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Two Unlike

I am reading The Soul of an Octopus and The Plant Paradox in parallel. No particular reason other that happenstance. The tone of the two books could not be further apart but they each disappoint in their own way. Sy Montgomery loves the subject of her book unabashedly and when the narrative starts out, she completely draws the reader into her world where she is beginning to form a relationship with a feisty octopus named Athena. Montgomery is able to make us feel what she does abut Athena and that is a remarkable achievement. Whatever your thoughts about an octopus going in, the author will make you feel as dazzled as she is by them. Beyond that the book veers off course and off mission. 

The Plant Paradox is a very different story. The author's demeanor is so off-putting and his desire to over-sell his credentials so painful, that it is difficult to get engaged. For me the low point came early on when Gundry took it upon himself to expound on the canary in the coalmine metaphor to explain his theory about all plant based foods not being equal and some actually being harmful to us. This was a road too far for me when the author assumed his readership is so dim-witted that they need the notion of a canary in coalmine properly explained. Mentally I walked away from the book right then. His theory is somewhat interesting but very hard to believe in. Beyond that what a painful book to read.

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