I'd like to thank NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for this audiobook ARC.

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Surrealism, as a genre, is intense. It’s engaging and uncanny and for Madu, it’s therapeutic. In this debut novel — a memoir, to boot! — we follow the author as he explores his journey from Nigeria to Detroit to Venice. Each environment adds something, subtracts something, changes something. By the end, Madu approaches stories not as the hero, but as a friend to the monster. 

The Minotaur at Calle Lanza is a quick, yet impactful, autobiography of a writer. The audiobook version lifts the reader from their own home and drops them into memories that don’t belong to them. The narrator, while professional, frames new emotions with slight inclinations to their tone, to their speed — I look forward to hearing more from Abdullah. 

I’d like to thank NetGalley and RBmedia for the arc audiobook.

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Have you ever had a professor that loves to ramble? They’re very knowledgeable in their field and they have a lifetime of experience, and you know what they’re saying matters but…you kind of get lost between the points. Life Lessons from a Parasite is that professor. While linking fantastic scientific endeavours to current moral and political dilemmas, I found myself wondering how the heck the varying topics would impact me. A better way to phrase this critique is that this book would have been better as a series of essays

This is clearly meant for a specific type of audience: science x social justice — which is SO cool. This is the bread and butter of my teaching, or better yet, using science for social justice. However, this framework of readers also limits readers. I, for instance, wouldn’t be able to recommend this to my colleagues or students, to my family and very few of my friends. Interest will be split 50/50.

The recording of this audiobook tried to keep the dense subjects light, as the writing was also well done, but ultimately listening for hours was draining. 
Life Lessons from a Parasite is a great idea in theory, though in practice, it falls flat. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC. 
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True crime meets environmental biology in this fascinating collection of case studies by Patricia Wiltshire. As a forensic ecologist, Wiltshire uses her knowledge of nature (across a broad spectrum) to help solve horrendous crimes. Whether that’s finding holly pollen in a deep cut or matching mud samples to shoes, her expertise absolutely pulls at my scientific side and I can empathize with the struggles of being a woman in a male-dominated field.

Now, I will be the first to say that I am not into...murder. That sounds weird, but it’s true! I hardly ever read thrillers and I prefer cozy mysteries -- I’ve never listened to a true crime podcast and I can’t get through an episode of Criminal Minds without feeling ill. In fact, I almost passed on this ARC! However, I decided to stick around because I knew it would interest my students and it was so connected to my academic passions. 

That being said, the narrator’s lovely accent reminded me of my grandmother and made the content much more manageable. 

I respect Wiltshire’s ability to delicately describe the stomach-twisting crimes and how her research intertwined. She often references her previous book and keeps the reader in tune with updated information such as COVID-changes, made-into-movie coverage, and scientific developments. What does stand out is the slight rambling and sometimes sour-tone in the writing about her co-workers.

True crime, environmental evidence, and...gossip? Without dropping names (and sometimes actually dropping them), Wiltshire exposes the highs and lows of what it was like to work alongside her colleagues. And I get it, really I do, but these sentiments didn’t exactly suit the rest of the book. 

Overall, the production of this audiobook was excellent. I split it between walking my dog and hanging out at the local cafe, taking breaks when I needed to process the harder-to-swallow details. The writing is targetted for popular-science lovers and true crime virtuosos, and with some editing, it could have been stellar. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, Algonquin Books, and Bill Schutt for the audiobook ARC.
 
Review:

I would trust Bill Shcutt with my grade 9 science class. He may not like it (fourteen-year-olds are cutthroat) but his writing indicates a digestible (pun intended) lecturing style that balances facts with comparative examples. While still putting the scientific push on a pillar, Schutt gives readers of all educational backgrounds the tools needed to understand. At no point do readers feel dumb nor does Schutt dumb-down any of the information. 

For the most part, each chapter was split into two or three sections that focused on specific animals. I especially enjoyed the snake chapter and a look back at the transitional fossils that led to the connection between birds and dinosaurs.

The only part that really stood out as not cohesive were the chapters dedicated to human teeth. And I know, it’s in the title! Listening, for almost an hour, about George Washington’s dentures was not what I had signed up for after learning so much interesting information prior. It felt out of place, in a way that I can’t necessarily pinpoint. 

Each chapter had a witty title and an associated quote, which framed the upcoming. Part of me wished that I had access to the digital or physical copy, as I would have loved to see some images along with descriptions. 

As for the production of the audiobook -- the narrator did a great job! In my notes, I wrote that “the narrator’s voice is really even and holds my interest; it’s read almost like a fictional story -- there’s a natural rise and fall, making it feel like I’m tuned in to a conversation.” I must mention though, that hearing the full addresses of a handful of website links was jarring. The sound quality is crisp and easy to consume for long periods!

Overall, Bite takes a simple topic (teeth) and expands it into two complex directions (science, history), while still making the information chewable (pun-intended) for anyone looking to conquer their fear of the density (or interested in evolutionary biology). I have added Schutt’s other books (Cannabilism, Pump, and Dark Banquet) to my TBR and I look forward to picking up a copy for my classroom’s library. 

It started strong, but then rushed through to the end. In comparison to the rest of the series, these characters lacked layers and there was no real conflict?