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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Nonfiction - a very engaging book. Science books can sometimes get mired in the minutiae to the point that it reads like a textbook. Not this book. It helped that the progression of the author's field experiences centered mostly around volcanoes - something that is always of interest to me. Going to give this to me teenagers to read.
This book was more adventure/travelogue than a science memoir. I would have liked to hear more bout her research and non-profit/
This is a super fun read. Jess Phoenix is a geologist who's spent her career investigating rocks, lava, and other minerals the planet has to offer us in some of the coolest places on earth, from the flowing lava fields of Mauna Kea to glaciers in the Andes to the scorching hot basins of Death Valley. She's also the founder of Blueprint Earth, an organization dedicated to meticulously "blueprinting" some of our most complex ecosystems to uncover how they function.
Her book doesn't just detail the scientific purpose and method of each of these fantastic expeditions, but some of the wacky adventures she's gotten into, from falling into a sewer drain in Peru to - yes, actually - chasing Mexican cartel members to reclaim her favorite rock hammer that they stole from her.
On top of that, she discusses some of the personal challenges throughout her career, likely in the hopes of encouraging others to follow in her footsteps and overcome whatever obstacles they might find. On an open-ocean expedition with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and their famous ROVs Jason and Medea, one of the research leaders passed away unexpectedly, and sent Jess into a tailspin around the purpose of her work and the danger of some of the activities she was engaging in. Making your way in a male-dominated industry, particularly one in the STEM field, is not easy. Like many women, she suffers from imposter syndrome, not helped by the fact that she started off as a history/liberal arts major in college and transitioned to geology later in her academic career. On some of these trips, she's experienced serious injuries, some mysterious and unnamed still, that prevented her from doing her best work - yet she often powered through those struggles in the name of science. She's seen the barriers that prevent so many people who don't "fit the mold" from entering scientific fields, and she's passionate about making science more accessible and inclusive to all.
This book reminded me a lot of one of my other favorite science memoirs, [b:Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver|43131602|Into the Planet My Life as a Cave Diver|Jill Heinerth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563335080l/43131602._SY75_.jpg|55357537] by Jill Heinerth. Heinerth, like Phoenix, is a pioneer in her industry, and has led a career full of truly book-worthy adventures. Although geology/volcanology is not quite as interesting to me as underwater cave diving, this memoir was similarly engaging and accessible, with stories that will keep you fascinated all the way through. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!
Her book doesn't just detail the scientific purpose and method of each of these fantastic expeditions, but some of the wacky adventures she's gotten into, from falling into a sewer drain in Peru to - yes, actually - chasing Mexican cartel members to reclaim her favorite rock hammer that they stole from her.
On top of that, she discusses some of the personal challenges throughout her career, likely in the hopes of encouraging others to follow in her footsteps and overcome whatever obstacles they might find. On an open-ocean expedition with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and their famous ROVs Jason and Medea, one of the research leaders passed away unexpectedly, and sent Jess into a tailspin around the purpose of her work and the danger of some of the activities she was engaging in. Making your way in a male-dominated industry, particularly one in the STEM field, is not easy. Like many women, she suffers from imposter syndrome, not helped by the fact that she started off as a history/liberal arts major in college and transitioned to geology later in her academic career. On some of these trips, she's experienced serious injuries, some mysterious and unnamed still, that prevented her from doing her best work - yet she often powered through those struggles in the name of science. She's seen the barriers that prevent so many people who don't "fit the mold" from entering scientific fields, and she's passionate about making science more accessible and inclusive to all.
This book reminded me a lot of one of my other favorite science memoirs, [b:Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver|43131602|Into the Planet My Life as a Cave Diver|Jill Heinerth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563335080l/43131602._SY75_.jpg|55357537] by Jill Heinerth. Heinerth, like Phoenix, is a pioneer in her industry, and has led a career full of truly book-worthy adventures. Although geology/volcanology is not quite as interesting to me as underwater cave diving, this memoir was similarly engaging and accessible, with stories that will keep you fascinated all the way through. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Informative and at times head shaking account of a woman volcanologist. Well written and surprising tales.
Ms. Adventure was so thoroughly what I wanted it to be: a fun, hyper-vicarious summer read that made me feel like I had taken mini-trips to Hawaii, Peru, and Mexico. During her fieldwork, Phoenix stays at sea for months at a time, or ascends higher than most of us will ever climb, to where the air can be dangerously thin and helicopters can't fly to the rescue. It seems that she took consistent scientific and personal records throughout these trips, which help shape the memoir with vivid details. I loved little insights like these, of environments I will probably never experience firsthand:
I had not anticipated the intensity of the sun bouncing off dark lava flows. [...]
The lava was making an almost musical sound as the new flow rolled over the older ground beneath. [...]
The taffy from hell stretched vivid and red, the insubstantial silver crust broken by the hammer, the flow’s dazzling scarlet insides exposed to the world.
I loved other things, too, about Phoenix specifically: She obtained her undergrad degree in history and was actively working in the archival field before she took some catch-up science courses and enrolled in a Masters program for geology. It's rare to hear from successful scientists who've made big career changes like this, and I thought that her education in the humanities was an important part of her perspective. I also appreciated her criticisms of the liberal arts, which was precisely what I felt when I started taking university-level science courses after obtaining a humanities degree: So much of the humanities is open to interpretation, and so many of the people I had studied with were so insecure that admitting any ignorance would have been unconscionable. By contrast, science allowed her to question everything, and work to find concrete answers. Of course, later she has critiques of scientists themselves, and how their hyper-specific specializations sometimes close them off to curiosity and subsequent discovery. I like that Phoenix confirmed all of my suspicions about the dangers of structuring intellectual curiosities around these limitations.
