Ask a bookseller

Exploring lives of whales in a time of climate change

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke to Stephen Sparks of Point Reyes Books in Point Reyes Station, Calif.

 “Fathoms: the World in the Whale” by Rebecca Giggs.
“Fathoms: The World in the Whale” by Rebecca Giggs.
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Bookseller Stephen Sparks of Point Reyes Books in Point Reyes Station, Calif., recommends the nonfiction work “Fathoms: The World in the Whale” by author Rebecca Giggs.

When Giggs finds a humpback whale stranded on a beach in Australia, the encounter sparks an exploration into the lives of whales in a time of climate change. The book is a blend of natural history, philosophy, science and memoir. Sparks calls the writing style “luminous … as if Annie Dillard wrote about whales.”