Much later in life, I spent a period of time obsessed with freshwater aquariums. For a while, I researched and kept 20 and 30 gallon aquariums. I was never so proud as when my dwarf flame gourami actually spawned. I even got a 110 gallon tank but never quite got it set up. (I wasn't very confident that it didn't need resealing. Can you imagine 110 gallons of water gushing across the floor dotted with flopping fishies? I can.) I had to give them up when we moved into an apartment on the 4th floor. Aquariums quickly get very heavy. Occasionally, I set up a beta tank, but that's about it. Frankly, I miss them. (I lust after this for my classroom. Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge.)Soul of an Octopus was on the Choice Book Awards List for 2015. I've honestly never heard of Sy Montgomery, but apparently she's written a large number of non-fiction books which I plan to check out. Soul of an Octopus is about her 3ish year obsession with the great pacific octopuses at the New England Aquarium.
Let's face it, Octopuses are way strange but oddly compelling creatures. I could fill an entire blog post of interesting facts about Octopuses. I knew a little about them before reading Soul of an Octopus, but I never realize how social they can (and often are) with humans. Montegomery's memoirish account of her time working with the people and octopuses of the New England Aquarium is a compelling and interesting read. It's strange to think about loving and appreciating the intelligence of something as alien as an octopus, but that's clearly what she did. Montgomery clearly conveys how much the octopuses affected and impressed her.
While this is not a significantly weighty science read, it is very interesting. I recommend it.
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