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We had just finished talking about our latest BookBusters volume when KSP picked up her phone to read a message from Charlie. She was writing to say that Dolly Parton had died. That put a bit of a dampener on things. Who knew Dolly was a mere mortal like the rest of us? I doubt that there are many people who had never heard of her. Fortunately, she will live on through her music. Few people leave the world a better place than they found it. Dolly did.
Something else that leaves the world better than they found it are, surprisingly, beavers.
Our latest book was Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by environmental journalist, Ben Goldfarb. Misunderstood, maligned and murdered, the beaver stands as a reminder that humanity has a lot to learn about how the natural world works. How cycles make the world go round.
We were meeting at WoopWoop and, of course, Jonas made his world famous buns which, naturally, were delicious and devoured without delay.
I was lucky to get a photo before they were all gone.
Sadly, this month, we were without Mårten who was not feeling his best. Our next meeting is going to be at Lagnö Bo which will make it easier for him to attend. Hopefully.
The rest of us (Jonas, KSP, Mirinda, Amelie, Nicoline and I) however, gave the book a good airing as we discussed the contents. Actually, most of us did. KSP hadn’t read the book but did enjoy the chat about the busy little dam builders.
The only real criticism anyone had was that the book was a bit repetitive and, therefore, a bit too long. Which, in turn, lessens the enjoyment. Not that this was a universal opinion. The main opinion appeared to be that it was surprising and that beavers are brilliant.
Of course, we took the girls and Freya spent most of the time on KSP’s lap, drifting in and out of sleep, head resting on her free arm in that way that Freya does. She actually looked very happy given she hasn’t been particularly well the last few days. That’s Freya, not KSP. Though KSP has re-injured her knee and is back to being a bit hobbly again.
Maybe Freya was lending comfort to a fellow sufferer. It follows given she didn’t want to leave when the discussion and evening were over.
Following the eager book chat, Nicoline told us about her latest guests but national security forbids me from reporting on that aspect of the evenings discourse. Which is a bit sad because it was a tale of international intrigue and mysterious goings on. Still, safety first, as Stanley Baldwin said, is the best way to approach these things.
The upshot of the evenings debate was that beavers are industrious little creatures and deserve more recognition for the great things they do for the environment and that Goldfarb managed to convey the need for more beaver awareness in a world full of beaver pelts and crispy tails.
Our next book will be one on fungi as nominated by Amelie.
I am looking forward to starting Entangled Life: How Fungi Makes Our Worlds by the appropriately named Merlin Sheldrake.
I’m wondering whether we should read the 304 page Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann after the fungi book…I reckon I might read it anyway.
