterest.
