First off, thanks to everyone who gave me such a warm welcome to CONCH-L.
 
Melissa, I'm sure you know more about shells than I do. I really only just
started to look deeper than my one Audubon field guide these last two weeks. I
haven't found much in the library or bookstores around here. I think it's
because the water in Long Island Sound is so opaque that the locals don't
realize that there's anything beneath the surface. Connecticut is a cruel
tease, you would think you are by the water, but somehow.....
 
Still, I found one really swell book: A Natural History Of Shells by Geerat J.
Vermeij. It's not a listing of species, rather an explanation of why shells
have the structure that they do. It's something of a natural history design
book, shells as architecture or maybe industrial design. As my response to
shells had initially been aesthetic, this book really caught my eye. I only
got it a few days ago from Amazon, so I just started it, but it's fascinating.
It's not taxonomy, but what is taxonomy but a system to help us make sense of
the overwhelming variety of species? Knowing the why's always helps me keep
track of the what's.
 
I have two books I picked up at yard sales years ago that are not shell-
specific, but useful nonetheless. Animals Without Backbones, a textbook
originally published in the thirties. The illustrations are fabulous, some on
scratchboard, and very much of the period. They'd make great textile designs
or even tattoos. The Erotic Ocean was my other find, it's by Jack Rudloe and
was published in the seventies. He was a professional collector for museums
and laboratories. It's a fascinating book and it makes me wish I did what he
does for a living. Kind of a Gerry Durrell thing, only with invertebrates.
 
I'm sure the veterans on this list can recommend books galore.
 
Funny you should mention South Carolina. I'm leaving tomorrow on a month-long
odyssey. I've a small tent and I'm driving down the coast until I run out of
land. I aim to shell along the way and would welcome any and all suggestions
for good shelling stops south of Maryland. I'll be operating on a budget,
saving my shekels to do a bit of diving when I hit Florida. And I'm going to
be writing travel pieces for the paper back home. I'm interested in anything
marine biology related.
 
If anyone has any suggestions, please write me. My husband will be signing on
and checking my mail and I'll be in touch with him. But I doubt he will get
through this list on a regular basis. The [log in to unmask] screen name is one I
created specifically for this list. If anyone has suggestions for stops on my
odyssey, could they please also send the messages to my personal mail, same
network but substitute elbowmoi for elbowmc.
 
Thank you one and all.
 
Ellen