Category Archives: nature

This is Happiness by Niall Williams

11 Saturday Mar 2023

Posted by in Fiction, meaning of life, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

How did I miss this book in 2019?! Travel back to a simpler time in a small Irish parish with a young boy/man living with his grandparents.  Niall Williams’ language and turn of phrase will keep you savoring every twist and turn of the character’s experiences made so real you will think you are right there with him. A portrait of community and the power of stories.

“Warm and whimsical, sometimes sorrowful, but always expressed in curlicues of Irish lyricism, this charming book makes varied use of its electrical metaphor, not least to express the flickering pulse of humanity. A story both little and large and one that pulls out all the Irish stops.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Williams has the eye of a poet and the raconteur’s knack for finding a tale in the most unpromising nook of everyday life.” ―The Daily Mail

“The beauty and power of Irish author Niall Williams’ writing lies in his ability to invest the quotidian with wonder. A truly peerless wordsmith, he even makes descriptions of gleaming white appliances and telephone wire sing…the book is hilarious among its many other virtues. Buy, rent, get your hands on this book somehow and savor every word of it. Its title says it all: Plunging into This is Happiness is happiness indeed.” ―BookPage, starred review

Find this book

Fellowship Point  by Alice Elliott Dark

28 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by in Fiction, nature, United States

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

“Fellowship Point is a marvel. Intricately constructed, utterly unique, this novel set on the coast of Maine is filled with insights about writing, about the perils and freedoms of aging, about the great mysteries, as well as the pleasures, of life. The story about the relationships between three women unfolds, as life does, through joys and losses, confrontations and confessions, with twists along the way that change your perception of all that came before. This is a world is so closely and acutely observed that I felt I lived in it. I was sorry to leave.”—Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Longing for an old-fashioned 19th century novel – but without the time travel? FELLOWSHIP POINT earns its nearly 600 pages with a quietly complex structure, starring two octogenarian women whose long friendship is entangled with their families’ landholdings in coastal Maine. As they seek to save the acreage from development, Agnes Lee and Polly Wister must also confront their past choices and find some peace in the present.”—Los Angeles Times

“Dark (Think of England) celebrates women’s friendships and artistic mentorship in this expansive yet intimate novel. The families and their grudges and grievances fill a broad canvas, and within it Dark delves deeply into the relationships between Agnes and her work, humans and the land, mothers and children, and, most indelibly, the sustenance and joy provided by a long-held female friendship. It’s a remarkable achievement.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Enthralling, masterfully written . . . Fellowship Point is a novel rich with social and psychological insights, both earnest and sly, big ideas grounded in individual emotions, a portrait of a tightly knit community made up of artfully drawn, individual souls.”–Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review

Find this book large print audio cd’s

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt  

05 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in detective, Fiction, mystery, nature, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

This uplifting story features a recently widowed woman working at an aquarium, a young man trying to find his father, and in an unusual choice of narrators, a smart and mischievous octopus. I loved this small seaside town and its residents, each dealing with their own issues, and the book’s humor and heart.

“Shelby Van Pelt has done the impossible. She’s created a perfect story with imperfect characters, that is so heartwarming, so mysterious, and so completely absorbing, you won’t be able to put it down because when you’re not reading this book you’ll be hugging it.”— Jamie Ford, author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy and The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

“Infused with heartfelt humor, Van Pelt’s elegant portrait of a widowed woman who finds understanding and connection with a clever octopus is refreshingly, if surprisingly, relatable. Despite the unorthodox relationship at its core, the debut novel offers a wholly original meditation on grief and the bonds that keep us afloat.” — Elle

“As Van Pelt’s zippy, fun-to-follow prose engages at every turn, readers will find themselves rooting for the many characters, hoping that they’ll find whatever it is they seek. Each character is profoundly human, with flaws and eccentricities crafted with care. But what makes Van Pelt’s novel most charming and joyful is the tender friendship between species, and the ways Tova and Marcellus make each other ever more remarkable and bright.” — BookPage

