2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Botany Book Lists

Stiff by Mary RoachSalt by Mark KurlanskyThe Professor and the Madman by Simon WinchesterThe Ghost Map by Steven JohnsonLongitude by Dava Sobel
Microhistory: Social Histories of Just One Thing
1,826 books — 2,215 voters
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony BourdainThe Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael PollanAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara KingsolverFast Food Nation by Eric SchlosserIn Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Food-Related Non-Fiction
1,227 books — 1,636 voters

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth KolbertSilent Spring by Rachel CarsonGuns, Germs, and Steel by Jared DiamondA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill BrysonThe Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
The Natural World: Natural Science and Natural History for Adults
779 books — 253 voters
DMT by Rick StrassmanThe Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy NarbyTao Te Ching by Lao TzuLife Revisited by Laurent GrenierThe Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins
Curious Minds
176 books — 152 voters

The Botany of Desire by Michael PollanThe Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererLab Girl by Hope JahrenThe Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart
Nonfiction Books about Plants
416 books — 141 voters
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverThe Jungle Books by Rudyard KiplingGorillas in the Mist by Dian FosseyOut of Africa by Isak DinesenHeart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Rainforests and Jungles of the World
384 books — 107 voters

Last Chance to See by Douglas AdamsThe Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth KolbertThe Spotted Sphinx by Joy AdamsonLast Chance to See by Mark CarwardineThe Tiger by John Vaillant
Before It's Too Late: Endangered Species
182 books — 84 voters
Silent Spring by Rachel CarsonBorn Free by Joy AdamsonA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonWild by Cheryl StrayedNever Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
Best Essays about Plants, Animals and Nature
253 books — 56 voters

Salt by Mark KurlanskyCod by Mark KurlanskyThe Botany of Desire by Michael PollanAn Edible History of Humanity by Tom StandageFour Fish by Paul Greenberg
Food & Drink Histories (nonfiction)
195 books — 43 voters
What Moves the Dead by T. KingfisherMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-GarciaSorrowland by Rivers SolomonThe Beauty by Aliya WhiteleyRosewater by Tade Thompson
Fungus Fiction
50 books — 43 voters

The Snow Leopard by Peter MatthiessenThe Rhino Crash by Nick NewmanNo Word for Wilderness by Roger ThompsonExplorer's Guide to Wildlife Adventures by J.Z. HuntVoices in the Ocean by Susan Casey
In Decline: Threatened or Vulnerable Species
120 books — 42 voters
Born Free by Joy AdamsonWatership Down by Richard AdamsThe Spotted Sphinx by Joy AdamsonBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee BrownO Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Plains, Savannahs, Prairies, and Grasslands,
347 books — 38 voters

The Edge of the Sea by Rachel CarsonThe Soul of an Octopus by Sy MontgomeryLongitude by Dava SobelPoseidon's Steed The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality by Helen ScalesSpirals in Time by Helen Scales
Natural History of the Seashore for Adults
163 books — 36 voters
Unseen City by Nathanael JohnsonThe Urban Bestiary by Lyanda Lynn HauptLook Up! by Annette LeBlanc CateDarwin Comes to Town by Menno SchilthuizenWild Urban Plants of the Northeast by Peter del Tredici
Nature in the Suburban and Urban Environment
295 books — 34 voters

The Tree by Colin TudgeThe Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenThe Wild Trees by Richard PrestonA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonThe Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
Deciduous and Coniferous Forests
237 books — 27 voters
The Snow Leopard by Peter MatthiessenInto Thin Air by Jon KrakauerA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonMountains of the Mind by Robert MacfarlaneThere's Always the Hills by Cameron McNeish
Mountains and Highlands
117 books — 22 voters

Life of Pi by Yann MartelThe Jungle Book by Rudyard KiplingTiger Moon by Antonia MichaelisThe Tiger by John VaillantIn the Forests of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Books about Tigers
58 books — 21 voters
In a Sunburned Country by Bill BrysonRed by Terry Tempest WilliamsDesert Solitaire by Edward AbbeyTracks by Robyn DavidsonTrack of the Cat by Nevada Barr
Deserts of the World
116 books — 20 voters

Eyes Like a Hurricane by Taryn NikolicStony Kill by Marie White SmallRiver Notes by Barry LopezThe Great Lakes by Wayne GradyJourney of the Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgomery
Waterfalls, Rivers, Steams, Lakes, and Ponds
162 books — 20 voters
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererWicked Plants by Amy StewartIn the Shadow of Slavery by Judith A. CarneyGinseng Dreams by Kristin JohannsenPapyrus by John Gaudet
Ethnobotany
51 books — 13 voters

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererThe Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenThe Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaolaThe Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaolaThe Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola
Flower and Plant lore
98 books — 13 voters
The Principia by Isaac NewtonThe Origin of Species by Charles DarwinRelativity by Albert EinsteinOn The Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus CopernicusA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Science Through History
226 books — 11 voters

Rats by Robert SullivanLily Pond by Hope RydenThe Irish Wildlife Book by Fergus O'GormanPaddy by R.D. LawrenceEager by Ben Goldfarb
Natural History of Rodents
40 books — 9 voters
Vincent Van Gogh by Ingo F. WaltherLeonardo. The Complete Drawings by Frank ZöllnerMichelangelo by Frank ZöllnerLeonardo Da Vinci The Complete Paintings by Frank ZöllnerMichelangelo. The Graphic Work by Thomas Ppper
Taschen Bibliotheca Universalis
110 books — 8 voters

The Language of Flowers by Odessa BegayFloriography by Jessica RouxA Victorian Flower Dictionary by Mandy KirkbyWildflower Folklore by Laura C. MartinThoreau's Wildflowers by Henry David Thoreau
Language of Flowers
11 books — 8 voters
The Song of the Dodo by David QuammenHigh Moon over the Amazon by Patricia Chapple WrightKakapo by Alison BallanceElephant Dance by Tammie MatsonThe Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Natural History of Islands of the Ocean and Lakes
153 books — 7 voters

The ABCs of California's Native Bees by Krystle HickmanWhen Mountain Lions Are Neighbors by Beth Pratt-BergstromGrowing California Native Plants by Marjorie G. SchmidtSecrets of the Oak Woodlands by Kate MarianchildThe California Native Landscape by Greg Rubin
California ecology
39 books — 6 voters
Never Home Alone by Rob DunnWeeds by Alexander C. MartinA Weed by Any Other Name by Nancy GiftThe Coming Plague by Laurie GarrettThis Is Your Brain on Parasites by Kathleen McAuliffe
Weeds, pests, invasives, and diseases
132 books — 5 voters

Can You Hear the Trees Talking? by Peter WohllebenA Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts AstonWe Are the Gardeners by Joanna GainesBecause of an Acorn by Lola M. SchaeferExploring Nature Activity Book for Kids by Kim Andrews
Great Plant Life Books for Families (Digital Formats)
14 books — 3 voters
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John WiswellJust Like Home by Sarah GaileyNatural Beauty by Ling Ling HuangA Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock
the slime and gorp
4 books — 2 voters

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