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Quarterly Challenges
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2024 Q1 Challenge: Science, Climate Change, Environment
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I will try this challenge with one nonfiction book each month. My three books are All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis, and The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson.
Science, Climate Change. the Environment.☀ Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
☀ A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
✔️= planned reads, ✓ = added on; also had two DNFs ...updated March 25
✔️Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver - nature focused poetry
✔️A Book of Migrations: Some Passages in Ireland by Rebecca Solnit
✔️ The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World - edited by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Lauret Savoy, essays from various POC writers, many/majority(?) women
✓ The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, Indigenous YA climate fiction
✓ A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
✓ A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
I'm planning on reading these from my shelves:The Soul of an Octopus (group read)
The Light Pirate (climate fiction)
The Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship (nature/environment memoir)
It has been a while since I laid out my reading plans for a Quarterly Challenge. Here's hoping that 2024 is more settled than 2023.I'm only planning on 2 reads for this challenge:
If my other reading plans go smoothly, I may add Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society by Cordelia Fine
I can't resist sharing already-I started early on this collection The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World and it's been beautiful so far. So good it makes me sad there are only 20 reviews on GR, so I guess not widely known. I guess it's early to say that though. I'm only 25% through it.
It is mostly essays, although the first contribution is a poem by Native American Ofelia Zepeda. Perhaps there will be more poetry.
I have read 8 of 33 pieces so far and these included essays from Jamaica Kincaid and Camille T. Dungy and others I've not heard of who are of Japanese, Puerto Rican, Filipina, and Nordic-Nigerian descent, and so far mostly women. I'm loving the cultural diversity and how it's been reflected in their stories and their relationships with nature.
Jen wrote: "I can't resist sharing already-I started early on this collection The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World and it's been beautiful so far. So good it makes me s..."
This looks really interesting Jen, thanks for sharing. Is it very American centric?
I plan on reading 3 books for this challenge out of the following:Fiction:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
From my nonfiction challenge:
The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker
Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World by Linda Hogan
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon (this is a beast of a book so I might start it this quarter but won't get it finished if i read any of the others)
The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir by Leslie Marmon Silko
Hannah wrote: "Jen wrote: "I can't resist sharing already-I started early on this collection The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World and it's been beautiful so far. So good i..."
I would say, so far (25% through), it has been US-centric, but not entirely.
For example, of the 8 I have read, Aileen Suzara wrote about both the Philippines and US; Faith Adiele spoke some of Nigeria but more of US (and, fun fact, gave no indication she is now a Buddhist nun, which I learned later); and J. Drew Lanham (Black American male ecologist/ornithologist) wrote a wonderful piece about a trip to South Africa.
Hannah wrote: "I plan on reading 3 books for this challenge out of the following:Fiction:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
All Over Creation by [author:..."
I love your Ruth Ozeki and Alice Walker ideas for this challenge.
And I look forward to sharing thoughts on the Silko. My plan was to read it in January sometime.
I love the idea of this challenge! I'm not sure what I will read, but I definitely have stuff on my shelves that would count (all non-fiction). I'll have to go down and peruse the shelves (I say like it's not one of my favorite things to do - LOL). I might read the Emily St. John Mandel book. I read Station Eleven, and I absolutely loved it. Then I binge-watched the show, and at first, I loved it as well - even with the changes. But then they changed something very fundamental, and it changed things in a way that made it cringey and uncomfortable. With Mandel being a big part of the production, it honestly put me off her work. However, it has been a while, so I might give another one of her books a shot.
I will read The Soul of an Octopus and - as I loved Braiding Sweetgrass - will try Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Definitely joining in the January read with The Soul of an Octopus, but also finally reading The Calculating Stars which is an alt history based around the space race. It puts me in the mood to read anything about the Mercury 13, so I might squeeze another non-fiction in about that as well.Your cultural compilation sounds really appealing Jen, so that’s going on my tbr along with Michaela’s Wall Kimmerer. I also really enjoyed Braiding Sweetgrass, so would eagerly read another by her.
I am reading Reindeer: An Arctic Life by Tilly Smith and couldn’t be happier. If the description appeals, I recommend it to you.
