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ruth_mottram

ruth_mottram@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 5 months ago

Climate scientist - like reading a lot and broadly. Especially popular science (in other fields than my own), history, journalism fantasy, sci-fi, poetry..

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ruth_mottram's books

Gabrielle Walker: Antarctica (2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub.)

A really great introduction to Antarctology...

Yes i did just make that word up.. This is a great book, full of excellent science and details that show a real love of the continent – though - and this is in no way a criticism of the author who most likely could not have known - a now rather infamous scientist features heavily in the book too. Overall a very good read. There have been some pretty nice advances in Antarctic science in recent years, would be nice to see this updated.

Merlin Sheldrake: Entangled Life (Paperback, 2021, Vintage)

The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. They can change …

Fascinating subject

I buy the Royal Society book prize shortlist each year and this was the book I was most looking forward to. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected given the subject is quite fascinating. It felt like there was a bit too much author and not enough fungus. However the dense endnotes more than made up for it. A very cool subject and really a good introduction. I could have used a bit more technical content though. I

Robin Wall Kimmerer: Gathering Moss (Paperback, 2021, Oregon State University Press)

Gathering Moss is a series of personal essays introducing the reader to the life cycle, …

Where is my microscope?

A book I enjoyed so much I bought a second copy to lend to a friend as I didn't want to lose my own copy. Really inspiring but also somewhat depressing when it comes to the state of the world's biodiversity. Could have been a five star - but I think I enjoyed braiding sweet grass more.

Gaia Vince: Transcendence (EBook)

What enabled us to go from simple stone tools to smartphones? How did bands of …

A new telling of a somewhat familar story - but with many new interesting insights

I feel this one rather got lost in the Covid19 mess and it's such a shame. A really beautifully written book on what makes us human.