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On a Farther Shore
On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson | William Souder
14 posts | 8 read | 1 reading | 9 to read
Examines how the biologist and reformer helped to raise awareness of the natural world, the importance of conservation, and the dangers of synthetic pesticides.
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jlhammar
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this comprehensive biography. Rachel Carson lived an interesting and inspiring life. Good choice for Women‘s History Month.

Looking forward to our #NaturaLitsy discussion!

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KathyWheeler
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Pickpick

This is a low pick, mostly because Souder spends far too long on some topics. I do not need to know the entire history of the US nuclear weapons program to understand how it influenced Carson β€” a short chapter would‘ve been enough. Those parts get boring because they are unnecessarily long. I mostly enjoyed learning more about her and about the resistance to Silent Spring. #audiowalk

jlhammar Yes, he certainly is thorough! I‘m slowly making my way through the second half. 1w
KathyWheeler @jlhammar Yes, he is! 1w
24 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
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I‘m up to the section on Silent Spring now. Still enjoying it. My evening walk today was actually in the rain, but I don‘t think you can tell that from the pics. #audiowalk

UwannaPublishme Beautiful…even in the rain! 2w
KathyWheeler @UwannaPublishme Thank you. 😊 2w
28 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
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I loved that this mobile simulation lab has a picture of the Mobile Bay light house on it. I don‘t know what is being simulated in the lab, but since it‘s parked by the School of Marine & Environmental Sciences, I figure that it has something to do with those topics. It was kind of fitting to walk by that school today because I was listening to the part about Rachel Carson‘s book on the ocean. #audiowalk

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KathyWheeler
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I saw this posted about when a group was reading it and thought it looked interesting, so it‘s my new #audiowalk book. I like it and have learned a lot, so far. It makes me want to go back and read Silent Spring and her book about the ocean.

jlhammar I‘m enjoying this one so far as well. Looking forward to the second half. 2w
Ann_Reads Nice pic collage! πŸ™‚ I'm enjoying the biography as well and would also like to read one of Carson's other books. 2w
KathyWheeler @Ann_Reads Thank you. 2w
19 likes3 comments
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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

#naturalitsy brought this book to my attention, and I‘m so glad. I love reading nature focused nonfiction, and I‘m embarrassed to say I didn‘t know who Rachel Carson was! I don‘t think I knew of her books, surprisingly.

This is a fantastic biography, and it dives deep into the topics Carson wrote about in each book, as well as her life.

The topic of toxins in our environments is just as pressing an issue now as it was in RC‘s time. 5⭐️!

Soubhiville @Eyelit I definitely recommend this! 2w
TheBookHippie So so good I‘m enjoying it. 2w
69 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy

Off to an amazing start 😍

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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy

Our first discussion thread for William Souder's biography of Rachel Carson.
How did you find Part I?

All welcome to join us. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

@wordslinger42 @Chrissyreadit @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm @rockpools @Blackink_WhitePaper @BookwormAHN @Deblovestoread @MilesnMelodies @Graywacke @Dilara @Mitch @Ann_Reads @Chelsea.Poole
@TheBookHippie @Riveted_Reader_Melissa

