Webs In The Wind

Webs in the Wind, published in 1949, is an odd, obscure book. The author, Winifred Duncan, decided that she wanted to learn more about spiders — creatures about which she previously had almost no knowledge.

To do so, she caught spiders outside, released them in her house, and then patiently observed their behavior as they went about building webs in her curtains, between pieces of furniture, behind her toilet, etc. Her book is full of illustrations of the spider webs throughout her house.

Only after observing the spiders for months did she start reading any of the existing scientific literature about spiders.

Used copies of her book are quite expensive, starting at around $35. But you can read the entire book for free at the Hathitrust archive.