Two New Memoirs with a Science Theme

by Donna Huber

I love reading about science and people doing science and enjoying our natural world. I love when the books open the world to me in a new way. I recently read two books that did just that.

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A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory by Jagadish Shukla

April 2025; Macmillan Audio; 9781250366245
audio (8h 30m), ebook, print; scientist memoir

I've been trying to read outside of the life sciences a bit more. With a title that includes butterflies, you might think this book is about entomology, but it is about climate science. In particular, it is about meteorology and predicting the weather.

I hadn't really given much thought to the history of weather prediction. I rather take for granted that we can predict what the weather will likely be next week though that wasn't always the case. There was a time when predicting tomorrow's weather was virtually impossible.

This book is just as much about the life of Jagadish Shukla as it is about climate science. He was born in India in the 1940s. He is from a very poor village and has led a remarkable life. He became a scientist when so many scientific breakthroughs occurred.

In addition to learning about science, I learned a lot about Indian and Indian culture. Some I was aware of through reading and some I've learned from my Indian colleagues but there was still so much I didn't know or hadn't fully comprehended. The cultural information was just as fascinating as the science.

I found the science very accessible. He didn't get into too much jargon or technical details. He had amusing stories about his school years and training. 

You might be wondering why the title is A Billion Butterflies if it isn't about insects. Have you heard of the butterfly effect? It is the thought that the tiny flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a major disturbance further down the line. Shukla sees many of the events in his life as a result of tiny flaps of butterfly wings.

I listened to the audiobook and Shahjehan Khan did an excellent job with the narration. It was easy to follow and a real joy to listen to. 

There is so much about this book that will appeal to many people. Whether you are interested in history or science or other cultures, this book has it all.

Buy A Billion Butterflies at Amazon

Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor

April 2025; Crown; 978-0593728574
audio, ebook, print (208 pages); environmental memoir

A few months ago, I read The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. It gave me a lot of practical things to think about related to birds. I love biology and science but what I really wanted to be when I "grew up" was a naturalist.

One of the major skills of a naturalist is noticing so I thought Lili Taylor's book Turning to Birds would give me some ideas and tips. I didn't realize that Taylor is an actress. I looked her up because I usually know the characters' names more so than who played the character. I haven't seen anything she is in.

I was a little worried after reading the first chapter because she focused on acting and over-explained things such as what it means to observe. I didn't really care about the former and I've read a number of naturalist books so I know what it means to observe. But when she got into the birds, I really enjoyed the book.

She continues to share thing she's learned in acting classes that have helped her to become a better birder and she tells about some of her time of film sets. But mostly the book is about the birds.

Each chapter focuses on a different bird species and how she first noticed it. I had one of those moments of feeling spied on. The day after I read about Taylor attending her first bird fest, I saw a sponsored post on my Facebook feed about a bird fest in my state. There was a whole two months' worth of events on the schedule, unfortunately, the one event in my town is already full.

I had a lightbulb moment when she described being of a bird tour when another person identified a bird by name and the guide asked the person how did they know it was that bird. I had a similar experience at one of my Naturalist Camp trips. I identified False Solomon's Seal and one of the staff members asked me how I knew that is what it is. After a moment I stumbled out that it looked like Solomon's Seal but the flowers where at the end instead of along the underside. But while reading Turning to Birds, I should think about what I'm identifying in much the same way I use Alt text for images on my website - using words to describe the image for someone who can't see it. In other words, if you saw a Cardinal but told someone who didn't know what a Cardinal looks like, how would you describe it? 

It is a short book but great if you are just getting into birding or exploring the world around you. She describes her awkward, nervous feelings about doing something new. I liked that she describes attending these events as I like knowing (and planning) what I'm going to face when attending something new.

Buy Turning to Birds at Amazon

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