Carol wrote: "I am reading Reindeer: An Arctic Life by Tilly Smith and couldn’t be happier. If the description appeals, I recommend it to you."Sounds great! Put it on my tbr list, but not sure if I can get it anywhere.
Does anyone have a POV on Aimee Nezhukumatathil's non-poetry books? I'd love a recommendation since there are 6 - 7, but they may not be my vibe at all, so I need inputs.At the Drive-In Volcano
Fishbone
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
are a few.
Right now I am reading Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too by Beth Terry. I'm not very far in, but I am enjoying it. It is a little overwhelming tough. I think I may have to break it down into smaller chunks. It's a cool concept though. She started to watch and check her plastic consumption, and then wrote about her journey. I would like to get a better handle on my plastic consumption. It's gotten a little out of hand with me working three jobs and a side gig while raising a family. Now that my dad is going to be moving in with us, I know I need to get a handle on it before it spins wildly out of control.
I have finished Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too. by Beth Terry, and it was as good as I thought it was going to be. I definitely would recommend it!
I started The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir by Silko recently. It felt like a slightly difficult start but it may be just me shifting gears into a new book. This feeling was short-lived. Overall, finding it beautiful so far, and as I read Ceremony by her recently, I'm loving the environment parallels and personal backstory that clearly tie to the novel.@Hannah, I know this was on your TBR for this challenge. Just a warning that chapter 6 is painful, about the Indian slave trade. But chapters are very short, so the experience is short-lived. I'm just at chapter 8 now.
Here's one I just learned about, I wish I had time for, for this challenge. I may swap it in if I can't keep my mind off it-The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Jen wrote: "Here's one I just learned about, I wish I had time for, for this challenge. I may swap it in if I can't keep my mind off it-The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman"
I read The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by her, and really liked it, though most of the birds were unknown to me, and some illustrations would have helped.
Jen wrote: "I started The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir by Silko recently. It felt like a slightly difficult start but it may be just me shifting gears into a new book. This feeling was short-lived..."Thanks Jen. I want to start this after my current indigenous read. Your updates are encouraging :)
I'm about two-thirds through the Leslie Marmon Silko memoir, have read 3 of 5 parts. I loved the first two parts entitled Ancestors and Rattlesnakes. But it's started to go downhill for me unfortunately. Intending to continue with hopes it gets better but I'm skeptical. This is a disappointment after falling in love with her novel Ceremony which was a 5-star read for me (forgot to include it in my best-of-2023 post).On the flipside, I am still enjoying the essay collection The Colors of Nature and I just fell in love with one by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Only after reading it did I realize it's the author of the few books many are raving about here- Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss. So those immediately went on my TBR. In this essay she talks about Native American languages, how they differ, how she struggles to learn one, and how they shape one's way of seeing the world. She also talks about teaching biology students and trying to bring together western science and indigenous wisdom. I'm curious how much this sounds like what y'all found in her books.
I'm so intrigued by your comments about The Colors of Nature and The Bird Way. Have to keep both of these in mind.
This is an intriguing challenge for me, as this is one of my favorite sub-genres of fiction as well as non-fiction. I work in Northern California, helping California Indian Tribes and counties, non-profits, and community organizations build capacity for climate adaptation and wildfire resilience. So reading about it isn't really an escape from my day job, but it can often be inspiring.Susan, The Light Pirate was one of my favorite books of 2023, I recommended it to everyone I know!
So far this year I've read two short novellas the fit the them, one by a woman, Arboreality, and one by a Queer Indigenous writer, Sordidez. Both of these were published by the excellent Stelliform Press, which focus on "genre and literary fiction and creative non-fiction which takes up the conversation around the climate emergency and an intersectional view of environmental justice." I'm looking for more books from this press to read soon. I'm also about to pick up Samantha Harvey's new book, Orbital, from the library.
Yesterday I finished The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. It was fantastic! It is speculative fiction set in a near-future Florida drastically affected by climate change. This was one of those books I didn't want to end while reading it and wanted to start over once I'd finished it.
Yall are selling me on The Light Pirate- adding to TBR. I do enjoy reading books taking place in a region I'm familiar with and I grew up mostly in Florida...
