Nature Literature discussion
Reading or Just Finished this Nature Related Book...
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Sher
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Mar 28, 2021 03:55PM
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Sher wrote: "Thanks Cara-- and please be sure to let us know what you will be reading next."I’m actually in the middle of a great new book: Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. I’d be happy to host a side read or nominate it for the May book, if folks are interested. It just came out this month but I was able to get it from my library within a couple weeks.
In the few chapters I’ve read so far, a lot of the material is familiar (and certainly the usual suspects of famous conservationists are featured), but I really like the way Nijhuis presents the social context along with the history of the conservation movement.
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I just posted my review of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis (review here). I loved this book and think it is an excellent overview of wildlife conservation history, even for people with some familiarity already. I highly recommend it.
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John wrote: "Cara wrote: "I just posted my review of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis (review here). I loved this book and think it is an excellent o..."Thank you, John and Sher -- so glad this book sounds interesting to both of you. I'll gladly join discussion if it becomes a book of the month read!
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Is anyone else reading any nature literature at the moment?
Sher wrote: "I am currently reading Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants. It's a huge book and filled with detailed illustrations and ..."That sounds interesting, Sher! I recently picked up The Radiant Lives of Animals by Linda Hogan. I missed when this group read her book Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World, but I have since read and loved it. This new book has a similar style of essays as well as some poetry.
Cara wrote: "Julie wrote: "Cara, I haven’t read The Final Forest. I live for all things trees. But I have to ask is there any goods news for the trees in this book? I fear being devastated."
I just finished re..."
I grew up in a western Oregon timber community, which turned me into a conservationist, both for the devastation to the forests and the devastation corporate driven, unsustainable logging did to my community. And I worked in DC on the Northwest Forest Plan in the early 90s for a coalition of conservation groups. While it was groundbreaking, it had many flaws--in fact, they changed the definition of old growth forest (to include much younger stands) in order to make it appear they were saving more than they were, and to allow more big trees to stay in the timber base. But it was a gamechanger for sure. There are more protections for rivers, for municipal water supplies that originate in the National Forests. The owls aren't doing so well. The biggest issues today are climate change, the massive forest fires, and the agencies' response to burned forests. They use burned forests as an excuse to expand logging, calling it "salvage logging." It is one of the worst things you can do to a fragile, burned forest--impacts to the soil are tremendous. It has been so long since I read The Final Forest. I should do a reread.
I just finished re..."
I grew up in a western Oregon timber community, which turned me into a conservationist, both for the devastation to the forests and the devastation corporate driven, unsustainable logging did to my community. And I worked in DC on the Northwest Forest Plan in the early 90s for a coalition of conservation groups. While it was groundbreaking, it had many flaws--in fact, they changed the definition of old growth forest (to include much younger stands) in order to make it appear they were saving more than they were, and to allow more big trees to stay in the timber base. But it was a gamechanger for sure. There are more protections for rivers, for municipal water supplies that originate in the National Forests. The owls aren't doing so well. The biggest issues today are climate change, the massive forest fires, and the agencies' response to burned forests. They use burned forests as an excuse to expand logging, calling it "salvage logging." It is one of the worst things you can do to a fragile, burned forest--impacts to the soil are tremendous. It has been so long since I read The Final Forest. I should do a reread.
Sam wrote: "Cara wrote: "Julie wrote: "Cara, I haven’t read The Final Forest. I live for all things trees. But I have to ask is there any goods news for the trees in this book? I fear being devastated."I jus..."
Sam, thanks for sharing your perspective! Really interesting to hear those details about the NWFP. I am actually working on spotted owl research now and really wanted to understand the NWFP and the controversies of the 80s and 90s that led up to its inception. The Final Forest was definitely an educational read in this regard even if it was infuriating at times. In particular, learning about the history of forest management policies was really helpful in understanding how things got so bad, and why many communities were so dependent on timber harvest. After reading it, I listened to the OPB podcast series "Timber Wars," which covered a lot of the same material but from a more updated perspective, including the issues with Oregon tax structure and logging on private land. And they had an episode about fire, which as you said is a huge issue now, and something I am trying to learn more about. I thought the podcast was really well done.
Another plug for the "Timber Wars podcast on OPB - really gave me the history I didn't have (growing up in the eastern US). The series is very well produced.
Cindy Ann wrote: "Another plug for the "Timber Wars podcast on OPB - really gave me the history I didn't have (growing up in the eastern US). The series is very well produced."
Just recently rewatched that. Features a few comrades of mine, and I rewatched it after one of them tragically died in an Oregon forest fire last year--George Atiyeh, who fought to protect the Opal Creek area on the Willamette National Forest. . He was quite the character. Rest in peace George.
Just recently rewatched that. Features a few comrades of mine, and I rewatched it after one of them tragically died in an Oregon forest fire last year--George Atiyeh, who fought to protect the Opal Creek area on the Willamette National Forest. . He was quite the character. Rest in peace George.
