I love good nature writing. My favorite author in the genre is Robert Macfarlane, with his mix of personal writing/ culture/ nature/ history. I have also loved Barry Lopez, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Rachel Carson, and others.
Who else should I be reading? Bonus points for authors who are women or POC but all suggestions welcome.
by NoZombie7064
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*Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World* by Christian Cooper. Also, *An Immense World* by Ed Yong.
If you’re okay with fiction A Year in Provence celebrates the countryside in southern France & nature 🙂
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
* *The Hour of Land* (Terry Tempest Williams)
* *The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World* (Andrea Wulf)
* *H is for Hawk* (Helen Macdonald)
* *Why Fish Don’t Exist* (Lulu Miller)
* *A Walk in the Woods* (Bill Bryson)
* *American Wolf* (Nate Blakeslee)
* *Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter* (Ben Goldfarb)
* *On Trails: An Exploration* (Robert Moor)
* *In Search of the Canary Tree* (Lauren Oakes)
I love Robert Macfarlane! I recently read Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard and really enjoyed that. I thought it was a good mix of nature/science/personal narrative
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd!
A mix of nature, faith, grief- Here if You Need Me – Kate Braestrup.
Sand County Almanac- Aldo Leopold
ETA: if you like fiction then Nevada Barr’s mysteries. She used to work for the NPS and each book takes place in a different park. She gives a great sense and vibe of the individual sites. Blind Descent absolutely triggered my claustrophobia.
Agree with Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Would add Wendell Berry. He’s written very thoughtfully about nature and the land for a long time.
Waterlog, and Wildwood, by Roger Deakin
Islands of Abandonment, by Cal Flyn
The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben
Take a look at Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. There is an amazing book also by Richard Powers named the “The overstory”.
In non-fiction “Magdalena” by Wade Davis combines all of that you look, except for the personal writing.
There are lots of good books on birds and birding-The Big Year ( book) is a fun read, Living on the Wind by Scott Wiedensaul is older but good, The Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman is a classic.
I really enjoyed The Comfort of Crows because it’s presenting nature through the lens of suburbia.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
Horatio Clare is pretty good – lots of nature and memoir.