16 ratings | 8 reviews | avg rating:4.62

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Danna Staaf

Goodreads Author

Born

in Los Angeles, The United States

Website

http://www.dannastaaf.com/

Twitter

DannaStaaf

Genre

Science, Nonfiction, Children's

Member Since

October 2018

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When Danna Staaf met an octopus at the age of ten, it changed her life. She set up a saltwater aquarium to keep eight-armed pets in her bedroom, learned to scuba dive off the coast closest to her home in Southern California, and eventually earned a PhD in the biology of squid babies. Currently working as a science writer, she also wields words in the world of fiction, and helps her husband raise two story-hungry children.

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Danna Staaf’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 2,351 ratings · 474 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods 4.08 avg rating — 1,587 ratings — published 2017	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Putting the Science in Fiction: Expert Advice for Writing with Authenticity in Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Other Genres by Dan Koboldt (Goodreads Author) (Editor/Contributor), Chuck Wendig (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Gareth D. Jones (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.21 avg rating — 283 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology 3.81 avg rating — 307 ratings — published 2022 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World by Danna Staaf (Goodreads Author), Richard Strathmann (Foreword) 4.04 avg rating — 141 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Suction Cup Dreams: An Octopus Anthology by David Joseph Clarke (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Camille Alexa (Goodreads Author), Brenda Anderson (Goodreads Author) 3.70 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives: A Natural History of Cephalopods 4.22 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming by Michelle Cacho-Negrete (Editor), Barbara Kingsolver (Foreword), Michelle Cacho-Negrete (Contributor) 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Danna is Currently Reading

Danna Staaf is currently reading

The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 10, 2023 09:09AM

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Danna Staaf rated a book it was amazing Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 02, 2025 10:15PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf rated a book it was amazing Circe by Madeline Miller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 02, 2025 10:15PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Circe by Madeline Miller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Circe by Madeline Miller <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf rated a book really liked it Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sections/quotes I particularly enjoyed: Animals moving from the sea to land "had to bring the sea with them so that certain parts would still work, which they did with aqueous eyes, salty blood, and wet inner ears." I've read about the sea-to-land tra ...more
Mar 02, 2025 10:14PM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sing Like Fish by Amorina Kingdon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sing Like Fish by Amorina Kingdon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf finished reading Circe by Madeline Miller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 02, 2025 10:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Circe by Madeline Miller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Circe by Madeline Miller <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf rated a book really liked it Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sections/quotes I particularly enjoyed: Animals moving from the sea to land "had to bring the sea with them so that certain parts would still work, which they did with aqueous eyes, salty blood, and wet inner ears." I've read about the sea-to-land tra ...more
Mar 02, 2025 08:25PM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sing Like Fish by Amorina Kingdon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sing Like Fish by Amorina Kingdon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf rated a book it was amazing Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Of Time and Turtles is full of beauty and healing in unexpected places. It gives life, even and especially amidst death. It shows me time less as a precious resource I fear I won't have enough of, and more as an ingredient in eternity. "Saving any spe ...more
May 23, 2024 01:21PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf made a comment on their review of Wild Souls: What We Owe Animals in a Changing World " Oh I can't wait to hear how you both like it! I am in the process of typing up a longer review from all the pages I dog-eared... ...more "
May 06, 2024 10:20AM · see review
Danna Staaf rated a book it was amazing Wild Souls: What We Owe Animals in a Changing World by Emma Marris	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 03, 2024 11:26AM · like
Danna Staaf has read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Truly an excellent book--thank you to everyone who told me "you have to read this." Although Marcellus isn't the most 100% realistic octopus, funnily enough the biological inaccuracy that nagged at me most was about seahorse reproduction. Marcellus d ...more
Apr 02, 2024 07:29PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Danna Staaf rated a book it was amazing The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions by Giselle Clarkson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An inspiration. I would like to create something as lovely as this.
Mar 04, 2024 09:59AM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Observologist by Giselle Clarkson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Observologist by Giselle Clarkson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Danna Staaf (?)

“This is the most direct route from the mouth into the mantle, where the stomach and other organs lie, but as you might imagine, swallowing through your brain can be risky.”
― Danna Staaf, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

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“The past 60 million years have seen the cephalopod
survivors of the end-Cretaceous catastrophe morph
into the aquarium exhibits & calamari rings of today.”
― Danna Staaf, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

tags: reductionism

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