Fear Less Live More by Aimee Fuller

 

This is not the kind of book I would normally read. I am a bit allergic to sports and do not have any interest in reading sports biographies or memoirs. But this one seemed a bit different so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm so glad I did.

Aimee Fuller is an Olympic snowboarder but this is a memoir with a difference. In this book, she shares all of the lessons she has learned throughout her professional career in the hope they can help us to push through our own fears and achieve our goals. This is a self help book by someone who has been there, who has lived what she is teaching, who knows success, failure and most of all, fear. Which is what makes it all the more valuable.

I often look at people who do extreme sports and think ‘how could they do that?’ This book answers that question for me. Aimee lets us into everything - we see a real human being behind her success, suffering from fear, sometimes naivety and often using her amazing mental strength to overcome self-doubt. She has a fantastic mindset and I would love to be able to enter the flow state as she describes it.

I enjoyed the part when she discusses her decision about going to university. As someone who took the Higher Education path for reasons that did not justify the high price tag, it was great reading about someone who broke out of the mould and did her own thing. I think this book should be compulsory reading for teenagers because it teaches what they don’t teach in school - grit, determination, the right mindset for following your heart and achieving your goals and, most importantly, dealing with failure. Read this book and you will feel, ‘yes, if she can smash her goals, so can I!’ A truly inspiring book, full of wisdom and well worth reading.

With thanks to Netgalley and Octopus Publishing for providing an advance review copy of the book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid by Thor Hanson

 

This book is one of my favourites that I have reviewed so far for Netgalley. It has a curious title - Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid - but it is a wonderful read and shows its author, Thor Hanson, as being a really accessible writer; easy to read and understand, which is important for a book on a subject that can sometimes get a little technical!

This is an engaging read that is an evenly presented, non-biased account of what is happening to our climate, not by looking at potentially flawed computer models but by focusing on what is actually happening on the ground - changes in the flora and fauna of our planet. There is an emphasis on how everything is connected, in that one apparently minor change in the climate or environment ripples out to affect many different species. This is not a book about the causes of climate change, but rather about its effects.

I love the author’s style of writing - as if he is talking with you over a cup of coffee. He weaves personal stories into his narrative and has a knack of bringing the people he interviews to life on the page, so you are not reading about a fact given by a named expert, you are reading about the thoughts and opinions of a real life person who has lived experiences and has valuable stories to tell.

I really enjoyed this book. Climate change is not usually a subject I read much about but I am so glad I picked this book to read because it is a refreshing look at what is really going on - some species are coping, some species are thriving and others are really struggling. It states facts rather than apportioning blame or skewing statistics to fit an agenda. You can’t argue with nature.

This is a fascinating, entertaining book that I read in a day because I couldn’t bear to put it down and when I did put it down I kept thinking about it. I highly recommend it.

I thank Netgalley and Icon Books for providing me with an advance review copy of this fantastic book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Otherlands by Thomas Halliday

This review is for Otherlands: A World in the Making by Thomas Halliday. Halliday is a Scottish paleobiologist based at Birmingham University and this beautifully written book is a masterpiece that I was honoured to be able to review.

This is a natural history book with a twist - it is about the flora, fauna and landscapes of the Earth as they were millions of years ago. It begins in Alaska, 20,000 years ago, then each chapter goes further back in time until chapter 16, when we find ourselves in Australia, 550 million years ago; a time before Orion and Polaris, a time when the land was barren of life, yet a time when the sea became oxygenated and multicellular life began to form.

A truly fascinating book, it is written in the present tense to give events more immediacy, with references to evidence found in the fossil record scattered casually throughout. It does not read like an academic text; in fact, the language is very easy to understand and is perfect for anyone who does not have any previous knowledge of paleobiology. Even for people well-versed in the topic, I suspect there is something new to be learned from this deeply researched book.

Landscapes and life are vividly described, enabling the reader to picture the world as it was so long ago. Even though each chapter is accompanied by one map and one beautifully rendered illustration, I personally would have liked many more illustrations, to complement the descriptions given in the book.

Although this book is an accessible, entertaining read, it is incredibly rich with detail meaning it is not a book to try and read in one sitting. But if you love reading natural history books and fancy something a little different, I heartily recommend this unique look at how life was once on Earth.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Press UK for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