an excellent book. looks at shells from several different viewpoints. you get a little history, some natural history with evolutionary details and conservation messages and some mythology and art as well ( )

For a book describing something in very visual terms, this could have done with rather more pictures and illustrations. Some of the shells described I couldn't imagine, which left some of the magic stuck in the box. It could also have benefited from a species tree (or whatever it's called) as the author kept referring to certain species and their relation ship to other species, but I got somewhat lost without a point of reference. At times this gets rather too technical, at other times rather too evangelical about climate change and over-fishing. Not that I want to imply that these are not important, but it did sometimes feel like a lecture than an enjoyable reading experience.
Starting from the experience of collecting shells on the beach the author takes you through how shells evolved, their shapes and purposes, the different creatures that have them and use them, and what humans do with them. She passes through those that can be eaten (my home town gets a section on how we poisoned the Bishop of Winchester and his guests) and those that are of scientific interest.
If you have an interest in shells and the creatures that make them, then this will be interesting, I'm just not sure how well it would go down with someone without an interest in the first place. ( )

In a book covering an unimaginable array of topics, marine biologist Helen Scales introduces readers to the world of mollusks.

I downloaded this book on a whim from the library, thinking that it would work for the 2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge “hobby” category since I can’t resist picking up seashells when I’m at the beach. As I read, I decided it would work better for the “oceanography” category but either way, I found the book captivating. Let me be clear. I have a dusty biology degree but I’ve always been much more interested in mammals than anything else. Birds do have a certain appeal. But mollusks as anything other than beautiful shells that catch my eye? Bo-ring!

Oh, how wrong I was. Mollusks are fascinating!

There were so many interesting topics that I don’t even know where to begin.

I had to read a few chapters before the book really hooked me. Mollusk evolution doesn’t interest me that much. The intricacies of shell building caught my attention a bit more but still aren’t really my thing. The next chapter, about shells as money and jewelry in ancient times finally started to intrigue me. This is the point where I started to regularly share my newly-learned facts with my husband and my sister. That’s a sure sign that I’m enjoying a book. It only got more engrossing from there. I was soon Googling snail species I’ve never heard of and watching them hunt fish (Yes! Slowpoke snails hunt and eat fish. And can kill a human within heartbeats. Who knew?) I looked up Noble Pen Shells and the “seasilk” that artisans historically wove from their byssal fibers. Jeanne Power, a female scientist who’s largely been forgotten but who finally settled the question of whether or not argonauts make their own shells, went on the list of people I’d like to read more about. I looked up snails that literally encase themselves in iron chain mail of their own making. And I watched videos of sea butterflies swimming through warming oceans and indicating, like canaries in coal mines, that all is not well.

I downloaded this book from my digital library and read it on my Kindle Paperwhite. It wasn’t until the very end that I realized that it includes color plates with pictures of all these species. I did look at the pictures on my phone’s Kindle app (Paperwhites do not render pictures well), but I spent so much time looking things up on my own that I don’t feel like I missed much. Still, I do recommend a physical copy if you can get your hands on one.

This book obviously isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’re curious about nature and science, I highly recommend that you give it a try. ( )

Interesting overview of the subject of both the life and afterlife of marine animals with shells. The author's enthusiasm is palpable, though I have to admit to being sometimes overwhelmed with tiny details. This is not a book about shell collecting, though the subject is examined in the larger context of history and biology. ( )

Interesting and nicely written book about the critters that make and live in shells, as well as what happens to shells after the inhabitant is no longer there. Not terribly detailed, but I read about creatures I've never heard about before (e.g. an octopus that makes its own shell and sea-silk), so this is a bonus. ( )