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sloph's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
A good introduction into bugs/nature and especially ones hidden in the city. I felt like there was a bit too much story and narrative of the author, but thats just me. I just wanted a bit more of an in depth of the bugs and plants and such.
I really like the interspersed humour and the references to nerd culture though, made it interesting to read.
I really like the interspersed humour and the references to nerd culture though, made it interesting to read.
kapowder's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
sea_level's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
itacuz's review against another edition
5.0
When was the last time you looked at a plant, animal, or insect outside your home and really wondered what life was like when you walked past them and onto the rest of your life? Was your last thought about moss unpleasant, did you last consider mushrooms solely as participants on your plate? Nature Obscura asks you to look outside with that childlike wonder that you may have lost while growing up. I like to consider myself someone who appreciates nature, I like going on hikes and walks through my local parks, but it was always something I was briefly visiting before returning inside to the comfort of my own home and house plants.
Kelly Brenner created a field guide for those of us living in the city of Seattle, and the larger ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. If you live in or around the city, then this book should be required reading upon signing a lease. When there is such a vibrant world existing not just outside, but possibly underneath your porch, there’s no reason you should be ignorant to it! After reading this book I am identifying plants and insects everywhere I go, talking to whoever will listen about how they’ll behave when we cross the street or the seasons change. I have found so much more delight in the ecosystems around me now that it’s been pointed out that they are alive and full to the brim of that life.
I got this book as a Peak Pick with the Seattle Public Library, a wonderful service that introduced Nature Obscura to me when I don’t know if I would have found it on my own. I had two weeks to read it and no hold to wait for, the book starts with winter and progresses chronologically; I checked it out early fall. I was curious to see if there would be an interruption of flow, if by reading it out of order I would be throwing off the arc that Brenner created. In fact, the opposite was true! Each seasonal section of the book is its own little ecosystem that can be referred back to whenever the mood strikes you, and in fact when I purchase this book myself I will be referring back as the seasons change to remind me of what new life, or decomposition of life, I should be expecting in the months to come.
If I had a note about this book, it’s that there weren’t enough pictures. Each season would have another beautiful illustration of different things that would be featured later in the section, but I wanted to see something at every chapter. I found myself flipping back to the page that showed what I was looking at, and then when I didn’t see enough to understand what I was reading I would look it up. Sometimes, not wanting to interrupt my reading, I would just breeze onto the next chapter and sit with the pictures in my mind. It’s a small complaint, and it may have been what drove me to find real life examples in an attempt to fill in the blanks, whatever the case it is still one of my new favorite books and will be on my lips whenever a local asks me for reading suggestions.
I’m not sure what you would get from this living in a different area of the world, with a different ecosystem. I imagine it would give you a better idea of what’s in our little corner and it might push you to ask more questions about the neighborhood you’re living in or passing through. Whatever inquisitive nature and wondrous realizations it brings, I’m sure you will find some joy to know just how important the life of a moth is, or how wide the family of flies can be. Stay questioning and inspired by the world around, respect the land you pass through, and appreciate what it has to show you.
Kelly Brenner created a field guide for those of us living in the city of Seattle, and the larger ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. If you live in or around the city, then this book should be required reading upon signing a lease. When there is such a vibrant world existing not just outside, but possibly underneath your porch, there’s no reason you should be ignorant to it! After reading this book I am identifying plants and insects everywhere I go, talking to whoever will listen about how they’ll behave when we cross the street or the seasons change. I have found so much more delight in the ecosystems around me now that it’s been pointed out that they are alive and full to the brim of that life.
I got this book as a Peak Pick with the Seattle Public Library, a wonderful service that introduced Nature Obscura to me when I don’t know if I would have found it on my own. I had two weeks to read it and no hold to wait for, the book starts with winter and progresses chronologically; I checked it out early fall. I was curious to see if there would be an interruption of flow, if by reading it out of order I would be throwing off the arc that Brenner created. In fact, the opposite was true! Each seasonal section of the book is its own little ecosystem that can be referred back to whenever the mood strikes you, and in fact when I purchase this book myself I will be referring back as the seasons change to remind me of what new life, or decomposition of life, I should be expecting in the months to come.
If I had a note about this book, it’s that there weren’t enough pictures. Each season would have another beautiful illustration of different things that would be featured later in the section, but I wanted to see something at every chapter. I found myself flipping back to the page that showed what I was looking at, and then when I didn’t see enough to understand what I was reading I would look it up. Sometimes, not wanting to interrupt my reading, I would just breeze onto the next chapter and sit with the pictures in my mind. It’s a small complaint, and it may have been what drove me to find real life examples in an attempt to fill in the blanks, whatever the case it is still one of my new favorite books and will be on my lips whenever a local asks me for reading suggestions.
I’m not sure what you would get from this living in a different area of the world, with a different ecosystem. I imagine it would give you a better idea of what’s in our little corner and it might push you to ask more questions about the neighborhood you’re living in or passing through. Whatever inquisitive nature and wondrous realizations it brings, I’m sure you will find some joy to know just how important the life of a moth is, or how wide the family of flies can be. Stay questioning and inspired by the world around, respect the land you pass through, and appreciate what it has to show you.
whalecomrades's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Fun read! Can’t wait to go see the crows at UW Bothell 🪶
readrunsea's review against another edition
5.0
This book kept my mental state from scraping the very bottom of its capacity when COVID really started flaming, and for that I will be forever grateful. It is just a really lovely (and totally fascinating!) ode to different life forms, most of them tiny (slime molds! tardigrades!) that the author, an amateur naturalist with total reverence for the world around us, has observed in the Seattle area. There's also some great writing on the ways in which humans and urban areas shape and are shaped by the natural world we live in/are part of. It's a super calm read and includes some great illustrations too. Highly recommend, whether you're in the PNW or not!
benevolentreader242's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting aspects and thoughts to keep any urban dweller connected to nature.
oblong's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75