Not my favorite kind of reading. It's well written and funny, the subject of slime - fascinating, and there are a lot of surprising facts here, but it wasn't as engaging as I expected. I think the impressive scope of this project was, well, a little too ambitious. I appreciate background stories in popular science books, but here the cultural and psychological aspects of slime are treated as important as the evolutionary or biological ones, and for me that was a disappointment. Mixing such a wide range of topics resulted in something more like a curiosity cabinet than a coherent narrative. But if you like a book that can be read in small bites - as the author writes, "Not every reader will be interested in every single facet of slime and might skip some parts" - it can undoubtedly be a rewarding experience.

Thanks to the publisher, Melville House Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

“Slime” is an all over the place book that manages to be altogether understandable while attempting to bring an entire history together. Wedlich’s writing is enjoyable and bright; sweeping metaphors and sharp descriptions. I loved the wide range the book covers from movies to stereotypes to jellyfish to slugs to carbon traps. It isn’t a book easy to get lost into and sometimes the external references felt overwhelming instead of clarifying. The most interesting parts to me were about the relationship of slime to climate change and the future of planet. “Slime” poses interesting questions and provides interesting answers, both theoretical and working in past tense to track the influence of slime overtime. The chapters on land, wetland, and aquatic animals and plants were the strongest part of the book referencing animals ranging from the most obvious (slugs, snails, jellyfish) to rare or extinct or ubiquitous (snot otters, velvet worms, plankton). Wedlich’s passion and interest is obvious throughout the entire book which adds to the experience of reading. She introduces fun facts and explains them well, linking everything together in a fast-paced way. “Slime” was a captivating overview of a history I wasn’t familiar with.

Most importantly about the book is that it covers a very unique area. In explaining slime, the book uses some plain language and some good analogies. In addition there is certainly some clever writing along the way. On the other hand, I found that the writing was more literary and less conversational, and contained some rather nebulous discussions. I also felt that the discussions of slime with respect to cultural and emotional significance to be weak. Overall, though, the book is worth reading on the strength of the subject matter. Thank you to Netgalley and Melville House Publishing for the digital review copy.