June NatureKIT: Oceans and Rivers

All books related to this month’s subject, oceans and rivers, are welcome: ocean and river ecosystems, the creatures and plants that live there, the people who study them, and so on. There’s loads of nonfiction but also some interesting fiction as well, from Moby-Dick to Jaws to Playground by Richard Powers. (I also snuck in below a book about swamps, since wetlands need representation too!)

The covers below link to some fiction and nonfiction titles about oceans and rivers.

Please share what you’re reading this month, and don’t forget to update the Wiki with your selection!

What a gorgeous opening post, >1 Charon07:!

For anyone on the fence: I'd highly recommend both Soul of an Octopus and The Secret Life of Lobsters--they're absolutely fantastic reads.

For my part, I've been meaning to read The Sea Around Us for ages, so that's my plan. I'm excited to see what everyone chooses!

Thank you for the introduction >1 Charon07:, I can already see so many BBs there!

I hope to read Land's Edge by Tim Winton.

I'm hoping to get to Blue Machine by Helen Czerski.

I have a couple of ideas here. I have a KU book by Rick Riordan entitled Daughters of the Deep and also a couple of novels that include the Cherwell as key elements.

My book club meeting was postponed till June, so I can include The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See for this

I have a couple of options:
The Lifeboat / Charlotte Rogan
The Lost Island / Preston & Child

I'm planning to read Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell.
One of the barristers is charged with murder while on a tour of Venice.

I haven't found the specific title yet but I hope to read about the Buffalo River becoming the first National River in 1972. Most of the books our library has don't circulate.

I’m having a hard time narrowing down my choice for this month. I’ve been trying to read nonfiction for this KIT, to get in my recommended monthly allowance of nonfiction. But there are a couple of novels I’d also like to read.

• Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by ‪Peter Godfrey-Smith - It’s been on my TBR for quite a while
  
• The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson - This would be the perfect time to finally get around to this classic
  
• In Ascension by ‪Martin MacInnes
  
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by ‪Shelby Van Pelt - Also been on my TBR for a while, and I own the audiobook
  
• River-Horse by ‪William Least Heat-Moon - The last of his Travel Trilogy that I haven’t read
  
  I own only one of these, so I might just play library roulette and see what comes up.

I am reading Serpent by Clive Cussler. Underwater archaeology.

I read The Golden Gals' French Adventure which is set in France and features beaches, oceans, and canoe races on a river.

COMPLETED The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, a story of Korean haenyeo or Sea Women, who make a living free diving to harvest seafood.

I completed Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane, which is toward the outdoor memoir/spiritual journey end of books about conservation and ecology.

The Soul of an Octopus

This book made me laugh, made me cry, and caused a pretty big shift in the way I view the natural world around me. If you are interested in this book at all based on the title, I recommend moving this one to the top of your TBR. You will fall in love with the octopuses in this book, just as the author (and I) have. It's an approachable, relatable, and very interesting nonfiction read.

Still hoping I'll have time to read Remarkably Bright Creatures after I finish my other CATs and KITs, but we'll just have to see.

Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell
This is the first in a wonderful series set in a London barristers office. Sadly, Caudwell died young and only wrote four in the series, of which I’ve read three. Funny, literary, with fabulous writing, this is a series to savour.

When the maladroit Julia, one of the barristers, went to Venice in search of romance, she wrote frequent letters to her colleagues detailing progress that they gathered over coffee to read together. Her adventure turned alarming when she was arrested for murdering the Adonis whose bed she shared.

The elegant and very proper language, detailed to a level only lawyers and academics can achieve, was so much fun to read. The surprise denouement fitted perfectly.

Note: not a perfect choice for the category but a wonderful book set in Venice.

I read Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith. It wasn’t all I hoped it would be, but Chapter 4, “From White Noise to Consciousness,” was well worth reading, and there was a lot of information about cephalopods for us octopus fans.

I read The River byGary Paulsen. Not as much about the river as I would have liked.

I read Blue Machine by Helen Czerski, and thought it was excellent. It's the best sort of popular science - makes complex concepts and science accessible, and fills the reader with awe. I also loved her footnotes!

Set on the ocean, but not really about the ocean, unfortunately