Book Giveaway: “Secrets of the Octopus” & Bonus interview!
[Update 3/18/24: Submissions Closed] 🐙 🎉 OctoNation is beyond thrilled to offer our community a chance to win one of the newest National Geographic octopus books to hit the shelves next week, “Secrets of the Octopus” by the New York Times Bestseller of “The Soul of an Octopus”, Sy Montgomery & Founder of OctoNation, Warren K. Carlyle IV!
✅ Done? OK, Let’s Take a look Inside: Secrets of the Octopus & Interview OctoNation’s Founder, Warren K. Carlyle IV!
Sy’s half of this interview is published on psychology today! The Fascinating Secret Social Lives of Octopuses. Author Sy Montgomery explains what it is like to be an octopus.
Why did you & Sy Montgomery write Secrets of the Octopus?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
This is a full-circle moment for Sy and I…like many people who were absolutely enamored by the Soul of an Octopus, what stuck out most to me about her book was how octopuses never seemed to have a good PR agent throughout history– Similar to what Jaws did to sharks, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (& more) did for octopuses. Even Aristotle said “The octopus is a stupid creature, for it will approach a man’s hand if it be lowered in the water.” — surely the octopus was just curious.
What if they were showcased as one of the most intelligent, resilient, wondrous creatures in the ocean? Aren’t they deserving of that? At 2am in the morning after putting down Sy’s book, OctoNation was born! Now almost 9 years later, Sy and I come together to inspire wonder of our oceans by educating the world about octopuses!
2) How does your book relate to your backgrounds and general areas of interest?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
Picture a neurodivergent second-grader, passionately creating flashcards for every subject that sparked his curiosity. I can remember looking into an octopus’ eyes on a field trip and feeling as if she were observing me with just as much curiosity as I was observing her. I rushed to the library to begin making flash cards and there were no books on them! Why was so little known about this magnificent animal? I have been enchanted since then making a case daily for why more people should consider the octopus. I love bringing the octopus party wherever me and my team go!
3) Who do you hope to reach in your interesting and important book?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
This book will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt misunderstood just as octopuses have been portrayed throughout history. It’s for the underdogs, and those holding onto hope, drawing inspiration from the octopus’s hundreds of millions of years of survival and adaptation on this incredible planet. There is undoubtedly hope. These animals are proof of that.
4) What are some of the major topics you consider?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
The goal of the Octo-Profiles is to explore 16 remarkable cephalopods beyond the well-known common octopus, highlighting species such as the iconic female blanket octopus with her iridescent cape and the tiny hairy octopus that cleverly uses ocean currents for transportation. These stories aim to spark a relentless curiosity in our readers to further investigate the lives of hundreds of other octopus species around the globe!
5) How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
Sy, my brilliant mentor, possesses a magical ability to transform indifference into adoration, guiding readers to discover a profound love for animals they’ve never even considered! She did this for me and, most likely, so many of you reading this right now! There is something to be said about “The Soul of an Octopus” being a best seller month after month since 2015.
With her as my human (debatable) octopus teacher, I aspire to channel our deeply held admiration and joy in such a way that it sparks a new wave of enthusiasm among octopus and ocean enthusiasts alike! 😘 🐙 🤩
6) Are you hopeful that as people learn more about these amazing beings they will be more open to developing and maintaining a relationship of coexistence that is a win-win for everyone?
– Warren K Carlyle IV, Founder of OctoNation
Last year, OctoNation captivated over half a billion people with our octopus-focused educational content on social media, igniting a global passion for the ocean. Through these fascinating creatures, we’ve inspired countless individuals to talk and share about the ocean on their own social profiles Cousteau said it best. “We only protect what we love, we only love what we understand, and we only understand what we are taught.” In this new age of smartphones, it’s important to meet people where they’re at–and after reading “Secret’s of the Octopus” readers will have a vibrant community of enthusiasts excited to meet them. C’mon over to OctoNation on whatever your favorite social platform is! Our community seriously rocks and is made up the most epic octopus enthusiasts, photographers, artists, researchers, science communicators, you name it!
Wanna order a copy now?
Remarkable new discoveries affirm the octopus as one of nature’s most intelligent and complex animals.
This new book—written by the beloved author of the international bestseller The Soul of an Octopus, along with Warren Carlyle, founder of Octonation, and enhanced with vivid National Geographic photography—brings us closer than ever to these elusive creatures.
The companion to the highly-anticipated National Geographic television special directed by James Cameron—narrated by Paul Rudd and airing for Earth Day—this beautifully illustrated book explores the alluring underwater world of the octopus—a creature that resembles an alien life form, but whose behavior has earned it a reputation as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet.
This magical journey into the world of the octopus will reveal how the large and capable brain of these creatures occupies their whole body–not just their heads—and they can actually adjust their genetic makeup to respond to the demands of the environment. It will allow readers to watch them change shape and color in order to camouflage themselves more effectively than any other species. And it will divulge how octopus mothers give their all in order to bring forth a new generation.
With this offering, acclaimed author Sy Montgomery—known, thanks to her bestselling book, as the “octopus whisperer”—returns to the species she knows and loves, offering current and compassionate stories about the scientists on the front lines of octopus research and conservation.
For all animal lovers—and especially those drawn to this magical marine being—this will be a book to relish, for both its fascinating imagery and its charming storytelling.
If you want to educate yourself some more about all sorts of different cephalopods, take a look at our encyclopedia. Or, what we call it, our Octopedia!
Connect with other octopus lovers via the OctoNation Facebook group, OctopusFanClub.com! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the conservation, education, and ongoing research of cephalopods.
Previous Blogs:
- Book Giveaway: “Secrets of the Octopus” & Bonus interview!
- ‘Artist Spotlight’ Of The Week: Victor Grasso
- Meet the Cockeyed Squid: the Deep-Sea Animal with a Giant Eye!
- ‘Cephalotography’ Of The Week: Jialing Cai
- 10 Facts About Baby Nautilus!
Warren is the Founder of OctoNation, a nonprofit organization that works to inspire the wonder of the ocean by educating the world about octopuses. As a professional community building strategist, Warren has collaborated with hundreds of underwater photographers, artists, scientists, and aquarists to create educational resources for both children and adults.
Jacque Cousteau said it best, “People protect what they love.” OctoNation’s community of over 1 million members wholeheartedly agree! Wanna get involved? Email [email protected]
