Lulu Miller’s “Why Fish Don’t Exist; A Story of Finding Our Way in a Chaotic World,” has been selected by Blackwell’s as their pick for the non-fiction Book of the Month for July 2025.
Why Fish Don’t Exist is Blackwell’s Pick for July
fish
Around the Ocean in 80 Fish
If you’ve been reading The Well-read Naturalist for very long, you’ve likely discovered that one of my favourite authors presently writing on the subject of marine biology is the very aptly-named Dr. Helen Scales. From her “Spirals in Time” and “Poseidon’s Steed” to her “Eye of the Shoal” and “The Brilliant Abyss,” I’ve found myself repeatedly delighted by both what I’ve learned as well as how much I enjoyed learning it through her lively and superbly wrought writing. Now to these she has added a new book to share her knowledge and love of the sea and the creatures within it with her readers: “Around the Ocean in 80 Fish & Other Sea Life.”
Owls of the Eastern Ice
The physical impression first given by a Blakiston’s Fish Owl is that of a small bear (“small” relative to the size of a bear, that is) with wings. Standing more than two feet high, with a wingspan exceeding six feet, and a body mass that not only looks proportionally larger than other owls due to their shaggy plumage but actually is, these massive owls of the far eastern portion of Asia are the largest of any living owl species.
Emperors of the Deep – US Versus UK Editions
Originally published by Harper Collins in a US edition in June of 2019, the cover of William McKeever’s “Emperors of the Deep; Sharks; The Ocean’s Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians” depicts a sharply defined photographic image of a shark as it swims boldly yet smoothly through its aquatic realm. However, the visual, as well as psychological, effect of the first UK edition, published by Harper Collins UK in July of 2020 under the somewhat modified title of “Emperors of the Deep; The Ocean’s Most Mysterious, Misunderstood and Important Guardians” is a world away from its American predecessor – and these differences are indeed significant in the first impressions the respective covers make.