Cindy Ann wrote: "Another plug for the "Timber Wars podcast on OPB - really gave me the history I didn't have (growing up in the eastern US). The series is very well produced."
And oops--I thought you were referring to the TV documentary Timber Wars--might have been OPB? Or CBS/NBC/ABC?
And oops--I thought you were referring to the TV documentary Timber Wars--might have been OPB? Or CBS/NBC/ABC?
Peter Wohlleben's The Secret Network of Nature: The Delicate Balance of All Living Things (folow up to The Hidden Life of Trees) was a delight to read, and I'm reminded of it with a recent feature in the New Scientist about the network of trees and how they communicate to protect each other. I'm now currently reading Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures about fungi as inspired by Robert MacFarlane's Underland: A Deep Time Journey. Really interesting so far as I love learning about mycorrhizal fungi, and it's particularly close to my heart as most of his research was set in our local Epping Forest in London.
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Thanks for sharing. I loved Sheldrake's book and also am a huge fan of Robert Macfarlane and _Underland_ was a profound- well, actually both of those book made a huge impression on me.
Thanks for mentioning Peter Wohlleben's book. Looking at it now...
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Sounds good to me. Love red foxes. My son who lives in a small mountain town in Idaho has a regular fox friend in back of his house. I’ll be joining you on this one.
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Sher wrote: "Hello Nat Lit friends-- I would like to read this book In September, and I am looking for a few folks to join me-- see my Side Read request here...https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"
Very cool side read. We've got tons of (urban) foxes here in our side of London. We have some playing around in our garden as well as in the village streets. I'd probably be interested in reading this as well, although I also have The Hidden World of the Fox on my TBR!
Have any of you read Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way by David Barrie? I read it a few months ago and thought it was fascinating. Barrie documents the research uncovering amazing insights on the navigation of animals, especially insects and birds.
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/sho..."
Honey- do you also have coyote in London... or just the fox. Do you see fox during daylight hours? It would be interesting if you posted updates in the Daily Nature Observations thread sharing what you see on a daily basis ... or seasonal ... or whenever you have some observations to share... what keeps the feral pigeon population in check in London?
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Sher wrote: "I would be very interested, though, in learning more about how insects navigate... how thoroughly is that covered in the Barrie book?.."I think he's pretty thorough. He cites specific scientists, crediting their work and showing how subsequent scientists stand on the shoulders of previous scientists by building on their research.
You asked specifically about insect navigation. I knew bumble bees communicate through a wiggly dance. But I didn’t know, for example, that dung beetles navigate by storing an image of the positions of the sun, moon, stars, and Milky Way, and use the image as their guide. Or that ants have the apparent ability to find their way home by counting their own footsteps. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but Barrie describes the experiments and research to back the claims.
I don’t know if it's ok to post book reviews on this site, but this is a link to my review where I go into more detail in case any of you are interested.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sher wrote: "Honey wrote: "Honey- do you also have coyote in London... or just the fox. Do you see fox during daylight hours? It would be interesting if you posted updates in the Daily Nature Observations thread... "Cheers for the thread Sher, I will do.
Haven't spotted coyotes here, although grew up seeing tons of them in California.
Yes, we see foxes in daytime too. They're absolutely lovely to observe, especially the cubs. I've taken photos and videos of them playing in gardens/streets/etc. There was also a heartbreaking episode when an injured fox decided to seek comfort in our carpark (we called RSPCA, our version of ASPCA to help it).
Such a shame we can't post photos on GoodReads!
Wondering if anyone has read anything written by James Raffan (Canadian writer/explorer/speaker)? I just recently discovered him through reading Ice Walker: A Polar Bear's Journey through the Fragile Arctic which follows the life of a polar bear in an ever-changing world impacted by climate change. The bear's story is based on Raffan's years of study and his familiarity with the Arctic. He seems to be quite a prolific writer, and I've just started reading another of his books - Circling the Midnight Sun - can already tell that I'm going to enjoy this book too.
Pam, I hadn't heard of Raffan or his books, but they do look interesting.
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the ice lands always have interested me! Thanks for sharing- Raffan is new to me also.
I'm about halfway through Circling the Midnight Sun and am enjoying it very much. In my naivete I hadn't really given much thought to the fact that the issues the Inuit and indigenous of Canada's northern climate (I'm Canadian) are struggling with are also being encountered by other indigenous people of the Arctic regions (loss of culture, impact of resource development on the land and their way of life, climate change etc.) I've enjoyed reading about the culture and traditions of those Raffan is encountering on his circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle.
I read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. It won the 1975 Pulitzer for non-fiction. I enjoyed it although I think she went a little overboard with excessive detail and frequent intrusions of personal reflections.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Hidden Life of Trees: what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world by Peter Wohlleben; translated from the German by Jane Billinghurst.Full of fascinating insights about trees. The author is passionate about trees and may go a little overboard in the degree to which he humanizes trees.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Sher wrote: "Hi Tamara- I read this some years back and though the same thing, but now a lot more research supports Wohlleben's views of tree communication and how trees support and protect each other, and of c..."Wow! I didn't know that. I'll probably have to read the book again some time soon and take his anthropomorphism a little more seriously.
