Grace’s Reviews > Must Love Trees: An Unconventional Guide > Status Update
Grace
is on page 64 of 461
The “I turned into a tiny man who lives in a pine cone and it was once wondrous but is now a solitary and deeply lonely life” thing as a cautionary tale on avoiding the temptation of escapism doesn’t work bc if the author did indeed turn into a tiny man, then there would be TWO tiny men who could have a nice little partnership together and therefore stave off loneliness. Presumably more tiny men would follow.
— Apr 24, 2024 07:01AM
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Grace’s Previous Updates
Grace
is on page 154 of 461
too many similarities to previous trees to be truly archetypal. I want to see over-accentuated features! Limbs dangling and reaching and twisting, crowns either glittering or dulled, roots demonstrating connections to earth and groundedness. The book concept is STRONG but the execution feels unfinished. 2/2
— Nov 21, 2024 08:45AM
Grace
is on page 154 of 461
We also lose out in the depiction of trees as just… trees. That’s all well and good in a traditional field guide, but this one anthropomorphizes EXTENSIVELY, and yet our visual cast of characters are without defining features. They have personalities per Mitnick, but all we readers see is a drawn tree with… 1/2
— Nov 21, 2024 08:45AM
Grace
is on page 148 of 461
get continuity of material and style to reinforce learning and appreciation for Mitnick’s perspective. Right now, it just feels like someone is ranting at me about a topic I love in snark, expecting me to respond to the abrasiveness, and then getting snarkier when I do make any response. Not a very welcoming atmosphere, nor is it an atmosphere conducive to learning 2/2
— Nov 21, 2024 08:39AM
Grace
is on page 148 of 461
I think what this book needs is a narrative. Short stories centered on this hypothetical high school *featuring* the characters in this field guide. All this information just as a pseudo-field guide but written in a frequently sarcastic tone feels like genre bending to the detriment of the material. BUT if Mitnick continued in this sarcastic style in short stories, readers would… 1/?
— Nov 21, 2024 08:38AM
Grace
is on page 140 of 461
THIS FORMATTING IS DRIVING ME BONKERS. Just put a picture on all of them!!! Why so much blank space!! Why so much inconsistency in the information presentation!!! I get that it’s more of a satirical field guide than a true one but aaaaaAAAAAA! It could’ve been made in a MUCH better way.
— Nov 21, 2024 08:31AM
Grace
is on page 121 of 461
The conifer bias is bonkers. I had to skip so so many of the conifers in this middle section and get to the angiosperms bc I was losing my mind. They all look like this 🌲 with only very SLIGHT differences, and those slight differences aren’t accentuated enough in the drawings. Also?? Why are the drawings only on some pages?? ANGIOSPERMS FTW
— Nov 15, 2024 08:44AM
Grace
is on page 82 of 461
Continues to be funny and informative if a bit heavy on self-criticism
— Nov 07, 2024 12:32PM
Grace
is on page 60 of 461
“What you’re actually angry with, you pitchfork-wielding, tree-scapegoat obsessed mob of outdoor enthusiast, is a civilization that made it possible for the Bradford pear to exist in the first place. A civilization whose hubris begot the distorted illusion that the Bradford pear would remain sterile, as opposed to finding fertility through pollen transference with other similar cultivars.“
— Apr 17, 2024 07:22AM
Grace
is on page 57 of 461
I’m only seeing Robert van Pelt’s “inimitable” Forest Giants of the Pacific Northwest as Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast. Assuming they’re the same but noting here for further research
— Apr 17, 2024 07:14AM