Has anyone read any books by Nan Shepherd? I just read a blurb about The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland and am quite taken, but would love to hear someone else's take on their favorite or anything else about this or others of Shepherd's books.
Rose wrote: "This is an intriguing challenge for me, as this is one of my favorite sub-genres of fiction as well as non-fiction. I work in Northern California, helping California Indian Tribes and counties, non..."What incredible work, Rose!! Am intrigued by your recs and adding them to my TBR.
Carol wrote: "Rose wrote: "This is an intriguing challenge for me, as this is one of my favorite sub-genres of fiction as well as non-fiction. I work in Northern California, helping California Indian Tribes and ..."Arboreality was wonderful, I highly recommend it. Sordidez was interesting, but for me not as compelling - YMMV.
I am currently listening to Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet and actually really struggling with it - I really don't buy much of what I've heard so far. But that's actually the point of the book - that what many of us believe about the current state of the climate crises is not accurate. I'm definitely going to have to do some deep-dives into some of her claims.
I've taken some unexpected turns this quarter, reading some speculative type genres I previously tended to think of as "not my thing".For this challenge I think Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves and Becky Chambers' Monk & Robot series qualify. I finished A Psalm for the Wild-Built yesterday and promptly began the sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
Nice, Jen! I agree that Becky Chambers' books qualify - I love reading about a future where an ecological vision & consciousness underlies social organization. The Marrow Thieves is definitely the other side of that coin . . .
Carol wrote: "Has anyone read any books by Nan Shepherd? I just read a blurb about The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland and am quite taken, but..."I read this last year and absolutely loved it! My meager review: "This nonfiction nature book was first written in the 1940s about the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. It was never published until 1977. It is a lyrical and poetic analysis of the various elements of the mountain: its landscape, its water, its bugs and plants, and its people. The audio is fabulous." Her chapter regarding the people who lived on the mountain brought me to tears.
I am so glad we did this challenge. I find myself looking at books I normally would not seriously prioritize reading or even pay much attention to. And yet - because of this challenge - I picked up this book at the library last week: The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with our Wild Neighbors by Erika Howsare and am very excited to put it next in my queue. And because of the first book I read for this challenge, Reindeer: An Arctic Life, I "adopted" Butter last week and am happily anticipating my adoption package coming in the mail from Scotland. Yes, I do have a thing for deer of all varieties. Why do you ask? : )
Carol wrote: "I am so glad we did this challenge. I find myself looking at books I normally would not seriously prioritize reading or even pay much attention to. And yet - because of this challenge - I picked up..."Butter?? That's cool!
And yes, same. There are so many new things on my radar because of this challenge that I hope to get to eventually. I'm glad to have learned of the Nan Shepherd from you. And I'll be curious to hear about the new deer book. I could be tempted by that as there are so many deer where I live.
The other day I finished Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang. I was mixed on this one, as I liked the story but felt held at arm's length by the writing. This novel is climate fiction, in which an elite group has set up residence in an area that is still livable after a smog blankets much of the globe and blocks out the sun, affecting food sources. It's very much about hubris and how the rich and powerful will attempt to survive the climate crisis. There is also a lot of food in this novel, since the protagonist is a chef.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Land of Milk and Honey (other topics)The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with our Wild Neighbors (other topics)
Reindeer: An Arctic Life (other topics)
The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland (other topics)
A Psalm for the Wild-Built (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
C Pam Zhang (other topics)Erika Howsare (other topics)
Nan Shepherd (other topics)
Becky Chambers (other topics)
Robert C. O'Brien (other topics)
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Nonfiction or fiction books qualify. Our challenge starts 1 January and ends 31 March. Both of our January group reads fit our theme, so members who opt to participate in get an easy headstart: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (fiction) and The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (NF)
This thread is the place to share plans, thoughts and conversations about our challenge reads. We encourage members to engage in this thread in order to have more conversations between us about the books we're reading and choosing; however, if it's important to you to set up and maintain a separate thread to capture your progress, feel free to do so in this Quarterly Challenge folder.
Here's a link to the widget you can use (at your option) to track your goal and progress for this challenge. https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...
Let us know what you're thinking about reading, share lists and suggestions, seek resources and recommendations at your option, and then tell us how you liked the books you read as you go. Who plans to join this challenge?