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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Finally, it is done and I feel exhausted.
A familiar kind of exhausted though, like finishing a class with a quirky, but ultimately poor, professor. One where the disconnect between student and teacher was too vast and responsibility fell solely on the learner to make sense of the rambling factoids laced with proper nouns and obscure historical references. Nicholson tries very hard to present himself a scholastic and philosophic narrator, but only succeeded in making himself sound like a child mimicking the adults at the table. While clearly well read about the topics surrounding the natural history of his tide pools and the Scottish coastline, his own conclusions frequently fell flat in the face of the scientists, philosophers, and historians whose work he relies so heavily on.
In the bigger picture of my journey through nonfiction, this was an important read. I have come to learn a lot about what I want from nonfiction writing and it is not so dissimilar to what I want from fiction.
As a scientist, I am not unfamiliar with referring to scientific articles, textbooks, and other factual source material, but reading as a hobby is not a means to bolster my career. My desire to experience unique narratives, to gain exposure to new human conditions, to deepen my understanding of the world and its connectivity guides so much of my reading choices. Nicholson’s work is a powerful reminder that these beliefs and values do not evaporate in the presence of true stories.
A familiar kind of exhausted though, like finishing a class with a quirky, but ultimately poor, professor. One where the disconnect between student and teacher was too vast and responsibility fell solely on the learner to make sense of the rambling factoids laced with proper nouns and obscure historical references. Nicholson tries very hard to present himself a scholastic and philosophic narrator, but only succeeded in making himself sound like a child mimicking the adults at the table. While clearly well read about the topics surrounding the natural history of his tide pools and the Scottish coastline, his own conclusions frequently fell flat in the face of the scientists, philosophers, and historians whose work he relies so heavily on.
In the bigger picture of my journey through nonfiction, this was an important read. I have come to learn a lot about what I want from nonfiction writing and it is not so dissimilar to what I want from fiction.
As a scientist, I am not unfamiliar with referring to scientific articles, textbooks, and other factual source material, but reading as a hobby is not a means to bolster my career. My desire to experience unique narratives, to gain exposure to new human conditions, to deepen my understanding of the world and its connectivity guides so much of my reading choices. Nicholson’s work is a powerful reminder that these beliefs and values do not evaporate in the presence of true stories.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I adored this book! Made me want to read more narrative books about science and philosophy - he tied in so much but it all flowed so well
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
informative
informative
relaxing
To sit a watch the waves by the sea is one of the ways that I find to relax, but under this ever-moving surface there is often much more going on than you realise. Life and death in all of its form is taking place day in and day out and we are totally unaware of it. One way of seeing the creatures that inhabit this space is to go rock pooling.
In the intertidal zone, as the water recedes some creatures are left in the pools and if you know where and how to look, you can find a rich variety of life. On the coastline of Argyll, Nicholson wants to see what he can find in this zone, but first, he needs permission from the Scottish Crown to create his own rock pools. It is quickly granted and he sets about making them using rocks and waterproof cement. It was cold work and took three days but he had his first pool. The first tide came and went that evening and under the light of a full moon, he could see the first life in his torchlight; prawns.
The first few chapters are about each of the creatures that he finds in the pool; winkle, crab, anemone and sandhopper, with a potted history of each. The second part of the book suddenly zooms right out from the microscopic view, and then he is considering the tides that bring these animals in twice a day before taking an even bigger step back to look at the geological time and the rock that make up the bay.
The final section is the people that have inhabited this shoreline, how they came to be there, how they survived on the most meagre of rations and their faith that somehow sustained them is this harsh place. The book ends with the creations of a third and final pool and the latest influx of creatures that end up within it.
As with almost all of Nicolson’s books, this is a well researched and well-written book. He has a way of writing that feels knowledgeable and accessible at the same time and I always come away feeling that I have learnt something. What did through me a little though was the way he went from a detailed examination of the life in these pools that he has made to a full widescreen view of tides and how the very rocks he was standing on came about? It is a bit discombobulating, but picks up on a thread that is appearing in more books that I read at the moment; everything is interconnected even over aeons of time. This is a really good book and I highly recommend that you read it.
In the intertidal zone, as the water recedes some creatures are left in the pools and if you know where and how to look, you can find a rich variety of life. On the coastline of Argyll, Nicholson wants to see what he can find in this zone, but first, he needs permission from the Scottish Crown to create his own rock pools. It is quickly granted and he sets about making them using rocks and waterproof cement. It was cold work and took three days but he had his first pool. The first tide came and went that evening and under the light of a full moon, he could see the first life in his torchlight; prawns.
The first few chapters are about each of the creatures that he finds in the pool; winkle, crab, anemone and sandhopper, with a potted history of each. The second part of the book suddenly zooms right out from the microscopic view, and then he is considering the tides that bring these animals in twice a day before taking an even bigger step back to look at the geological time and the rock that make up the bay.
The final section is the people that have inhabited this shoreline, how they came to be there, how they survived on the most meagre of rations and their faith that somehow sustained them is this harsh place. The book ends with the creations of a third and final pool and the latest influx of creatures that end up within it.
As with almost all of Nicolson’s books, this is a well researched and well-written book. He has a way of writing that feels knowledgeable and accessible at the same time and I always come away feeling that I have learnt something. What did through me a little though was the way he went from a detailed examination of the life in these pools that he has made to a full widescreen view of tides and how the very rocks he was standing on came about? It is a bit discombobulating, but picks up on a thread that is appearing in more books that I read at the moment; everything is interconnected even over aeons of time. This is a really good book and I highly recommend that you read it.
informative
slow-paced
Really informative and many interesting notes but also a lot of wandering which did cause me to lose focus many times.