The Soul of an Octopus - Sy Montgomery - Part 1

The Soul of an Octopus - Sy Montgomery

2017 Reading Challenge - Day 115

  April 25, 2017 

Book 34 - The Soul of an Octopus -
A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

Sy Montgomery (2015)
 Part 1 - pages 1-60
Reading Time - 1 hour

I think I spotted this book at an airport bookshop. I made a note of it and then requested it from the library. I think I was #175 in a long list of holds! It finally came last week and, I have to say, it was a very quick read.

I had never heard of the author before but apparently she is naturalist who writes fairly accessible books and articles about interesting nature topics. This book, obviously, is about octopuses (not octopi... first thing I learned!).

The book starts off with her meeting at couple of octopus at the Boston aquarium. I learned a LOT about octopuses in these first few chapters. Like they are the world's consummate camouflagers. Chameleons have nothing on octopus! Which is interesting, because our eight-legged friends can't see colour... although they can see polarized light (which we can't see). Octopus have a pretty bad reputation out there... along with their relatives the squid and the Kraken (think massive squid). In the aquarium, the author discovered that they are actually quite gentle. The love to be petted and are highly tactile. Their suckers can taste things and that seems to be where a lot of their sensory input comes from. They are intelligent, smart and very, very curious. They can recognize people... and even like or dislike people. Naturally, they also have very different personalities. Some are bold. Some are curious. Some are assertive. They are unique individuals. And... they only live a maximum of 5 years. Which is kind of crazy...

I have to say... I'm not a big fan of octopus... either live or in sushi... but this book made me want to learn more. Which, I think, is what books are for!