GATOR COUNTRY in Gator Country!
Rebecca will join the University of Florida’s School of Journalism for a reading and book signing on Tuesday 1/30 at 6 pm in Pugh Hall Ocora.
Howdy Friends,
Rebecca is riding a writing wave right now, so Team Rebecca is stepping in to give you all the news. Who is Team Rebecca, you might ask? We’re just a group of Rebecca’s biggest fans. Jojo and Hazel are our team’s mascots, and they keep us updated on all the great things our favorite writer is up to. We’re just the messengers, since—you know—cats can’t type or use the computer. Or maybe they can, and they just don’t want to.
Let’s jump right into it. Next week, Gator Country is in Gator Country, as environment writer Cynthia Barnett said on Twitter. Rebecca will join the University of Florida’s School of Journalism for a reading and book signing on Tuesday 1/30 at 6 pm in Pugh Hall Ocora. Add the event to your calendar now!
Speaking of Gator Country, The Christian Science Monitor gave a rave review of Rebecca’s writing, saying:
“The book’s author, a Florida native, leads the reader through the complexities of Operation Alligator Thief as well as the intriguing, often murky, biological and cultural environment of the Everglades. She has a gift for storytelling and enriches her narrative with a wealth of Florida history, local lore, nature writing, and personal anecdotes…Part true-crime story, part memoir, part hymn to ‘nature’s savage beauty,’ Gator Country makes for a rewarding reading experience.”
And if that isn’t enough to be excited about, CrimeScene Mystery Bookfest is coming up fast. On February 2, Rebecca will be speaking on the panel, “The Soil of the Earth: How Landscape Seeds the Imagination” with writers David Joy and Eli Cranor. The panel is from 2:00 – 2:45pm and a book signing will immediately follow.
That’s all the fun we have for you this week, folks. Remember to follow Rebecca on all your favorite social media platforms @rebeccarennerfl. Again—Jojo and Hazel definitely didn’t write this post.
Yours Truly,
Team Rebecca
This week, Rebecca recommends The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works by Helen Czerski. She wrote the following on Goodreads:
Czerski has a poetic writing style that neither becomes too overwrought nor sacrifices accuracy for the sake of poetry. As a fellow science writer, the second one is very important to me. In reading The Blue Machine, I learned a lot about the ocean, including answers to questions I didn't know to ask.
Some of the information felt a bit extraneous, and, true, this book could have been shorter. But ultimately those parts were rendered with such delight that I gave in and accepted that I would learn about herring and tuna and the myriad functions of poop in oceanic ecosystems. Everything is connected. I enjoyed seeing those connections through Czerski's expert eyes, because even while she's teaching us, it's obvious that she still views the ocean with wonder. Shouldn't we all?
I'd recommend this book for readers who enjoyed Susan Casey's The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean. Even though there's a little bit of overlap in a few historical stories between the two books, they make good companions for readers who want to learn more about Earth's majestic oceans.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?
Rebecca says hello from her writing desk! See you next week.