Mara Grunbaum

This is a clever and funny collection of photographs of some of Nature's more obscure and bizarre creatures of all shapes and sizes, presented as a collection of photographs with accompanying dialogue between an unnamed narrator and Evolution. Evolution, often excited and anxious to show off it's newest creations, is often questioned, much to the reader's delight, by the narrator who is trying to figure out what exactly Evolution had in mind. Separated into chapters such as "Awkward show more Solutions" and "Half-Assed Attempts", we are presented with a wide array of creatures that does make one wonder what exactly was going on in the evolutionary process.

One of the reasons I enjoyed this book as much as I did is that I was introduced to a variety of animals that I had never heard of before, and while they are presented in a comedic fashion, I found myself researching a little more about them, beyond the humorous information presented in the book. One such creature is the whitemargin stargazer, a fish found in the Indopacific oceans, which I think looks like something that actually belongs Beyond the Wall.

Mara Grunbaum has done a great job of presenting some of nature's more unique specimens, disguising some very interesting information about them is a humorous format that is both comical and informative. Check out her tumblr at wtfevolution.tumblr.com for even more of Evolution's craziness. show less

This is the funniest book on evolution ever written. Wait, funniest? That's a weird adjective to append to such a topic. Well, yeah, but it would be the funniest even if other books on evolution were funny. It's that funny. Seriously though, it's a welcome break if you find yourself reading a slew of books on the same subject matter, and need to give your brain a bit of respite. Very clever, and very hilarious.

I'd been thinking about getting this for a while, as I'd loved some of Grunbaum's blog posts. I hesitated, though, knowing it was the kind of thing I wanted to share with Jefferson, and I wasn't sure it would be appropriate. So when I was at the bookstore, I made sure to flip through the sex session, and it looked okay. I mean, sure, plenty of talk about penises, maybe a tiny bit of language, but, um, 10-year-olds should know that animals have sex? And sometimes have weird genitalia? show more Whatever. I bought it.

Sure enough, we read about half of it cuddling on the couch together, giggling, then both caught up on what the other had read with us. We both agreed it was funniest when the narrator was having discussions with evolution, rather than just describing something. And, of course, the entries Jefferson chose to read to my parents when they visited were all from the sex section. Of course.

Often I wanted more actual science information about an animal, but this is a humor book, and I suppose I know how to google.

Lots of fun. show less

There are many things I don't do on the interwebs. I don't twitter, I don't instagram, I don't tumbl. But occasionally, like when I read this book, which started as a tumblr thingy, I realize that I'm missing a few hidden gems out there amongst all the terrible poetry and body shaming.

Things like this:

This pelican looks like a urinal. Evolution, go home--you're drunk.


Photographs of actual animals that somehow evolved and survive are accompanied by clever captions -- comments addressed to show more Evolution and conversations with Evolution (who sounds kind of like Bill & Ted in my head and when I just have to read them to my kids). show less