The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter | 
so-soNot sure this book knew what it wanted to be.
It succeeded at being a book about trees written by a zoologist who seems just as happy to talk about other living things.
First part does have tree history, right back through evolution, but it does seem to get snagged up in the greater story of the evolution of life.
The second part has at least as many mentions of beings in Orders that are not trees, as trees themselves. 1/?
Reasonable given the definition, but still, the name "cloud forest" has such ✨whimsy✨. ☁️?
Just when I thought I knew all the players in pollination. Lemurs?!
Busting out the big words just to be cheeky, I swear. 🍌
Trees doin' U-turns...🤷🏼♂️
Love how he just slides these opinion pieces/personal philosophies in between tree facts. 😏
"...a fairly common trick..." I had no idea existed! ?⁉️
Very much digging this description of a tree I don't think I've ever seen. Will Google once I'm done savouring the wording.
Oh good, so I'm even tightly wound on the cellular level! 🤦🏼♂️
Today is my birthday and I‘m relaxing, enjoying it and had my free birthday Starbucks PSL. Yesterday was a good day, too! My #BOTM order arrived (Dark Matters). Then hubby and I went to our local indie bookstore and had dinner afterwards. Got the two on the right, plus picked up a free ARC (“Burn”).
And happy birthday to the other Litsy birthday triplets @mabell and @thebluestocking !!
The sky cleared and the sun and the moon made magic in the trees. #eclipse2017 🌙🌞🌒🌤
"A tree is a big plant with a stick up the middle--and a big plant with a stick up the middle is not an easy thing to be." ???#reademandeatathon
"Animals faced with such a mob would surely have packed themselves off to Russia." I love Colin Tudge's sense of humor. #reademandeatathon
"Nature was not designed to make life easy for biologists." There are many funny lines in this book. It's not all dry science and it answers questions that I've always had about trees. I am super obsessed with trees, but I can never talk to anyone about my obsession because I get very strange looks. This and other books about trees fills my need for treeish information and answers. Yay, trees, but they're weird. #reademandeatathon
I love it when I find myself in a book!!
Starting this one tonight!
Very excited to have found this book, quite by accident as it happened!
I think I'd excerpt into a separate paper the many mentions/discussions of the recategorization and renaming of various levels of trees and tree families (order, genus, etc), because it comes up a lot, and isn't necessarily helpful in keeping straight what a tree is, or how it relates to other trees.
I just needed a one time disclaimer that 'this may be out of date in five years and won't match up with older sources based on the ongoing science.' 2mo
I think part three was mostly what I thought this book would be, but even it reflects the problems listed above. 2mo