Find this book large print audio cd’s

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard 

08 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by in 20th century, Biography, nature, Non-fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

“Simard writes of her own life, born and raised into a logging world in the rainforests of British Columbia, of her days as a child spent cataloging the trees from the forest and how she came to love and respect them—embarking on a journey of discovery, and struggle. She’s been compared to Rachel Carson, hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in a way that is dazzling and profound. Her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide.” (Amazon)

“Galvanizing . . . As Simard elucidates her revolutionary experiments, replete with
gorgeous descriptions and moments of fear and wonder, a vision of the forest as an ‘intelligent, perceptive and responsive,’ comes into focus . . . A masterwork of planetary significance.” —Booklist (starred review)
 
“Simard artfully blends science with memoir in her eye-opening debut on the ‘startling secrets’ of trees . . As moving as it is educational, this groundbreaking work entrances.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Simard has spent decades with her hands in the soil, designing experiments and piecing together the remarkable mysteries of forest ecology . . . elegantly detailed . . . deeply personal . . . A testament to Simard’s skill as a science communicator. Her research is clearly defined, the steps of her experiments articulated, her astonishing results explained and the implications laid bare: We ignore the complexity of forests at our peril.”—The New York Times

Find this book large print

Why Peacocks?: An Unlikely Search for Meaning in the World’s Most Magnificent Bird by Sean Flynn

28 Wednesday Jul 2021

Posted by in 20th century, anecdotes, nature, Non-fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

What a sparkler of a book!  This book is a memoir about a family of 2 journalist parents, their 2 sons, their move from city life to North Carolina suburbs and their accidental pet choices.   It is woven with wit and wonder, reflecting on the mysterious allure of peacocks. I enjoyed every minute reading this book.

“[Flynn’s] writing is often witty, sometimes glorious, and his tales wry and charming…Something magical happens to this hard-bitten reporter as he gets to know his peacocks…a fine starting point to finding meaning in a world both cruel and beautiful.” –Sy Montgomery for the New York Times Book Review

“Wry and moving.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A truly wise and tender sparkler of a book. Weaving memoir, history, reportage, and mythology, Sean Flynn tells not just a quirky story about iridescent birds but a more profound one about family and parenthood, the innocence of childhood and our own mortality. I read it in one gulp, moved and humored and carried away by Flynn’s heart and artistry as a master storyteller.” —Michael Paterniti, author of the New York Times bestseller The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese

Find this book

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson

07 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by in 20th century, Biography, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

A must-read for every human being.  If the science seems daunting, the diagram on p. 133 easily explains how CRISPR works.  From then on, strap on your seat belt for a fascinating read about the inner competitive science world, the collaboration across countries, the world of COVID and vaccines, and the ethics of gene-editing now already upon us and our shared future.

“He’s done it again. The Code Breaker is another Walter Isaacson must-read. This time he has a heroine who will be for the ages; a worldwide cast of remarkable, fiercely competitive scientists; and a string of discoveries that will change our lives far more than the iPhone did. The tale is gripping. The implications mind-blowing.” – Atul Gawande

“When a great biographer combines his own fascination with science and a superb narrative style, the result is magic. This important and powerful work, written in the tradition of The Double Helix, allows us not only to follow the story of a brilliant and inspired scientist as she engages in a fierce competitive race, but to experience for ourselves the wonders of nature and the joys of discovery.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Isaacson depicts science at its most exhilarating in this lively biography of Jennifer Doudna, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in medicine for her work on the CRISPR system of gene editing…The result is a gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it.” — Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

Find this book audio cd’s

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson

05 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by in Fiction, Humor, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

This is not a guide book. It is a delightful novel. Crack open the covers of this little book and be transported to a time and place that probably no longer exists.   A one week bet between 2 club members prompts this fun romp written with tongue in cheek humor.  Each daily bird hunting trek takes us into another aspect of life in Kenya.  This book is equally appealing to birders and non-birders alike.