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Just recently got my copy from the library, so I‘ll have to come back later when I‘m caught up. ❀️ 3w
See All 18 Comments
Cuilin I usually hate biographies, but this was engaging and inspiring in a way. 3w
Soubhiville At first I thought I might have a similar reaction to this as to Poseidon‘s Steed: too much content off topic. But no, I‘ve actually been enjoying this a lot! I‘m listening to the audio, and it seems a strange choice to have it narrated by a man, but actually it‘s well done. I love the close connection with her mom, and how she longed to be near the sea before she had ever seen it for the first time. 3w
Soubhiville Because I‘m doing audio I‘m pretty sure I‘ve gone past this weeks discussion point, so I won‘t say too much. But I‘m loving her exploration of tide pools and sharing what she finds there with her new friends. 3w
Soubhiville I never would have chosen this book on my own, I‘m so glad the group brought it to my attention. I‘m looking forward to finishing it in the next two weeks. πŸ¦€πŸ‘πŸ™‚ 3w
jlhammar I'm enjoying this so far. Good choice for Women's History Month! Aside from reading Silent Spring many years ago, I didn't know much about her. I feel the same @Soubhiville - I especially loved that her mother supported her academic pursuits, didn't expect her to live a conventional life, and even typed her pieces for her. Also kind of an interesting look at nature writing/publishing at the time. 3w
Soubhiville @jlhammar When I occasionally read about the struggles writers go through to get published I always wonder how many wonderful articles, books, etc are out there unpublished for one reason or another. 3w
TheBookHippie @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm same just got my copy!! 3w
Graywacke Enjoying the comments. I‘ve been undecided on whether to join, but these comments are encouraging. I might try to follow on audio and follow up with something by Carson (free for audible members). 3w
Aimeesue This was a fun listen for me, as we‘ve lived near a lot of locations in the book - the Dept.of the Interior building in DC, her home in Si,ver Spring, MD, Woods Hole, MA. It was neat to picture her in all those places, struggling to support her family and get published. And like @Soubhiville and @jlhammar I loved her relationship with her mom. 3w
Chelsea.Poole I‘m just starting the audio but already enjoying it. It seems as though Carson is reluctant to become the β€œface” of the environmentalist movement. Also DDT is so so scary 😱 @jlhammar I‘m enjoying this as well, though I haven‘t even read Silent Spring! I need to address that asap. @Soubhiville I wouldn‘t have chosen this either, but glad it landed on my radar 😊 3w
AllDebooks Rachel Carson has been a hero of mine for decades. Although I'm familiar with her work, I know very little about her as a person. Really excited to be reading this with you all. It certainly has disappointed so far. I love all your positive comments ❀️ 2w
Ann_Reads Carson made interesting educational choices, given the time period and the fact biological science was in its infancy. There was usually some type of influential mentor involved too, helping her to make choices, along with hard work and some luck thrown into the mix. (It bothered me some that Carson put her family in a financial bind to fund her education.) ⬇ 2w
Ann_Reads As she found a niche with her writing, it's curious she initially wrote about things she had never witnessed/experienced before. I also wondered about her admiration of Williamson & questioned if she was naive about his political beliefs or just admired his writing in Tarka & Salar, & so chose to put blinders on. Luckily for her, the book review she wrote didn't backfire as it could have. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the historical info so far. (edited) 2w
Ann_Reads @Graywacke - I think you might like this one. Even the historical details that seem off topic become important to the narrative later on. (I just started Part 1, Chapter 5.) 2w
31 likes18 comments
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy reading schedule

Discussion threads will be posted at the weekend.
Saturday - On a farther shore
Sunday - Mind of the raven

Wishing you all a great week. 😊

As always, please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist. All welcome to join us. 😊

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LitsyEvents
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Here is the March reading schedule for #naturalitsy hosted by @alldebooks

AllDebooks Thank you for the share 😊 4w
26 likes1 comment
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy

A new week, a new book. 😊 I'm so excited for this biography of Rachel Carson. This is a 2 week schedule.
Week 4 - 5 - Part I - Water world (p.3 - 164)
Week 6 - 8 - Part II - Silent Spring (p. 169 - 395)

I will post our first discussion thread on Saturday 4th March.

As always, please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the tag list. All welcome to join us.

