KUOW Book Club's June pick is all about a Puget Sound seabird you may not even know is there 67%
By Katie Campbell0%
6/1/2026, 9:03:27 AM
Topics: Books
Keywords: Books, Literature, Puget Sound, Arts And Life, Pigeon Guillemot, Maria Mudd Ruth, Kuow Book Club
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, Halo Effect, and Biased Writer Voice, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 40.4% saturation with 153 hits. Analysis detected 1,105 faulty-reasoning hits from 379 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 60.4% and a BS Rank of 67% (7,350 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 66.40% of the article peer group.
The KUOW Book Club is reading Maria Mudd Ruth's "The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird" in June.
As the title suggests, the focus of this quasi-field guide is a fairly common seabird you can find in Puget Sound and all along the Pacific coast, from Southern California to Alaska.
But readers may not be familiar with them or even realize they're looking right at them — maybe because their vibrant feet are hiding under the surf.
The pigeon guillemot is important, though.
It's an indicator species for the Puget Sound, signaling the health of the marine ecosystem.
Efforts to keep track of these birds drew our author in and led her to fall in love with this charismatic critter.
Ruth brings elements of both field guide and memoir to this fairly quick read.
Think of it as an invitation to get outside this summer and observe the pigeon guillemot.
Because we want readers to use the information they get out of "The Bird with Flaming Red Feet," we'll do things slightly differently this month.
As always, read along with the KUOW Book Club by signing up for our newsletter.
Instead of sharing my author interview at the end of the month, though, I'll share my conversation with Ruth on June 8.
That will give you plenty of time to listen and go outside to apply some of her tips to your own birding adventures.
Then, we'll wrap up the month with a few more recommendations on June 22.
This one really is for the birds, erm, bird lovers.
Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of "Crow Planet," wrote this in a review: "Swimming effortlessly between lyrical prose and meticulous research, 'The Bird with Flaming Red Feet' captures the wildness, complexity, and charm of these extraordinary birds.
Beyond this individual species, Ruth draws us into a wider story — connecting sea, cliffs, curiosity, care, and community — and celebrates what it means to pay attention, to watch, and to fall in love with the wild world.
Readers will emerge enchanted by guillemots and the ecological connections that bind us all."
Grab a copy and get enchanted, y'all!
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.