Anonymous
Post 05/30/2024 00:05     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
I really love David Quammen’s nature writing. It’s not exactly soothing / meditative but “The Song of the Dodo” about island ecology is quite interesting.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2024 07:11     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Another Bill Bryson to try (other than A Walk in the Woods) is A Brief History of Nearly Everything. I read it on a vacation years ago and it had a profound impact on me. It tracks the history of the universe and the earth from the Big Bang to the rise of human civilization, focusing a lot on the history of our understanding of these things, getting into the development of math and physics and geology from the time of the ancient Greeks to the 20th century. But it's a layperson's overview of these things, so it's very accessible.

I found it so soothing and informative. Thinking about it makes me want to read it again.


This is my go to audio book to listen to when I have insomnia!


I listen to Bill Bryson books to fall asleep too! A brief History, At Home, Mother Tongue, the Body. They are all just perfect for giving you something mildly interesting to listen to in a soothing voice. Keeps my thoughts from wandering into worry/rumination so I can fall asleep!
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2024 07:07     Subject: Re:nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Not quite what you asked for (gardening rather than nature) but I loved

Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2024 11:45     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
If you want to go old school, Sand County Almanac is one of my favorites. And I really like the Nature Fix - I wouldn’t say it’s soothing, but it was very inspiring and it’s on my re-read list.
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2024 07:31     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
The Gulf about the ecological history of the Gulf Coast is amazing. Later chapters get kind of depressing but it was a fascinating and beautiful book.

I’ve heard good things about Fish Don’t Exist, Secret Life of Lobsters, and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

An Immense World by Ed Young
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2024 07:18     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Anonymous wrote:Another Bill Bryson to try (other than A Walk in the Woods) is A Brief History of Nearly Everything. I read it on a vacation years ago and it had a profound impact on me. It tracks the history of the universe and the earth from the Big Bang to the rise of human civilization, focusing a lot on the history of our understanding of these things, getting into the development of math and physics and geology from the time of the ancient Greeks to the 20th century. But it's a layperson's overview of these things, so it's very accessible.

I found it so soothing and informative. Thinking about it makes me want to read it again.


This is my go to audio book to listen to when I have insomnia!
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2024 06:24     Subject: Re:nature book (nonfiction) rec?
The one about the octopuses (not octopi as I learned in the book.)
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2024 05:12     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Hidden Life of Trees
H is for Hawk
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 18:33     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Another Bill Bryson to try (other than A Walk in the Woods) is A Brief History of Nearly Everything. I read it on a vacation years ago and it had a profound impact on me. It tracks the history of the universe and the earth from the Big Bang to the rise of human civilization, focusing a lot on the history of our understanding of these things, getting into the development of math and physics and geology from the time of the ancient Greeks to the 20th century. But it's a layperson's overview of these things, so it's very accessible.

I found it so soothing and informative. Thinking about it makes me want to read it again.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 18:07     Subject: Re:nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Anonymous wrote:Thanks, everyone, these are great suggestions with quite a few I haven't read yet.

Here are a few of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet, in case anyone else is looking.

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf
The Nature of Oaks by Doug Tallamy
A World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul (bird migration)
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf (bio of Humboldt)
The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams




Jennifer Ackerman is amazing
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 18:06     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
On Trails by Moor
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 11:42     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
I just bought a book on plants that are edible and useful for medicinal purposes in my geographic region (not DC any more). It's fascinating how many plants we lump together as "weeds" are actually edible! I'm enjoying it (and the many different tastes of weeds I've been able to try!). There is probably something similar available for the mid-Atlantic.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 11:31     Subject: Re:nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Anonymous wrote:Thanks, everyone, these are great suggestions with quite a few I haven't read yet.

Here are a few of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet, in case anyone else is looking.

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf
The Nature of Oaks by Doug Tallamy
A World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul (bird migration)
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf (bio of Humboldt)
The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams




The Genius of Birds is AMAZING
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2024 11:31     Subject: nature book (nonfiction) rec?
Lab girl
Overstory