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boards_books_and_brews's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
The Best American Science And Nature Writing 2022
Written by Various
Read by Various
Book 263/200
Genre: Non-Fiction, Science
Format: Audio, Short Story Collection
Pages/Time: 336/12hr 26min
Published: 2022
Rating: 7/10
Narration: 8/10
Short Story November #8
I feel like Science and Nature Writing is a bit of a misnomer for this collection of essays. The Best American Nature Writing is much more accurate. For every essay about physics or medicine, there were three about climate change. Now, this is not a bad thing, most of these were very interesting and thought provoking, it's just not what I thought I was getting into. I would have preferred some more variety.
All that being said, these essays were extremely well done and engaging. These were a few of my favorites in this collection:
Heads Up! The Cardiovascular Secrets of Giraffes by Bob Holmes
How Rising Groundwater Caused by Climate Change Could Devastate Coastal Communities by Kendra Pierre-Louis
Black Bears, Black Liberation by Rae Wynn-Grant
Humanity is Flushing Away One of Life's Essential Elements by Julia Rosen
Poisoned Part 1: The Factory by Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington, and Eli Murray
Quantum Enlightenment by Ruth Robertson
Written by Various
Read by Various
Book 263/200
Genre: Non-Fiction, Science
Format: Audio, Short Story Collection
Pages/Time: 336/12hr 26min
Published: 2022
Rating: 7/10
Narration: 8/10
Short Story November #8
I feel like Science and Nature Writing is a bit of a misnomer for this collection of essays. The Best American Nature Writing is much more accurate. For every essay about physics or medicine, there were three about climate change. Now, this is not a bad thing, most of these were very interesting and thought provoking, it's just not what I thought I was getting into. I would have preferred some more variety.
All that being said, these essays were extremely well done and engaging. These were a few of my favorites in this collection:
Heads Up! The Cardiovascular Secrets of Giraffes by Bob Holmes
How Rising Groundwater Caused by Climate Change Could Devastate Coastal Communities by Kendra Pierre-Louis
Black Bears, Black Liberation by Rae Wynn-Grant
Humanity is Flushing Away One of Life's Essential Elements by Julia Rosen
Poisoned Part 1: The Factory by Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington, and Eli Murray
Quantum Enlightenment by Ruth Robertson
zahramclin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
annieb123's review
5.0
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022 is a well curated collection of essays and articles from the world of science from 2021/22 edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Released 1st Nov 2022 by HarperCollins on their Mariner Books imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an interesting and very well rounded anthology full of layman accessible popular science articles. The selection is impressively broad, generally eschewing the most popular periodicals with the largest reach in favor of the lesser known and potentially overlooked authors and subjects. Although the NYT and National Geographic have entries here, so also do Hakai, Knowable, and Atmos.
There is a lot of content devoted (rightfully) to the dystopian loss of habitat and climate change, but I was gratified to see that not -all- the articles were strictly bad news; there are a broad selection of essays on the anus as a functional organ and what roles it plays in various organisms which I found endlessly entertaining and informative, one about slime molds, beavers as natural engineers, and many more (33 total by my rough count). All of them were well written and engaging.
There is also an erudite and well written introduction by the guest editor (Dr. Johnson) as well as a foreword by series editor Jaime Green.
Five stars. Accessible and interesting. Recommended for fans of science writing as well as a good choice for public or school library acquisition. Impressively egalitarian vetting and choice of material included.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022 is a well curated collection of essays and articles from the world of science from 2021/22 edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Released 1st Nov 2022 by HarperCollins on their Mariner Books imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an interesting and very well rounded anthology full of layman accessible popular science articles. The selection is impressively broad, generally eschewing the most popular periodicals with the largest reach in favor of the lesser known and potentially overlooked authors and subjects. Although the NYT and National Geographic have entries here, so also do Hakai, Knowable, and Atmos.
There is a lot of content devoted (rightfully) to the dystopian loss of habitat and climate change, but I was gratified to see that not -all- the articles were strictly bad news; there are a broad selection of essays on the anus as a functional organ and what roles it plays in various organisms which I found endlessly entertaining and informative, one about slime molds, beavers as natural engineers, and many more (33 total by my rough count). All of them were well written and engaging.
There is also an erudite and well written introduction by the guest editor (Dr. Johnson) as well as a foreword by series editor Jaime Green.
Five stars. Accessible and interesting. Recommended for fans of science writing as well as a good choice for public or school library acquisition. Impressively egalitarian vetting and choice of material included.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
pinesandpages's review
informative
4.5
Unexpectedly riveting! This is my first of any Best American series, and it certainly won’t be my last now!
Every topic wasn’t the most interesting to me (I’m looking at you, astrophysics) but I still learned a lot in every single essay. I had heard of a few of these topics or issues, but not the majority so a lot of them were entirely new to me which was great. I enjoyed the breadth and the diversity of topics and authors. I also enjoyed the focus on social issues such as racism/environmental justice/climate change as it impacts people/social determinants of health, etc.
Every topic wasn’t the most interesting to me (I’m looking at you, astrophysics) but I still learned a lot in every single essay. I had heard of a few of these topics or issues, but not the majority so a lot of them were entirely new to me which was great. I enjoyed the breadth and the diversity of topics and authors. I also enjoyed the focus on social issues such as racism/environmental justice/climate change as it impacts people/social determinants of health, etc.
cpa85's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
2.75
While I share the ideology behind 2022’s collection, it leans way too hard on that ideology at the expense of what I consider to be the strength of the series: the science itself. Most of the pieces in this edition are focused so heavily on injustice that the science takes a back seat. I’ve been reading this series for several years and this one, though earnest and well-intentioned, struck me as the laziest and least revelatory.
ebazilereads's review
4.0
** Thanks so much to NetGalley, Jaime Green, and Mariner Books for this ARC! The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022 will be out on November 1st, 2022 **
I enjoyed this one a lot! As with all anthologies, there were articles that I liked more or less. This anthology focused more on climate change and related topics. A perfect book to read an article a day before bed.
4 stars.
I enjoyed this one a lot! As with all anthologies, there were articles that I liked more or less. This anthology focused more on climate change and related topics. A perfect book to read an article a day before bed.
4 stars.
jonwood's review
informative
slow-paced
2.0
I was rather disappointed with the lack of diversity of the sciences covered. A lot of the selections seem to fit more closely into opinion editorial and cultural reflections than science writing. I recall only 1 physics entry, and as a physicist I had issue with the article. Wish I could say I felt like I heard about a wide variety of science discoveries and stories, but this book really felt pigeonhole into selecting articles on culture, which I think is important, but not what the book series is advertised to provide. Also, I am not sure how I feel about the narrator changing with the sex of the author of a particular piece.
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation and Cultural appropriation