‘The Soul of an Octopus : A Playful Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness’ by Sy Montgomery
Sy Montgomery is practicing immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing octopus – those wild, solitary shape-shifters.
The intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their colour-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.
In ‘Between Us and Nature – A Reading Club’ we read together texts related to natural sciences, art, anthropology, postcolonialism, and (post)anthropocene, chosen from a female perspective looking beyond disciplines. Please rsvp via email to betweenusnature@gmail.com and we will send a selection from the book to those who would like to attend the reading session.
Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, artist, and Sina Ribak, environmental & cultural manager, host the reading club – to be inspired and “reminded of nature’s ability to hold us in the moment to force us to inhabit the present.”
Katharine Norbury, “Ground Work: Writings on Places and People by Tim Dee – review”, The Guardian, 2018
Simon & Schuster, Limited, 2015.
Come and join us with an open mind here:
What: The Reading Club is in English language
Who: small group of lovely, people who would like to meet you (rsvp only, not suitable for children)
Why: to read, be inspired and meet people
Contact: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky evakovacovsky@gmail.com and Sina Ribak betweenusnature@gmail.com