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Post by StickyIcky on Apr 29, 2015 5:09:36 GMT -5
Ordered up my autographed copy today, look forward to the read!!!
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Post by Maiden on Apr 29, 2015 6:22:30 GMT -5
Hey natch, im dals09 on twitter, nice to see you here :-)
I will buy your book for sure :-)
Cant wait to read the heliamphora section !
Francois
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Post by natchgreyes on Apr 29, 2015 9:45:45 GMT -5
Thanks guys!
Francois, feel free to shoot me an email at Natch.Greyes[at]gmail.com w/city/province and I can calculate shipping to you.
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Post by Maiden on Apr 30, 2015 13:31:07 GMT -5
Bought ;-)
Im pretty sure you are a master author !
Cant wait to read your book !
Cheers
Francois
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Post by natchgreyes on May 1, 2015 9:55:29 GMT -5
Thanks Francois!
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Post by lloyd on May 1, 2015 21:45:44 GMT -5
I've got so many books to read (Library/technical/etc.) so it might take me a while to get into this one. The little text I looked at was pretty good.
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Post by natchgreyes on May 2, 2015 10:35:17 GMT -5
I know the feeling. I always have a stack of things to go through.
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Post by nwflytrap on May 5, 2015 14:48:12 GMT -5
I'm eagerly awaiting Lloyds review. I'm always on the lookout for more reference books. I'm slowly enticing some coworkers into carnivorous plants as well, so it would be a good loaner to get the hooked.
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Post by Apoplast on May 20, 2015 21:37:16 GMT -5
Well, my copy arrived a few days back. I've only had a chance to glance through it briefly. Unfortunately, at first glance I am was... Well, underwhelmed. I don't like giving bad reviews, but I also feel as though it is necessary to express honest reviews even if they are a bit critical, and not just the glowing ones.
There are many pages in this book devoted to lists of species, which replicates Barry Rice's website and book (content I was not excited about in that text either, as the list is changing rapidly at the moment, making both texts likely to be rapidly dated). There are those who might like this aspect, but I find it to be unnecessary and have the feeling of filling space.
There were also numerous and glaring errors. Some are editing errors, such as the section on Pinguicula laxifolia, where there are several references to the nonexistent "Pinguicula laxiflora". Perhaps this book may have been rushed to print? Regardless, it would have benefited from more thorough editing.
Other errors are content errors, and internally contradictory. Such as in the caption for the photograph of Utricularia menziesii, it states it is the only known tuberous Utricularia, which is clearly not true. The book later discusses the tubers in Utricularia section Orchioides. These inaccuracies and errors are just the ones that jumped out at me in the initial flip through. I fear there are more that will appear upon more thorough inspection.
It was also very clear that the images relied heavily on Creative Commons (you will recognize many of these from Wikipedia). The use of these freely available images made the layout feel a bit lazy. In my opinion, photographs that are unavailable elsewhere help make the purchase worthwhile.
All in all, though I can't rule out gems appearing on a deeper read, my first impressions are that everything in this book is available elsewhere, and often done better. I am sorry to be negative about a book written by someone who is clearly very nice, and well respected in the CP community. I simply think this book is worth skipping.
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Post by lloyd on May 20, 2015 23:02:23 GMT -5
I also noticed the error about tuberous utrics and wondered about that. I did find the text interesting and useful. The pictures were pretty good, although I didn't know they were available elsewhere.
So far I've enjoyed the book. I would have liked an index. I found the species lists made up for the lack of an index somewhat.
I've gotten used to some inaccuracies in books over the last few years. Sometimes it's due to a lack of thorough editing or proof-reading. Maybe there's so much information available that even a good editor can't pick up inconsistencies or errors. Perhaps the internet is bleeding into the paper-text world.
More to follow as I get a chance to read more.
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Post by Apoplast on May 21, 2015 21:51:14 GMT -5
Hi Lloyd - I agree that standards seem to be changing. Perhaps you are correct that expectations have changed from internet publishing. I guess I still hold different expectations when there is time for editing, and editors. Call me old fashioned.
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Post by amanitovirosa on May 21, 2015 22:00:03 GMT -5
...hmmm, sorry natchgreyes. With all due respect I was not in a huge rush to purchase your book. I will instead look to complete my RedFernNaturalHistory collection. Gets expensive, only so much funds to go around. I do wish you success with your book and with your growing.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on May 22, 2015 8:42:43 GMT -5
...hmmm, sorry natchgreyes. With all due respect I was not in a huge rush to purchase your book. I will instead look to complete my RedFernNaturalHistory collection. Gets expensive, only so much funds to go around. I do wish you success with your book and with your growing. same here with my disability and tight budget, its either meds or saving money or doubling up on my meds to have money for other things
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Post by lloyd on May 22, 2015 9:05:03 GMT -5
I read some more last night.
My impression still is: lots of interesting details, well written and a good read, practical details, good pictures and well published.
I didn't notice any more errors or inconsistencies. As mentioned before, I did miss an index.
I found the price reasonable and all in all, I would recommend the book.
If I change my opinion later, I'll post.
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Post by grackle on May 22, 2015 9:09:48 GMT -5
As a novice the book has been a big help in pulling together the nuggets of info I've been picking up on forums and websites. The overview that you get from a book just can't be duplicated in other forms with multiple writers. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Natch.
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