Currently I’m reading Nina Burton’s ‘Livets tunna väggar’ which translate to something like Walls of Life. It’s a book by a Swedish writer who inherits her mother’s summer house. When she wants to renovate it, she finds all sort of life around and in the house. She uses said life to teach you something about the intellect of various insects and animals, which goes deeper than humans normally think.
It’s a very interesting book that makes me think about non-human life even more. Creatures that are thousands of times smaller than we are have such complex societal structures. Humans have overcommodified animal life for centuries now, seeing them as property and commodities instead of complex and intelligent life forms.
What are you reading?
Half-way through edible and medicinal plants. Lots of toxic plants in Canada. If you see a plant with white flowers growing in a dome over the stem, it’s one of five types that’ll either give you diarrhoea or outright kill you.
Spruce tree sap is also an antibiotic, in case you need to disinfect a wound.
If you see a bush with thorns, growing thorny bulbs, you can eat it as long as you strip the thorns off first.
Also listening to “propaganda” by Edward Bernays. It’s one of the most “mask off” things I’ve read.