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9 reviews for:
Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins: A Trip Through the World of Animal Intoxication
Oné R. Pagán
3.72 AVERAGE
9 reviews for:
Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins: A Trip Through the World of Animal Intoxication
Oné R. Pagán
3.72 AVERAGE
Admittedly, I couldn’t ACTUALLY finish this book. I got through the first chapter and had to stop around page 43 (which is a pretty difficult decision for me!). But I still wanted to write my thoughts on it, despite only reading a fraction of it.
I have been in a scientific nonfiction writing kick lately (think Mary Roach, or the recent book “Gory Details”). Books that are well-researched, but also entertaining or lacking in dryness.
I understand some people really enjoy Pagan’s writing approach and voice, but to me it’s insufferable. I tried so hard just to get to chapter 2 because I genuinely wanted to learn about the subject matter. But I just can’t seem to retain the information. Despite his flippant narrative, it’s VERY factual in its delivery, to a point of occasionally feeling light and dense at the same time? So there’s a lot of potential to learn, especially as someone without a bio or chem degree. And a lot of that can be chalked up to the fact that, in my opinion, Pagan abuses the ability to footnote to an obnoxious degree.
I understand the additional depth or aside that footnotes can bring, and I generally enjoy them. But these footnotes have no value. They sometimes come off as silly or nonsensical to a point it distracts enough that I forgot what Pagan was talking about. And maybe that’s just a personal preference, or something to do with my ADHD and linguistic processing. But abuse of footnotes like this is also why I cannot, for the life of me, get through DFW’s Infinite Jest—that intellectual aside where the author wants to seem like they’re writing but also engaging in a casual (read: pretentious) intellectual discussion with the reader, when really they’re just patting themselves on the back for what they just wrote. One footnote in chapter one of “Drunk Flies…” could literally be summarized as, “ha! Pretty clever, right?” And that kind of writing feels disorganized and unedited to me. I don’t want to read a scientist’s Xanga ramblings about a weird science topic they thought was cool.
But maybe I’m just not the intended audience.
I have been in a scientific nonfiction writing kick lately (think Mary Roach, or the recent book “Gory Details”). Books that are well-researched, but also entertaining or lacking in dryness.
I understand some people really enjoy Pagan’s writing approach and voice, but to me it’s insufferable. I tried so hard just to get to chapter 2 because I genuinely wanted to learn about the subject matter. But I just can’t seem to retain the information. Despite his flippant narrative, it’s VERY factual in its delivery, to a point of occasionally feeling light and dense at the same time? So there’s a lot of potential to learn, especially as someone without a bio or chem degree. And a lot of that can be chalked up to the fact that, in my opinion, Pagan abuses the ability to footnote to an obnoxious degree.
I understand the additional depth or aside that footnotes can bring, and I generally enjoy them. But these footnotes have no value. They sometimes come off as silly or nonsensical to a point it distracts enough that I forgot what Pagan was talking about. And maybe that’s just a personal preference, or something to do with my ADHD and linguistic processing. But abuse of footnotes like this is also why I cannot, for the life of me, get through DFW’s Infinite Jest—that intellectual aside where the author wants to seem like they’re writing but also engaging in a casual (read: pretentious) intellectual discussion with the reader, when really they’re just patting themselves on the back for what they just wrote. One footnote in chapter one of “Drunk Flies…” could literally be summarized as, “ha! Pretty clever, right?” And that kind of writing feels disorganized and unedited to me. I don’t want to read a scientist’s Xanga ramblings about a weird science topic they thought was cool.
But maybe I’m just not the intended audience.
A surprisingly in-depth scientific book about animals (including humans) and the use of alcohol and drugs "for the fun of it". The title made me think this would be stories about what people have witnessed and then some explanations what did or most likely did happen, but turns out I was wrong. There is a lot more science and descriptions of the processes behind it, and it is actually less about the different cases, more about the phenomena.
I found the story about cicadas to be fascinating. I also wished I would have finally found out the truth about elephants and marulas, but that seems to remain a mystery. Still, I found out a lot of interesting facts. I do quite often disagree with some methods, and giving elephants LSD or other drugs to see how they react feels just wrong. This is just one example. All in all an informative read!
I found the story about cicadas to be fascinating. I also wished I would have finally found out the truth about elephants and marulas, but that seems to remain a mystery. Still, I found out a lot of interesting facts. I do quite often disagree with some methods, and giving elephants LSD or other drugs to see how they react feels just wrong. This is just one example. All in all an informative read!
This book was not only full of extremely precise information about the drugs present in nature and their evolution and the use/abuse/consumption of them by animals, but it was also narrated in an extremely entertaining way without becoming superficial, which testifies to the professionalism of the author and his ability to divulge information.
Questo libro non solo era pieno di informazioni estremamente precise sulle sostanze stupefacenti presenti in natura e della loro evoluzione e dell'uso/abuso/consumo di esse da parte degli animali, ma era anche raccontato in modo estremamente divertente senza diventare superficiale a testimonianza della professionalitá dell'autore e della sua capacitá di divulgatore.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Questo libro non solo era pieno di informazioni estremamente precise sulle sostanze stupefacenti presenti in natura e della loro evoluzione e dell'uso/abuso/consumo di esse da parte degli animali, ma era anche raccontato in modo estremamente divertente senza diventare superficiale a testimonianza della professionalitá dell'autore e della sua capacitá di divulgatore.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
My favorite kind of science book blends humor in with the weirdness of the topic at hand, and Oné Pagán nailed it with Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins. Pick this up if you want to hear about the romantic lives of cicadas—sometimes they get so stoned that they boink like maniacs until their abdomens fall off. And then they die. Or perhaps you prefer insects getting revenge on the scientists who study them, like the bees who were provided booze and became so filled with rage that they swarmed inside the lab and stung any human they could find. Fun!
✨ From Strange Science Books about Animals at Crooked Reads.
✨ From Strange Science Books about Animals at Crooked Reads.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Enjoyable book looking at a variety of animal species and their experiences with mind altering substances, discussing how it compares to the human experience. It also goes into the biology of why these substances affect different species in different ways, and also why plant products (like fruit) produce alcohol in the first place. Very enjoyable.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
informative
fast-paced