Reviews with content warning for Racism - World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

36 reviews

stine_0's review

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informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

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rosa_lina96's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.25

I really did want to like this book a bit more than I did. The writing, at its core, is lovely and reflective, and the illustrations that come along with some of the stories are charming and masterfully done. However, the book itself just feels a bit too...disjointed, for lack of a better term, for me to truly enjoy it. The timeline of the book kind of skips all over the place, and at times it seemed like the author was kind of grasping at straws to try and relate certain plants or animals to her life, something which took away from the overall immersion for me.

That being said, it made me look at fireflies with a bit more respect, so it has that going for it, at least.

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gillianjenkinscopeland's review

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Incredibly well written. Descriptions are so sensory, vivid, unique. I adore all of the animal facts throughout!

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julianairving's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

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bobin's review

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challenging inspiring fast-paced

4.75

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ketallpot's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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kirstym25's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

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tomato_bisque's review

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adventurous hopeful informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

The book is part memoir, part nature documentary. Its a reminder that while we are wrapped up in the human part of our lives, there is a massive and beautiful backdrop of nature. Its a reminder that we are just a small part of a whole.

(Also screaming at the bird of paridise section.)

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00phantom's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

Such a wonderful exploration of one woman’s experience of nature through her life. So thought provoking and inspiring. Makes me re-commited to learning everything I can about my native wildlife so my children will not grow up without words for the nature around them.

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ashwaar's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.75

World of Wonders is a really beautiful book and is a gorgeous addition to any bookshelf. It's one of those books that could be bought for the cover alone. The illustrations are stunning, and I wish there were more inside the book.

The author is a poet, and this slim book is organised into small vignettes discussing different animals like the axolotl, vampire squid and fireflies. She relates each animal, plant or ecological phenomenon to her own life and encourages the reader to consider and reflect on how their lives also follow the pattern of nature.

The writing is pretty and very poetic, but this is not a scientific book. You will learn a lot, and it's great if you enjoy short stories or don't have a big attention span, but it's not research-based. It's about human nature and family and how we're all a part of nature. So it's beautiful, but not in a raw, aggressive way as I think nature often can be, but it's elegant and lyrical. It's a love song.

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