I also loved how deeply in her body she was throughout her fieldwork. She becomes at times mysteriously and urgently sick, or abruptly physically injured; one of her colleagues very sadly dies while they're at sea. I appreciated her honesty in depicting the experience of science and the body: how we thirst and hunger and sweat even while we're mesmerized by the volcanic eruptions happening in front of us, how our bodies are always making demands and expressing its limits even while we would prefer to carry on with our work.
The penultimate chapter, about filming a TV show for the Discovery channel, was such an interesting opportunity to see how unreliable and biased our media is (example: Discovery executives requested that Phoenix wear leggings while doing fieldwork on a volcano; she refused, as synthetic fibers would have literally melted into her skin. She later found out that Discovery had made no wardrobe requests of her male colleagues).
This book was a short, quick read that was perfect for a summer when travel is limited, and it was filled with little insights that I probably couldn't learn anywhere else. I really enjoyed it.
I had not anticipated the intensity of the sun bouncing off dark lava flows. [...]
The lava was making an almost musical sound as the new flow rolled over the older ground beneath. [...]
The taffy from hell stretched vivid and red, the insubstantial silver crust broken by the hammer, the flow’s dazzling scarlet insides exposed to the world.
I loved other things, too, about Phoenix specifically: She obtained her undergrad degree in history and was actively working in the archival field before she took some catch-up science courses and enrolled in a Masters program for geology. It's rare to hear from successful scientists who've made big career changes like this, and I thought that her education in the humanities was an important part of her perspective. I also appreciated her criticisms of the liberal arts, which was precisely what I felt when I started taking university-level science courses after obtaining a humanities degree: So much of the humanities is open to interpretation, and so many of the people I had studied with were so insecure that admitting any ignorance would have been unconscionable. By contrast, science allowed her to question everything, and work to find concrete answers. Of course, later she has critiques of scientists themselves, and how their hyper-specific specializations sometimes close them off to curiosity and subsequent discovery. I like that Phoenix confirmed all of my suspicions about the dangers of structuring intellectual curiosities around these limitations.
I also loved how deeply in her body she was throughout her fieldwork. She becomes at times mysteriously and urgently sick, or abruptly physically injured; one of her colleagues very sadly dies while they're at sea. I appreciated her honesty in depicting the experience of science and the body: how we thirst and hunger and sweat even while we're mesmerized by the volcanic eruptions happening in front of us, how our bodies are always making demands and expressing its limits even while we would prefer to carry on with our work.
The penultimate chapter, about filming a TV show for the Discovery channel, was such an interesting opportunity to see how unreliable and biased our media is (example: Discovery executives requested that Phoenix wear leggings while doing fieldwork on a volcano; she refused, as synthetic fibers would have literally melted into her skin. She later found out that Discovery had made no wardrobe requests of her male colleagues).
This book was a short, quick read that was perfect for a summer when travel is limited, and it was filled with little insights that I probably couldn't learn anywhere else. I really enjoyed it.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
During like, the first 3rd of the book, I was all like "Oh heck yes! We had a nice run in libraries. Time to go be a GEOLOGIST now!"
And then she started talking about how people don't (can't) shower while exploring. And I started wondering if the book title, Ms. Adventure, was a play on words with "misadventure" because in almost every story she tells, she is injured or hurt or going to the doctor OR not going to the doctor and forcing herself to walk on a leg that literally will not bend at the knee anymore!!!!
I think I like my nice librarian job. But her job is really cool too. I never knew about things like how lava in Hawaii is SILVER when it's super super hot and then quickly cools to the red we all know lava to be.
I think Jess Phoenix is doing something really cool and she's working really hard to make something good out of it.
And then she started talking about how people don't (can't) shower while exploring. And I started wondering if the book title, Ms. Adventure, was a play on words with "misadventure" because in almost every story she tells, she is injured or hurt or going to the doctor OR not going to the doctor and forcing herself to walk on a leg that literally will not bend at the knee anymore!!!!
I think I like my nice librarian job. But her job is really cool too. I never knew about things like how lava in Hawaii is SILVER when it's super super hot and then quickly cools to the red we all know lava to be.
I think Jess Phoenix is doing something really cool and she's working really hard to make something good out of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Death, Gun violence
3.75 Rounded up.
There is a lot of privilege coming from this person, but I will say it is acknowledged repeatedly; her need to do better and the love of what she is doing is very clear. Still, it’s hard to read the phrase “as a child of FBI agents” over and over and not roll my eyes.
There is a lot of privilege coming from this person, but I will say it is acknowledged repeatedly; her need to do better and the love of what she is doing is very clear. Still, it’s hard to read the phrase “as a child of FBI agents” over and over and not roll my eyes.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I picked this book for a STEM challenge and then realized that I had already heard of this lady! She was on a podcast years ago as a volcano expert, which was incredibly interesting to listen to (it was the ologies podcast btw). It was nice to get more in depth with where she's been and what she does.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced