Spirals in Time

Spirals in Time is everything you should know about mollusks.

I've been eager to read this book for the months, maybe years, that I have had this book. Author Helen Scales was comprehensive in her coverage of the mollusk subject. But it turns out that I am less interested in knowing everything about mollusks (I was especially lost during chapters about how the mollusks create lines on their shells and the results of scientific studies done on mollusks placed in low pH conditions) than I expected.

The author struggles to find a consistent voice and doesn't seem to have much of a sense for what makes a compelling narrative. There's not really a coherent overarching organization that would tie the various subjects or narratives to each other, even within the chapters she changes subjects very abruptly. She doesn't seem to know which parts of her story will actually be interesting to a casual reader, often barely mentioning a quite compelling fact or story, only to dwell for ages on the ins and outs of some minor historical disagreement among researchers, for example.

That all being said, the subject matter is inherently fascinating. I learned some interesting facts, and for $2, this was a good beach read.