Select language, opens an overlay

Comments (28)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 28 items
Mar 02, 2024knewto rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Focusing on the life of a snail was strangely engaging.
Jan 23, 2024lilypad_1 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A meditative experience
Aug 12, 2023ajherther rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Straight from Tookie's list - an exquisite small book!
Jun 25, 2023dirtbag rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A lovely book. The slow quiet world of the snail is wondrously compared to the world of a very ill woman. Both are quiet and isolated and living in an exterior world to the mainstream. There was something sweet about the book.
Jun 06, 2023Urbano rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Curiously compelling.
Jan 11, 2022akayaw rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book, a slow contemplation on life and awareness. Tova managed to invite the reader into a challenging time while reminding us that there is so much to be learned from the smallest of things. A remarkable read, one of the best…
Aug 16, 2021JCLChrisK rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Just lovely. Bailey contracted a rare and mysterious illness that kept her completely bedridden for extended periods of time. During one such season, a friend brought a few flowers and a snail into her room. She slowly warmed to the snail…
Jul 28, 2021BookLover4fun rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
One of the best books of the year. While a mysterious viral illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey receives a gift from a friend: a common woodland snail with the lovely name of Neohelix albolabris. Compared to Bailey's near total paralysis,…
May 20, 2021ryner rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey was felled by a mysterious illness, leaving her unable even to get out of bed. When a friend finds a forest snail and sets it up in a terrarium near her bedside, she suddenly has an activity to occupy her…
Sep 21, 2020
One of the pleasures I find as a volunteer shelver in the nonfiction section of the public library is the intriguing titles I run across. One such titlke was THE SOUND of a WILD SNAIL EATING. I had never given much thought to snails other…
Apr 18, 2020ketchup_oreos rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
came for the snails, stayed for the uplifting story.
Apr 13, 2020ArapahoeMaryA rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Quiet, wise and meditative, this brief memoir is oddly comforting and surprisingly uplifting. Though this tiny book appears to be a quick read, it demands to be consumed at a snail’s pace.
Mar 08, 2020patcarstensen rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Not exactly the most promising idea -- a bed-ridden woman contemplating a snail -- so I was surprised that I enjoyed the book, not to mention learning a little biology.
Feb 21, 2019ktsuei_0 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The author brings you into her unfortunately paralyzed world which leads her (and the reader) to heightened observations and discoveries. Very enjoyable and informative.
May 02, 2017multcolib_susannel rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
When a friend brings her a wild violet plant that also contains a snail, the bedridden author is fascinated by the its quiet habits.
Nov 23, 2016Zaelia rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Not only did I not ever pay attention to snails (well, not since childhood anyways), but I actually sort of abhorred them. Might be something lingering from a time when I was fortunate to have access to garden plots. I found this title…
Oct 21, 2016jdaisy111 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I appreciated the slow pace feeling this book gave me. It makes you stop and think about the time it takes to observe all the details of something like a snail.
Oct 21, 2016Librarydog rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I love reading books that teach me something new, and this "lovely little book" did that for me. A memoir of illness with an unlikely companion that satisfies yet leaves me wanting more. I hope Bailey continues to write - I want to…
Jul 18, 2016julieubrown rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This was a lovely little book that made me look more closely at the snails that cross my path when I was out hiking with my dog. There were many details about her snail and its lifestyle, but I would have liked to hear more about her…
Sep 11, 2015vv9 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This is a short memoir, filled with information about snails. You easily learn more than you ever wanted to know about the creatures, and the prose is fluid and thoughtful. I picked up the book as a medical memoir, but appreciated it much…
Jul 14, 2015
A gentle and fascinating read during which you will learn incredible details about a snail's life, as well as the determination of a woman ravaged by an undetermined parasite.
Feb 13, 2015ApollosRaven rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Artist, writer, and a very active nature-lover -- Bailey was suddenly bedridden by a mysterious disease. This is the exquisitely written story of the unexpected path which led to her psychological recovery in the midst of long-term,…
Aug 24, 2012
A tender, informative little book. It even had me wondering if I might enjoy having my own snail! Readers who like this would also enjoy a book from the late 90s called "A Country Year: Living the Questions" by Sue Hubbell. It's still…
bookfanatic1979
Aug 31, 2011
Beautifully written, this book reads like poetry. An ode to the common woodland snail, it elevates the slimy little suckers to a whole new, oddly poignant, level.
FearlessReader
Apr 25, 2011FearlessReader rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A remarkable little work of non-fiction that reminds us of the inspirational wonders of nature without anthropomorphizing or being too sentimental. Take the time to read it, at a snail's pace.