I recently watched Remarkably Bright Creatures on a rainy day in Sarasota, Florida. On that same trip, I saw an octopus at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, also in Sarasota, and so was inspired in the Mote gift shop to pick up a copy of The Soul of an Octopus, subtitled A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, by Sy Montgomery.

Octopuses are cool, and mysterious, and smart. While the movie anthropomorphized its octopus Marcellus considerably, there's no denying there's something about them that defies conventional definitions within the animal world.

This book is both a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, although I was unaware of both honors when I bought it. I just wanted to read up on octopuses, and the description on the back cover made this book seem unique in its examination of their physiology, psychology and diverse personalities.

In researching her book, Montgomery was not content to study the species from afar; she gets up close and personal, primarily at Boston's New England Aquarium, where she meets Athena, then Octavia and Kali in fairly rapid succession, and then Karma. (Although the aquarium had only one octopus on exhibit at a time, the cephalopods are surprisingly, disappointingly short-lived, and the facility often kept another, younger octopus in less expansive accommodations behind the scenes. The giant Pacific octopus, which is the breed on display at the aquarium, has a lifespan of only 3 to 5 years, while most smaller species live for just a year.) And by up close, I mean literally; she wasn't gazing at them through thick aquarium glass, but rather sticking her hands into the chilly water, stroking their silky-soft heads and allowing them to wrap their tentacles around her arms, quite literally tasting her with their sensitive suckers.

You might be surprised to discover how deeply her relationships with those octopuses turned out to be. They most definitely recognized her each time they reconnected, and it doesn't seem implausible to say they even felt affection for her and the other people with which they interacted.

Eventually, Montgomery takes her passion to its root and encounters octopuses in the wild, scuba-diving in the Caribbean off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and snorkeling in the South Pacific. She also travels to Seattle to attend a Valentine's Day "blind date" mating event between two octopuses, Rain and Squirt.

I expected to learn about octopuses, but I didn't expect to care about them quite so much. Nor did I expect Montgomery's prose to get so philosophical, even spiritual, in tone. The reader can tell that she was deeply affected by her experiences with these alien creatures.

The further I read, the more I wondered if Shelby van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures, was inspired by reading this book, which had been published several years before her novel. A brief internet search yielded my answer; yes, to some extent, it did.

Along with her thoughts on the octopuses she meets, as well as her own self-growth through the experiences, Montgomery delves into the lives and personalities of the people with whom she (and the octopuses) interact. She gets deeply personal with them, discussing their various successes and tragedies that occur throughout the time of their association.

I did not presume when I started reading this book that Montgomery would delve so deeply into the heart (or hearts) and brain (or brains) of cephalopods. I am, frankly, astounded (and grateful that, although I love seafood, I already had removed octopus from my personal menu). The Soul of an Octopus is thoughtful, insightful, exciting, occasionally poignant and deeply satisfying. Montgomery's passion and joy for the subject is infectious.

(Noting that Montgomery has written about diverse creatures in her career -- from chickens and pigs to hawks and hummingbirds to turtles and dolphins to tigers and bears -- I couldn't help but wonder if she becomes so thoroughly involved and connected to all of them, or if the octopus was something special.)