My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Sourcebooks for an advance copy of this memoir about a life in science, a look at something that every living creature seems to deal with, or has occupying them, and how this tells us about the way the world is run, and why many think and do what they do.

The word parasite has a lot of different meanings today. Some might think one is referring to the Oscar winning movie that shows two families sharing the same space, with viewers unsure of who the parasite in the relationship is. Politicians use parasite to explain why they are cutting monies, services, libraries and more to people who don't really contribute to the society the politician wish to serve, as these people are too busy trying to survive. Taking from the politicians others in the making-money-off-of-hate-grifters like to use parasite to describe the other, the different, those who will still the good life away from you, and send money to keep fighting for a world that never really existed. As Dr. John Janovy Jr writes, all living things have parasites, from the top of the head to deep in the guts. Understanding the role of parasites, and what they contribute to the life cycle of everyone could make for better understanding for us all. Life Lessons from a Parasite:What Tapeworms, Flukes, Lice, and Roundworms Can Teach Us About Humanity's Most Difficult Problems is part memoir, part cultural study and a lot of science about these misunderstood creatures, and what parasites can tell us about ourselves.

The book begins with a little bit about parasites that we all might be familiar with, hair lice. Janovy describes that most living organisms, at least most that have been studied all have parasites living on them, some important, some benign, some harmful to others. Janovy discusses his youth and the interest he took in the outdoors and hunting instilled from his father and grandparent that lead to a career in biology that lasted over sixty years, and quite a few books. The book looks at parasites, from one's inside of fish in the author's home state of Oklahoma, to robins, toads, and of course humans. Janovy also looks at the life of people involved in the study of parasites, those who made great discoveries, or those who spent their lives trying to solve mysteries that remain enigmas to this day.

Janovy also looks at how understanding parasites can explain much about what is happening in the world today. From actions humans take to the study of viruses, and coming up with solutions for many problems. The book is very interesting and well written, though some themes seem to be repeated a bit. The writing is an mix of the personal, a lot of these studies were worked on by Janovy, along with a lot about his time teaching, learning or studying. The technical writing is kept to a minimum, which makes it easy for people of all sorts of scientific literacy to read and learn. A little warning, their is a lot of animal eviscerations, as this is a study on parasites, so queasy stomachs should be warned.

A book I would recommend to people interested in working in the sciences. There is a lot of discussion about studies, watching, learning, being disappointed by a hypothesis not working out, which would be helpful to those interested in science. Also for a look at parasites around us, this book will explain quite a lot.

Something about this book made me download it, even though it's not the style of book I would get. In this book, Janovy, one of the world's experts on parasites such as tapeworms, flukes, and lice, tells us what humans can learn from the action of a parasite. I think it's a unique concept and a great self help book. By comparing human qualities to the motifs of a parasite, we can glean some useful life lessons.

I can't even get past the introduction, that's how bored I am with this writing style. To quote Ms. Grande " thank you, next"

This was interesting as a premise however I found the contents became quite repetitive, and I was unsure what the general structure was supposed to be, so it felt quite eclectic.

Be advised: this book can be quite graphical and gory with the descriptions on animal dissections. You would probably expect this from a book written by a parasitologist, but still worth the mention.

Life Lessons from a Parasite was quite different from what I expected. To be honest I hadn't really expected the links to parasitology and today's problems like racism, hate, the pandemic etc. I also didn't find them always very convincing.

But the parasite stories are cool. I've done a master's project on an oyster parasite, so I am used to these kinds of stories, but they can be quite intense. And I agree that people who are interested in parasites are a special breed of people.

Entertaining, but sometimes long-winded and graphic. I wouldn't recommend this for casual readers looking for some popular science, but more for budding parasitologists.

Life Lessons From a Parasite describes what us, as humans can learn from parasites. It delves into the working (and social) lives of experts in parasites, taking you through field work, dissections and findings. Janovy then links the findings to the real world, and the lessons we can take from these, with notable links to Covid-19 and hate being wrongly spewed at minority groups such as people of colour, immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community. It is an informative book, though repetitive in places and some of the links seem tenuous at best. It was an interesting read, but not one I would be quick to read again.

2/5 stars

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I sadly have to move this book to my DNF pile. I feel like it takes a lot for a book such as this one to be captivating. I have the curiosity to want to learn more on this subject, but felt like the writing style didn't do much for me. I think it would've been more conducive for the author to try to write it as a build up. Instead, it felt like we got a smattering of science then a smattering of politics following up. I just felt like the politics was misplaced, even though I enjoy the metaphor of thoughts (especially political ones these days) being parasites was enjoyable.

I wish this book was able to captivate me more!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

The book was okay. I found it a bit all over the place and repetitive. It felt like there was no straight line. Maybe I misunderstood the summary of the book, but I was expecting too learn more about different parasites but the 'lessons' part was quite prominent. This book might be more interesting for people working in the field and who are in general interested by the work of this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

I really don’t like to write sour reviews so I’ll keep this short and sweet. There were a few interesting parasites mentioned in the book, but the connection to how ideas and information spread and “life lessons” was tenuous at best. It just needed to go deeper into that portion of the title. In the end I was left with something that didn’t feel like a full thought, more of an amalgamation of ideas that didn’t have a central purpose. Too much repetition of the methodology of animal dissection as well. At times, it also felt a little bit arrogant in terms of achievement listing/name dropping, which I’m not a huge fan of, even in academically focused works.

I never DNF books, but if I didn’t have to review this one, I would have put it down before the end.

Would only recommend reading if you’re very specifically fascinated with the authors previous research highlights since I didn’t get much else out of it. 2/5

Part memoir, and part popular science, Life Lessons from a Parasite was a unique and enjoyable read. I found both the scientific facts, and personal details in this book fascinating, and would absolutely recommend it to a friend. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, I had a great time reading it.