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luftschlosseule's review
3.0
This book is a Who's Who of the arachnid kingdom. In the introduction, we are told how typically the body of a spider looks, what all the bits and pieces are called, so we have common ground. Afterwards, we go along the rows of different families within this species, and get shown how to realise what kind of spider you just found in your bed, threatening to come closer than you really liked.
So, I wasn't sure how to put trigger warnings on this and in the end, decided against mentioning any. This book is about spiders. If you are afraid of spiders, don't want to know anything further about them, stay away. Okay? Okay.
I have to add that even though I don't have an arachnophobia, some of these pictures made me queasy, especially the electromicroscope ones because they remind me of the crawlies I have in my bed that make itch and sneeze.
A big plus this book has are the beautiful, high-resolution pictures. While most books work fine regardless of how you consume them, in this case I wouldn't recommend the ebook, as my device and my programm for reading it had some struggles with loading all those shiny pixels. Also, it would be easier with a physical copy to jump back and forth to look up things, and, ultimately, I don't think this is a book to be read like a story. It's more a reference book to look things up, and as such does what it sets out to do.
It proved to not be my cup of tea, but this is due to personal preferences and in no way reflects on the author's knowledge or ability to share it.
It just turned out that while I can happily read hundreds of pages about sharks, after 20 pages about arachnids I want a different topic.
Another problem I had is the language, which is the proper scientific one with Latin phrases. I found it not very accessible, especially as I have no great experience with the natural sciences and also am not an English native speaker.
This book is for you if you are a spider nerd that wants all there is to know about different families and how to spot the differences.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
So, I wasn't sure how to put trigger warnings on this and in the end, decided against mentioning any. This book is about spiders. If you are afraid of spiders, don't want to know anything further about them, stay away. Okay? Okay.
I have to add that even though I don't have an arachnophobia, some of these pictures made me queasy, especially the electromicroscope ones because they remind me of the crawlies I have in my bed that make itch and sneeze.
A big plus this book has are the beautiful, high-resolution pictures. While most books work fine regardless of how you consume them, in this case I wouldn't recommend the ebook, as my device and my programm for reading it had some struggles with loading all those shiny pixels. Also, it would be easier with a physical copy to jump back and forth to look up things, and, ultimately, I don't think this is a book to be read like a story. It's more a reference book to look things up, and as such does what it sets out to do.
It proved to not be my cup of tea, but this is due to personal preferences and in no way reflects on the author's knowledge or ability to share it.
It just turned out that while I can happily read hundreds of pages about sharks, after 20 pages about arachnids I want a different topic.
Another problem I had is the language, which is the proper scientific one with Latin phrases. I found it not very accessible, especially as I have no great experience with the natural sciences and also am not an English native speaker.
This book is for you if you are a spider nerd that wants all there is to know about different families and how to spot the differences.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
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