I Contain Multitudes

I saw this misunderstanding somewhere else, so let's get this out of the way right now: this book is about microbes and not some kind of self-help book. It's not going to tell you how to perfectly balance your gut to ensure you don't get any sickness ever.

Now that that's out of the way, I can say that I really enjoyed this book a lot. It's a popular science book I guess, but it's not written in a way that makes definitive guarantees or anything like that. It's just a really fascinating book about microbes and some things that are being done in the field and may be done in the future pending more research.

It was very cool. Excited to read the author's book about animals.

This was utterly fantastic. It's the kind of book that reminds you that there is so much mystery and wonder in the world and so much that we still do not know. The structure was very forgiving, moving from senses that are easier to imagine to sense humans don't have, and in the case of magnetoreception, don't even really understand. The pop culture references were pretty great, too. How can I not love a book that makes a totally pertinant reference to Toph Beifong? I highly recommend the audiobook version. The author really nails it with a dynamic reading that also manages to be calming without being boring.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the natural world and different perceptions of reality. Just be aware that there is a chapter on pain. It talks about the ethical implications of causing harm to study pain, but by its nature, it discusses some things that an animal lover might find hard to listen to. It's an important chapter, but not integral to the book, if you're not up for it when you read.