@LitsyEvents

See All 20 Comments
ElizaMarie I‘m gonna just stick with Raven for now 1mo
AllDebooks @ElizaMarie noted πŸ‘ 1mo
CaitZ I'm so far behind I think I'll just stick with the Raven book, too 1mo
tdrosebud I'm also behind and will just be sticking with Raven for now. Thanks 1mo
SamAnne I have books piled up and will need to pass. But I‘ve read Silent Spring, am very familiar with her life and have been an environmental activist for decades. Will definitely follow along with the posts and might chime in! Also I‘m very interested in what Littens think about this bio based on the Goodreads reviews. 1mo
AllDebooks @CaitZ @tdrosebud @SamAnne noted πŸ‘ thanks for letting me know, does make life easier with the tagging x 1mo
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm I‘ll be behind, my library hasn‘t got my hold in from their sister library yet, but I‘ll be participating as soon as I get it. πŸ‘β€οΈ 1mo
TheBookHippie One more chapter I‘m caught up with Raven and I do love it. Still waiting on my Rachel book ugh slow library! I‘m loving these reads ! So keep me on. 1mo
Yuki_Onna @AllDebooks Hey dear, please take me off the tag list. Sorry, I can't fit as much time for reading into my life atm as planned. If that changes, I'll inform you and ask to be readded to the list.
For now, I must make do with browsing through all the #Naturalitsy posts which give me great joy😊
1mo
AllDebooks @Yuki_Onna ok, hope life eases up a bit and you get more time for you. Love that you enjoy #naturalitsy keep checking in x 1mo
Yuki_Onna @AllDebooks Thank you so much for these sweet words!😊 1mo
rockpools @SamAnne That sounds ominous! (I haven‘t started yet) 1mo
SamAnne @rockpools If I wasn't so behind on other group reads I would definitely listen to this one! Some of the issues brought up in Goodreads should make for really good discussions. One of those issues being how the author β€œhandlesβ€œ the long term romantic relationship she had with another woman. 1mo
AllDebooks @SamAnne oh my, this is gonna be a good one 1mo
AllDebooks @Yuki_Onna ❀️ 1mo
SamAnne @AllDebooks the reviews are all over the place! Personally, I love book club discussions where there are many viewpoints and lots of discussion items! 1mo
33 likes1 stack add20 comments
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy Post 2

We'll start with Poseiden's steed over weeks 1 - 3 before moving onto the biography of Rachel Carson (tagged) over weeks 4 - 8. I'm going to keep separate tag lists for both reads so please comment which ones you'd like to be tagged in. I don't want to be annoying πŸ™ˆ

Please see my previous post for details of our other #buddyread

All welcome to join us

@LitsyEvents

jenniferw88 Just Poisedon's Steed please. Trying my best not to buy any more books! 2mo
jlhammar You can tag me for both. Thanks! 2mo
TEArificbooks Put me down for Poseidon‘s steed 2mo
See All 13 Comments
SamAnne Tag me for both! 2mo
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm My library has both so please tag me for both. ❀️ 2mo
tdrosebud I have Poseidon's Steed so will definitely join for that. The biography will depend on if I can get it from the library. Like Jennifer, I'm trying not to buy books right now. 2mo
BookwormAHN Please tag me for Poseidon's Steed 😺 2mo
rockpools Hi Deb. Can I opt out tags for both of these, for now? Hope to join in the sky read and look forward to following the conversations - will probably pick up these at a later date. Thank you 😊 2mo
Addison_Reads @AllDebooks I own both so please tag me in both. I've already read the Carson, but I'd still love to join the discussion. 2mo
AllDebooks @rockpools πŸ‘ 2mo
AllDebooks @Addison_Reads all comments above noted, re taglist 2mo
Graywacke I missed this post until just now. OK, the world makes more sense to me now... 2mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke πŸ˜… I didn't want to tag again as I didn't want to be annoying. 2mo
38 likes1 stack add13 comments
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Addison_Reads
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Happy New Year Littens!

I spent the evening finishing up the tagged book about my favorite female scientist, Rachel Carson. The husband, kiddo, and I all kept it low-key and made a bonfire by our little lake and made smores. No fireworks for us because we have fur-babies who get freaked out.

This book brought my total for the year to 185 books, which is the most I've ever read in a year. 😁 I'm very happy that 70 came from my local library too!

23 likes1 stack add