“A lighthearted novel about birding and a wager to win the right to call a woman for a date.” Kirkus Reviews

“While the reader is pulled along by the suspense of the contest, the glorious sights, sounds, and smells of Nairobi provide lovely rest stops along the way.” Library Journal Starred

” A Guide to the Birds of East Africa…reads like transplanted Wodehouse.” Christian Science Monitor

A beguiling novel that does for contemporary Kenya and its 1,000 species of birds what Alexander McCall Smith’s Ladies Detective series does for Botswana – Amazon

Find this book

The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird by Joshua Hammer

23 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in 20th century, nature, Non-fiction, True crime

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

“On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain’s Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales.  So begins a tale almost too bizarre to believe…..” (Amazon)

“[A] well-written, engaging detective story that underscores the continuing need for conservation of rare bird species… A sleek, winning nonfiction thriller.”
— Kirkus (starred review) 

“Joshua Hammer has that rare eye for a thrilling story, and with The Falcon Thief he has found the perfect one— a tale brimming with eccentric characters, obsession, deception, and beauty. It has the grip of a novel, with the benefit of being all true.”
— David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost Citz of Z

“Middle Eastern Sheiks. 180 mph apex predators. An agile and fearless, globe-trotting obsessive dangling beneath helicopters and slipping through borders from Patagonia to the high Arctic. The Falcon Thief is more than just a ripping page turner; it is a cautionary tale about what happens when our most precious wildlife becomes status symbol in our diminishing natural world.”— Carl Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wild Men of Borneo and Savage Harvest

Find this book                  audio cd’s

The Overstory by Richard Powers

15 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Fiction, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction – “An ingeniously structured narrative that branches and canopies like the trees at the core of the story whose wonder and connectivity echo those of the humans living amongst them.”- citation from the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
New York Times Bestseller
A New York Times Notable Book and a Washington Post, Time, Oprah Magazine, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018

Overstory is a soul-stirring look into the inner lives of trees and a clarion call to us humans to alter our ways before it is too late. The introduction to the 9 characters is really 9 elegant short stories.  But gather up your strength and make it to the end.  This book will change you.

“This book is beyond special.… It’s a kind of breakthrough in the ways we think about and understand the world around us, at a moment when that is desperately needed.”- Bill McKibben

“The best novel ever written about trees, and really just one of the best novels, period.” ―Ann Patchett

“Monumental… The Overstory accomplishes what few living writers from either camp, art or science, could attempt. Using the tools of the story, he pulls readers heart-first into a perspective so much longer-lived and more subtly developed than the human purview that we gain glimpses of a vast, primordial sensibility, while watching our own kind get whittled down to size.… A gigantic fable of genuine truths.”- Barbara Kingsolver, The New York Times Book Review

Find this book              audio cd’s                  playaway

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

05 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in 20th century, Fiction, murder, mystery, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

I can’t say enough about this book and have already placed it in the hands of my favorite readers. The main character survives an impoverished childhood at a very young age in the North Carolina marshes only to remain isolated for the rest of her life. She opens her heart to everything that lives and breathes in this foreboding, haunting place.  You will too.  It is nature writing at its best with an added coming of age story, romance, and murder mystery.  Guaranteed a deep reading experience.

“A lush debut novel, Owens delivers her mystery wrapped in gorgeous, lyrical prose. It’s clear she’s from this place—the land of the southern coasts, but also the emotional terrain—you can feel it in the pages.  A magnificent achievement, ambitious, credible and very timely.”—Alexandra Fuller, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight “

A painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature….Owens here surveys the desolate marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child. And in her isolation that child makes us open our own eyes to the secret wonders—and dangers—of her private world.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Carries the rhythm of an old time ballad. It is clear Owens knows this land intimately, from the black mud sucking at footsteps to the taste of saltwater and the cry of seagulls.”—David Joy, author of The Line That Held Us

Find this book              large print