I was both amused and appalled by the stories Roach included in this book. Human- animal conflicts generally lead to attempts to get rid of the animals. This is why it never works for long.
TheBookHippie I enjoyed this read. 5mo
32 likes1 comment
Animal Vegetable Criminal: How Nature Breaks the Law | 
I was both amused and appalled by the stories Roach included in this book. Human- animal conflicts generally lead to attempts to get rid of the animals. This is why it never works for long.
pickThis wasn‘t my favorite of Mary Roach‘s investigations into bizarre topics…but I‘m always pleased to be gifted a view into her brain. She‘s so funny & smart, & I‘d be delighted to invite her to share inappropriately grotesque facts around my dinner table.
Now, excuse me. A beloved English professor once taught me the definition of tappen: “the non-existent rectal plug of a hibernating bear,” & Roach wrote that they do exist. I must fact-check.
so-soThe stories and ways people navigate the world of animal human conflict were interesting I just found the author's humor a bit off-putting. It seemed like she was determined to fit her interview subjects into sterotypical characters rather than real people.
#BookReport
I didn't manage to finish anything this week but I did manage to make progress. I'm at least 50% in two of my three current reads.
#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to finish Fuzz because I need to be prepared to moderate the discussion at work at the end of the month. I also think TLtL is due in ten days so I need to get close to finishing that as well.
Starting the selection for the book club I moderate at work during the slow periods.
#BookReport Happy New Year Edition!
I managed to finish off two books in the final week of 2023. One on accident while trying to catch up with ReadingWesteros and the other on my commute. I've also made some headway into my two holdover reads.
#WeeklyForecast
Goal this week is to start 2024 strong and finish either Raven Tower or Fevered Star which is my commute book so that I can start on the tagged for work book club.
Got these from my brother and SIL for Christmas. We decided to do a $15 limit this year, we all got books LOL. All 3 of us a fairly prolific readers.
"It's 5:00 a.m. The sky is still black, the Milky Way at maximum milk. A half dozen men from a road crew mill around in the headlights of trucks, carrying bags of Austin Powder Company explosives."
I love Mary Roaches writing, and how she can find poetry in everything she sees, including groups of loggers in the woods.
Weekend plans
#booked
I have been trying to read Fuzz all month, hoping to make a dent in it this weekend. Somehow I am interested but also avoiding it?
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Tagline is, “When nature breaks the law,” which is addressed by exploring places and situations where animals being being animals is a nuisance for humans, and what the humans do to try to prevent or stop it. It covers bears in Colorado, rats in the Vatican, monkeys in India and a lot in between. Interesting topic and wry writing, but also felt more like a series of mostly separate essays.
pickI finished this before I moved but then it got packed away. Mary Roach just always delivers a good read!
pickAnywhere that nature & humans live together, there is conflict. Whether deadly trees, bear attacks, or invading mice, there has to be a way to coexist.
Roach is always a genuine delight to read. Her in depth research is amazing and her comments are so insightful while trying to answer the questions we didn‘t even know we had. A little disheartening to read all the problems. Not my favorite of hers, but still brilliant. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 #Lucygirl
I never got around to finishing this for a book club meeting last year, and now I‘m letting it go. I‘m sure it‘s fine, but the moment has long passed. #yellowcolor #maymontage
pickAnecdotes about the conflicts that arise when humans and animals or indeed plants go about their lives in more or less the same space.
Amusing in parts and hopeful that at least sometimes a way to coexist might be found, but still a lot more problems than answers.
pickI like Mary Roach! I always learn things from her books, and they‘re so interesting!
⭐️: 3.5/5
‘Illinois Libraries Present‘ is hosting a free virtual event with Mary Roach on Wednesday, March 1st at 7pm CST (this is the link to register: https://bit.ly/ILP_MaryRoach). I have this book on my TBR pile, so I hope by attending it‘ll give me the push to move it to the top of the pile!! 💪
pickHumour, environmental awareness, scientific (and just general) curiousity, pragmatism tempered by ethics. Roach is not afraid to talk about the icky or the sad. Unfortunately there's a good deal of both; while the title made me think 'funny animal videos', the reality is 'managing human-wildlife conflict'.
Informative, just not as fluffy as I was hoping. 1/2
I'm certain this chapter will be full of facts and science, but right now I'm picturing a noir with Murder Beans in trench coats and fedoras and it is SENDING me.
OMG that boingy-boingy move has an official name! Several even! 🦌
pickParts of this book were particularly hard to read, but there were also many parts that were absolutely hilarious. I made sure to read each and every footnote. Fuzz is well written, informative, and entertaining. Be warned there‘s a lot of talk about animal deaths.
*Reads first sentence* Oh, hey, BC represent! *Reads further*...Oh no! This is NOT what I want my province to be known for. 🤦🏼♂️
pickI‘ve been a fan of Roach‘s books for years now and her latest one doesn‘t disappoint as she dives into the absurdities and heartbreaks of the “legal” dealings of humanity and nature- B&E bears, murderous leopards, bullying monkeys, danger trees, vandal gulls and more- in her usual blend of fascinating facts and amusing anecdotes. Roach herself narrates the audio which is great, but the footnotes are clumsily handled, unfortunately.
