Today's Featured Book:
by Zoë Schlanger
Genre: Nonfiction
Published: May 7, 2024
Page Count: 304 pages
Summary:
It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.
The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.
What is a plant? You likely have an idea. You might be picturing a fat sunflower with its hubcap face and thick felted stalk, or the bean vine looped around a trellis in your grandmother's yard. Maybe, like me, you're eyeing the golden pothos hanging in your kitchen window that you should probably water. A known entity; the green of every single day.
THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky.
But that whole plants might be considered to communicate intentionally with each other---that communication could extend beyond one plant to others---is a relatively new and still controversial concept in botany.
.png)
I'm into all-things-nature. Plants are some of my favorite living things; if people keep going the way they are going here in America, plants are soon to top humans on my list. This is a book about plants by one of the staff writers for the Atlantic. She found her way to plants much the same way I did, through the wonder she felt around the natural world.
The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
June 6th - 12th - How do you strike a balance between providing enough information to pique readers' interest without giving away too many spoilers in your reviews? (submitted by Page @ Pages of Perfiction)
My reviews are so short that no one ever needs to worry I'll give away anything. lol
All the facts about plants tempt me to speculate…can they recognize people? DO they know us? Like domestic animals have they tamed us even though we think it’s the other way around?
ReplyDeleteI think I should read the book and get a grip!
That looks very interesting!
ReplyDeleteNice! I always try to share as much as I would want to know about a book I was debating about reading. I like to add just a touch more than what you'd read in the blurb because I've read some very unhelpful blurbs and it was reader reviews that helped me to add or skip over these books!
ReplyDeleteHere's my BBH
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Plants can bring such joy--at least mine do for me.
ReplyDeleteThis book so amazing and eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun title for a book :-) I, too, love all things nature!
ReplyDeleteApologies, I did not mean to comment as anonymous :-/
DeleteOver the years as a gardener, I've come to respect plants so much that I even find it wrenching at times to pull "weeds" from my garden beds. There's not a doubt in my mind that they possess a kind of intelligence and ability to adjust in order to fit into their environment. I think we can learn much from them, as I suspect they have from us.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book!
ReplyDeleteSounds like it would be a good book to have.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who went vegan for the animals (because I don't want to harm or eat sentient beings), this kind of makes me think. Thank you for sharing this! This seems interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting sounding book. I know that there are a lot to plants, but when you put it altogether like that they sound magical!
ReplyDeleteHaha I used to do short reviews then when I started doing Blog Tours I felt guilty about the length. Now I definitely tend to ramble on. In my defence one publisher did ask for a minimum word review so 😂
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2025/06/06/book-blogger-hop-writing-reviews-without-spoilers/
I've been eyeing this. It sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is most plants don't thrive for me very well.
ReplyDeleteThis didn't really grab me just at a glance but I do like the teasers and the sound of the writing style. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting! Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDelete