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Spying on Whales
Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures | Nick Pyenson
A dive into the secret lives of whales, from their evolutionary past to today's cutting edge of science Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on our planet. They evolved from land-roaming, dog-sized creatures into animals that move like fish, breathe like us, can grow to 300,000 pounds, live 200 years and travel entire ocean basins. Whales fill us with terror, awe, and affection--yet there is still so much we don't know about them. Why did it take whales over 50 million years to evolve to such big sizes, and how do they eat enough to stay that big? How did their ancestors return from land to the sea--and what can their lives tell us about evolution as a whole? Importantly, in the sweepstakes of human-driven habitat and climate change, will whales survive? Nick Pyenson's research has given us the answers to some of our biggest questions about whales. He takes us deep inside the Smithsonian's unparalleled fossil collections, to frigid Antarctic waters, and to the arid desert in Chile, where scientists race against time to document the largest fossil whale site ever found. Full of rich storytelling and scientific discovery, Spying on Whales spans the ancient past to an uncertain future--all to better understand the most enigmatic creatures on Earth.
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CourtStafford
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Wishing it was still Sunday so I could be curled up with my pup reading instead of being at work.

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monalyisha
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I just got my latest car insurance bill in the mail (after having purchased a new vehicle). After I sobbed uncontrollably (just kidding; but I should have), I decided to cut a bunch of unnecessary expenses from my life — including my Audible subscription.

I‘ve got a handful of credits that I need to use or lose. I love fiction, memoirs, pop science (a la Mary Roach), YA, & Children‘s. Bonus points if I can‘t get it through interlibrary loan.

SilversReviews If they have THE RED ADDRESS BOOK, I would listen to that. I LOVED that book. 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Loved Lab Girl on audiobook, science and memoir 6y
See All 26 Comments
JaclynW Anything by Neil Gaiman 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @JaclynW I‘ll second Born A Crime too 6y
Texreader I have lots to recommend if you need anymore suggestions 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Packing for Mars by Mary Roach if you haven‘t read it already 6y
LauraJ Get something super long, like 40 hours. 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa And just so you know, I recently did this too, and for (I think it was) $9.99 for the year, you can transfer your account to “lite” and keep the credits you already have accumulated and take a whole year to use them without paying for or accumulating anymore. That‘s the option I choice. 6y
monalyisha @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Definitely something to consider! Thanks for the info! 6y
monalyisha @britt_brooke Tagging you since I read/loved “Priestdaddy” on your recommendation! 6y
monalyisha @JaclynW @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I loved “Born a Crime.” SUCH a good one! 6y
Gezemice I see you already got Born A Crime, which is my favorite audiobook. I also highly siggest Circe and Song of Achilles by Madleine Miller - if you get just one, try 6y
Gezemice I would suggest checking your library before you get one, too, if you can get it for free, no need to buy it. Other recommendations: The Sherlock Holmes collection with Steven Fry‘s narration is fantastic. I have loved Team of Rivals and Steve Jobs (by Walter Issacson). All of these are very long and thus great value per credit. 6y
Gezemice Oh, and there is a 2 for 1 credit sale at the moment. 6y
britt_brooke @monalyisha 🥰 I just listened to a fantastic memoir you might be interested in: 6y
britt_brooke I recently read, and really enjoyed, Sadie. I didn‘t listen to it on audio, but I‘ve heard it‘s a fantastic listen especially because of the true crime podcast bits. It‘s fiction, but reads like it could be a real story. 6y
britt_brooke Michelle Obama‘s book is excellent, too. I loved her narration. 6y
monalyisha @britt_brooke I actually just ordered “Sadie” through interlibrary loan earlier today! Gonna look up “Heavy” & see if it‘s something I can get or not tomorrow. Thanks! 😊 6y
67 likes26 comments
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AvidReader25
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“We sent whalesong into interstellar space because the creatures that sing these songs are superlative beings that fill us with awe, terror, and affection. We have hunted them for thousands of years and scratched them into our mythologies and iconography. Their bones frame the archways of medieval castles. They‘re so compelling that we imagine aliens might find them interesting — or perhaps understand their otherworldly, ethereal song.”