Christmas 2022/New Year 2023 bookhaul
pickMy attention would wander throughout this book. But overall I enjoyed the stories of the different animals, the different and sometimes creative methods of control, as well as the author‘s dedication to research, history, and her “feet on the ground” method throughout. #bookdump3
pickBreaking and entering bears, trees that topple to crush humans, and animals humans introduced into new habitats taking over to the detriment of native species, Mary Roach writes about how humans strike back against nature when we feel it‘s gotten out of our control.
I enjoy Roach‘s writing, but this one had me angry at times, as someone who tends to sympathize more with the bears, trees, and other animals than the humans. It‘s still great though
“On June 26, 1659, a representative from five towns in a province of northern Italy initiated legal proceedings against caterpillars.”
I have had this on my shelf since it released last fall and I‘m finally reading it. I love Mary Roach‘s approach to science writing, and this is just as enjoyable as the past several books by her that I‘ve read.
#FirstLineFridays
pickThere‘s something wonderful about sharing a book with someone you love, and Dad and I had a lot of fun listening to this #audiobook together. My family gained a greater interest in animals when I became a veterinarian, and Roach is fun for me too because she covers things I didn‘t learn in school. Her keen eye towards the weird is so fascinating. Fun for the whole family!
(I do wish they‘d included the footnotes in the main audiobook!)
Traveling with Dad calls for a fun reread! 🤩🤩
pickMary Roach is the best. The chapters on human animal conflict were each so interesting. She is so engaging as she becomes an expert as she dives deep on each topic! Good summer non fiction
pickIf Mary Roach wrote high school science books more teens would love science. Her first person narrative is both informative and funny. An entertaining read.
It‘s swap day! *3* swaps have open day today!
For this first, #sliceofsummerswap - what a fun and perfectly summery package!! Thank you @babyruth2510 !! I love the socks and bookmarks, the lilacs candle smells amazing, I looove that you sent full-on S‘mores!! And I can‘t wait to read the book 👏🏽👏🏽 Thank you!!!
💛💙🌳🌈☀️🌈🌳💙💛
And thank you @Catsandbooks for hosting!! 😘☀️
pickA really interesting premise, what happens when nature breaks the law? When trees fall and kill, when elephants accidental roll killing villagers, when birds take on fighter jets - and win! There was joy in the quirky, enjoyment in the obscure - what was less enjoyable was spending so much time amongst different ways that animals are killed just because they dare to get in the path of humans.
Hit one of the worst reading slumps in years. 2021 seemed a bit of a loss for me. But something clicked last week and the next thing I know, I‘m knee deep in these library books. It‘s like a heist movie and I just stole all the money and now I‘m rolling around in the money on the bed. It‘s exactly like that, only less sexy and way more nerdy.
pickRoach writes the books about topics that I didn‘t know I needed to know about! When animals break the law, is more like, when humans get annoyed by nature. While at times, funny, this book was more a discussion on how humans decide when and where nature can show up. And often times, that is ‘never‘.
All that being said, I will forever be wary of ‘danger trees‘. Thank you Roach.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickThis book addresses human-animal conflict. There are a wide variety of problems between people and animals, however, not a lot of great solutions. I did learn quite a few things and I find Roach‘s writing style to be entertaining.
This one sounded so up my alley, that I jumped over all my backlog of Mary Roach books on my TBR to read this one! #currentlylistening
“Feeding wild animals is the quickest path to conflict. The promise of food motivates normally human-shy animals to take a risk. The risk-taking is rewarded, and the behavior escalates. Shyness becomes fearlessness, and fearlessness becomes aggression. If you don‘t hand over the food you‘re carrying, the monkey will grab it. If you try to hold onto it, or push the animal away, Qureshi says, it may slap you. Or bite you.” [pic unrelated]
pickI‘ve read most of the books Mary Roach has written and enjoyed them all. This book is about what happens when humans and wildlife collide. What measures can be taken against a bear that raids your garbage can or breaks into your summer home? What can farmers do about birds that feed on their crops or mice that eat the cattle feed? How to deal with invasive species brought in for sport? Roach wants to know the answers! Five stars
“They smell like roots and earth and that is all.” Mary Roach is a national treasure. Highly recommended!
pickCatching up on January reviews so I can get to my more romantic #Swoonathon reads!
@kimmypete1 picked Fuzz for our Midnight Book Club and while it might not have been my favorite Mary Roach book, I still liked it. I love her style of finding humor in just about anything, and all the interesting facts I learn that I just know *someday* will help me win at trivia night.
#Readin22 #bookclub #Pantone2022
pick3rd book read for the #JoyousJanuary #readathon @Andrew65
This book examines the science involved in solving human and wildlife issues. Throughout it, the author has a wry sense if humor. It is not for the faint of heart. There is graphic detail about animal attacks as well as brutal pest control methods. Entertaining facts abound with interesting conclusions and solutions.
