Events scheduled at Suncoast Technical College in North Port and Selby Library in Sarasota
The staff of Sarasota County’s Libraries and Historical Resources Department is inviting the public to two events featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, who wrote the 2024 One Book, One Community selection, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.
Youg will discuss the book on March 1 during events at the Suncoast Technical College in North Port and at Selby Library in downtown Sarasota, a news release notes:
- 10:30 a.m. at Suncoast Technical College, which stands at 4445 Career Lane in North Port.
- 7 p.m. at Selby Library, which is located at 1331 First St. in Sarasota.
“An Immense World explores the various ways in which animals perceive their environment,” the release points out. “While many people may be familiar with some of these senses, most are outside of the human range of perception. Yong encourages readers to go beyond what they think they know to better understand themselves and the world around them,” the release adds.
Yong’s combination of anecdotal encounters and details from scientific research result in “a light-hearted, often humorous approach,” the release says.
“I got oripulated by a manatee,” Yong has written, for example. “ ‘Oripulated’ is a wonderful word for when these aquatic mammals explore you with their incredibly touch-sensitive lip, like manipulation, but with a mouth instead of a hand,” he added.
Yong’s studies took him all over the world, the release points out. His details about his experiences with each animal produced what has been dubbed “one of the best books of the year,” by Oprah Daily, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications, the release continues.
“The explorations he embarked upon led him through many hair-raising adventures,” the release continues. “Yong recounts being shocked by an electric catfish, struck by a mantis shrimp and stumbling into a colossal hangar teeming with enormous spiders — all in the name of scientific research.”
“One Book, One Community is about a shared love of reading,” said Renée Di Pilato, director of the Libraries and Historical Resources Department, in the release. “This year we can connect over our shared love of animals, too. This is a special program to me because it brings us together as a community.”
Along with the author’s talks, the Libraries and Historical Resources staff is offering animal-themed programming to complement the book throughout this month and March, the release notes.
Young readers also may participate in the One Book, One Community initiative this year by exploring read-alike books, including Did You Know? Animals by Derek Harvey, the release points out.
No registration is necessary for Yong’s talks, the release says. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-seated basis. Additionally, books will be available for sale and signing by the author at both presentations, the release notes.
For additional information, visit www.SarasotaCountyLibraries.org or call 311 or 941-861-1110.