Lea Oh this is on my TBR. It sounds so interesting. 6y
AvidReader25 @Lea It was! It‘s a little disjointed, but still fascinating. 6y
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mreads
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Pickpick

On the edge of so-so but the whales push it over to a pick just cause they are so awesome. Take blue whales they are the largest animal on the planet EVER and here they still are and we know so little about them. But there was just too much going on and the writing was too disjointed and nonlinear.

AvidReader25 Completely agree with your thoughts on this one. 6y
43 likes1 comment
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mreads
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Nice and cozy!!! 💙🍁 6y
Jee_HookedOnBookz I wanna be there all day!! 6y
50 likes2 comments
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mreads
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Library haul ! Just one hold but how can you bring home just one? 😁

Naj Mrs. Dalloway 😻 6y
Elma Looking forward to your thoughts on The Good Son. I've had it on hold at the library forever. 6y
JennyM Libraries 💛 6y
43 likes3 comments
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Booksnchill
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this as an audiobook- excellent history of whales and to some extent our hunting of them. Not a deep dive into science, conversational and a good narration.

71 likes1 stack add
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Booksnchill
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Enjoying this as my next audiobook on Libby. The title says it all, good narrator.

48 likes1 stack add
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Spying on Whales looks at whales mainly from the standpoint of their bones (makes sense, as it‘s written by a paleontologist) and anatomy with a dip into behavior. While I enjoyed it, I definitely wanted more, though I don‘t know if what I want is available, given the difficulty of studying live whales. They are such amazing creatures.

#dogsofLitsy #Bindi

Soubhiville Hi Bindi! Gosh she‘s getting big! 6y
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shanaqui
Pickpick

Pretty interesting, particularly the discussion of the new sense organ the author found through dissecting corpses from whaling.

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shanaqui
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Trying to have a chill reading session, but the bunnies are free in the flat for only the third time and want constant reassurance from Mummy. #BunniesofLitsy

rabbitprincess Awwww the fluffy back of the neck 😍🐰 6y
shanaqui @rabbitprincess It's the softest thing in the world! 6y
17 likes2 comments
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shanaqui
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Wife's whale (a Valentine's present which says "I whaley love you!" on his side, which she has been inseparable from for years now; score for me, since she never liked teddies before) is a bit worried by my reading matter, but a good companion as Lisa goes off for her second day at the new job.

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BookInMyHands
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This is what happens when you teach your ten-year-old to place his own library holds, and he checks out all of the whale books in the library system.

He‘s going to a volunteer training to learn how to do a marine debris survey in November. Books change the world, and so do 10-year-olds ❤️.

britt_brooke Love this! Good job, mom - and son! 💚 6y
Lindy 🐋💕 6y
silentrequiem Love this! 6y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook Yay for your young ecowarrior! 6y
BarbaraBB So cool! 🐳 6y
pppooraikul Now this is cool parenting! 😎 6y
Pamwurtzler Love that! Good for him and you! 6y
Mdargusch Wow! So amazing! 6y
LibrarianJen So cute! 6y
97 likes10 comments
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shaynarae
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Pickpick

This was an enjoyable book that taught me a few things about whales that I didn‘t know and made me think about some things in a different way. It was a bit ambling in its purposes, but I didn‘t really mind that while I was reading it. 🐋❤️ #whalelove

RaimeyGallant Nice review. :) 6y
shaynarae @RaimeyGallant Thanks! 🐳 6y
19 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Soubhi, thank you so much for my gifts! I‘m really excited for all of these and laughed out loud when I saw Fucking Apostrophes. 🤣 I opened them after midnight last night so it would officially be my birthday. 😬

By the way, Bindi, the new puppy, is loving the dog toy from Christmas!

LeahBergen Happy Birthday!! 📚📚📚 6y
Soubhiville Yay! Happy Birthday Holly! I need more puppy pictures! 6y
Ddzmini Happy birthday 🎉🎊🎈🎂🎁 6y
47 likes3 comments