Thanks, Sher.
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Tamara-- the above could be one of your next reads. :)
Sher wrote: "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. Tamara-- the above could be one of your next reads. :)"
Thanks, Sher. It looks fascinating. I've put it on my TBR. And the good news is my library has a copy!
I just finished reading Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane. It was humbling and inspiring and thought-provoking. He describes some fascinating places that lie beneath our feet. It was hard to wrap my brain around all the places he went to, especially since some of them look a bit terrifying. It's a great book and really well written.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I will be posting soon the book I have been reading for months - I am sure it will make my top 5 list 2022. More soon...
Sher, my son introduced me to Macfarlane's books when I mentioned I want to read more nature literature. I'm planning to read Macfarlane's other books.Looking forward to hearing about your current read.
I have undertaken a project to read more southern nature writers since this is where I live. In addition to reading our book of the month selection, I read some of Janisse Ray's other works this summer. My library connects to Hoopla, so many are available online as eBooks and audiobooks. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.
I had read this before, so I listened to the audiobook this time. Here is a quotation from the print edition:
“To find myself among what has been and what remains, I go to where my grandmother’s name is inscribed on a clay hill beside my grandfather. The cemetery rests in a sparse stand of remnant longleaf pine, where clumps of wiregrass can still be found. Rom the grave, I can see a hardwood drain, hung with Spanish moss, and beyond that a cypress swamp, and almost to the river, but beyond that, there is only sky.” – Introduction, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.
My Comments on the book:
Janisse Ray grew up in a junkyard along U.S. Highway 1, hidden from Florida-bound vacationers by the hedge along the road and by hulks of old cars and stacks of blown-out tires. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood is her story of how a childhood spent in rural isolation and steeped in religious fundamentalism grew into a passion for saving the almost vanished longleaf pine ecosystem that once covered the South. Ray redeems the image of crackers and the natural landscape she calls home in language at once colloquial, elegiac, and informative. She describes finding some pitcher plants growing in a wet part of the junkyard, and this may have been a transformative moment.
In her book The Wildcard Quilt, she tells the story of her return to South Georgia to live on and reclaim her grandmother’s farm. The book echoes the storyline in Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.
Drifting into Darien
The first half of this book is devoted to the story of a kayak trip down the length of the Altamaha River. For the second half, she revisited noteworthy sites on the river and wrote of the struggle to preserve the Altamaha watershed.
She has also appeared in a few YouTube videos. In this one, she discusses her latest book, Wild Spectacle, Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUAtG...
I recently read Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from the Conservationists by Dyana Furmansky. Edge was arguably the most prominent American woman conservationist before Rachel Carson, and this was an interesting look at her life and work. She is most well-known for establishing the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and for her criticism of the early National Audubon Society for its pro-hunting and selective "conservation" agenda.One thing I thought was particularly interesting was how Edge listed herself as sole author on many of her most controversial writings, allowing prominent scientists to remain anonymous out of fear that their careers would be harmed by speaking out. She also had relationships with politicians who understood the role that her advocacy served in pushing forward a conservation agenda that they could not always promote otherwise. She accomplished a lot in her career and was not afraid to ruffle feathers, often at the expense of her own friendships and happiness.
I first read about Rosalie Edge in Michelle Nijhuis's book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, which is one of my favorites. I'm not usually a fan of biographies and I wasn't interested in all the material in this one, but overall I am glad to have read it for a better understanding of conservation history and appreciation of Edge's work.
I just finished reading Martin Marten by Brian Doyle. The book is a treasure. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
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I'm behind on the group read, but I finally read The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas W. Tallamy.I thought it was interesting. The focus was more on the little critters that inhabit and rely on the oak tree than on the oak tree, itself. In that sense, the title was misleading. But I found it interesting and educational. I know next to nothing about flora and fauna so I'm trying to educate myself. Thanks for suggesting this book as a group read.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I felt the same about the book, but the author is an entomologist so I guess I should have expected the emphasis on insects.
Has the discussion of Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World started. I can't find it.
Ray, here’s the link to Embrace Fearlessly discussion https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... Glad to know you will be chiming in.
Hi, all. It's hot and humid in northern MN today and I'm taking it easy by reading The Backyard Bird Chronicles.Tan is quite a nature / bird enthusiast. She's observant and funny. And her sketches and bird portraits are a real treat.
She starts by knowing three birds in her backyard and works her way up to sixty-three, so it offers tips and info any beginner can enjoy and learn from. I'm loving this book!
I am reading a new book by Janisse Ray, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... She is the author of The Seed Underground, Wild Spectacle, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, and several other nature books. Her latest book is Craft and Current, a handbook for writers. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Nature Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Open Throat (other topics)North Woods (other topics)
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Followed by the Lark (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Henry Hoke (other topics)Henry Hoke (other topics)
Douglas W. Tallamy (other topics)
Robert Macfarlane (other topics)
Peter Wohlleben (other topics)
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