Bring the wild world near with these books

  • By Sharon Wootton
  • Friday, October 9, 2015 1:54pm
  • Life

I can still hear their skittering. The nocturnal German cockroaches of my Maryland childhood were motivated when my mother got up in the night and flipped on the kitchen light.

She took it as a personal insult, a slap on her pride of keeping a clean kitchen. But she couldn’t do anything about the months of warm, humid weather, or a warm house in the winter.

Thankfully it wasn’t the aggressive Madagascar hissing cockroach, which can be as long as 3 inches.

Traer Scott chose that cockroach for his book “Nocturne: Creatures of the Night” ($19.95), photographing 42 night dwellers against a black background.

Other stars in “Nocturne” are the Indian flying fox, ball python, luna moth, capybara, common vampire bat, hedgehog and tarantula.

Each has a block of text. Don’t skip the introduction.

Also on the bookshelf:

“Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast” ($14.95). In 56 pages, the authors hit the highlights of what you might see offshore, perhaps on a whale-watching trip. Focusing on marine mammals and seabirds, “Offshore” is great for the beginner.

“Social Animals: A Berkley Bestiary” ($18.95). Speaking of humor, Ryan and Lucy Berkley’s take on animal profiles and portraits elicit smiles and art appreciation. The Prominent Polar Bear is genius-in-residence for a booming ice pop enterprise. And so on.

“On a Wing and a Prayer” ($27). Sarah Woods headed into the heart of the Central American rainforest to find one of the last breeding pairs of harpy eagles. What she found was so much more than that, turning her experiences into metaphors for the journey of life.

“A Nest is Noisy” ($16.99, ages 5-8). Yes it is, but it’s also tiny (hummingbird) or enormous (dusky scrubfowl’s 15-foot-tall nest); spiky, pebbly, papery, muddy or bubbly. In addition to the story, there are two pages of nests with matching animals at the end.

“A Field Guide to Common Fishes of the Pacific Northwest” ($7.95). “Fishes” (76 saltwater swimmers) and “A Field Guide to Seaweeds of the Pacific Northwest” are larger than usual sturdy eight-fold water-resistant pamphlets.

“Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us” ($27.95). Even if you are weary of orca-centered books, movies, documentaries and tour-boat ads, consider giving Seattle writer David Neiwert’s book a chance. He’s a master mixer of history, biology, behavior and commercialization. It also works because he’s a good storyteller.

“Ancient Places: People and Landscape in the Emerging Northwest” ($21.95). OK, dull title but don’t assume a dull text. Jack Nisbet investigate people and their relationship to the landscape while turning broad topics — Ice Age floods, fossils, tribal food gathering — into interesting nonfiction stories about the Northwest.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.