Earth & Nature Staff Picks (4/24/24)

In celebration of Earth Day, we’ve selected some of our favorite titles that showcase the beauty of our planet and the outdoors!

AMANDA’S PICK: LIVING ON EARTH: FORESTS, CORALS, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THE MAKING OF THE WORLD BY PETER GODFREY-SMITH

For this year’s Earth Day celebration, join me on a grand tour of the history of life on Earth. Life has existed on Earth for something like 3.7 billion years—most of our planet’s history and over a quarter of the age of the universe (as far as we can tell). What have these organisms—bacteria, animals, plants and the rest—done in all this time? In LIVING ON EARTH, the philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith tells the long story of living action, and its impact. Ranging from the seas to the forests, and from animate matter’s first appearance to its future extinction, Godfrey-Smith offers a novel picture of the course of life on Earth and how we might meet the challenges of our time.

Available for download on Edelweiss and NetGalley. LibraryReads votes due by August 1st.

EMILY’S PICK: CABIN: OFF THE GRID ADVENTURES WITH A CLUELESS CRAFTSMAN BY PATRICK HUTCHISON

Have you ever wished you could just get away from it all? Leave your job and your city behind, and hunker down in the middle of the woods? That’s exactly what Patrick Hutchison did. He left a successful copywriting career and purchased a 120-square-foot run-down cabin in the middle of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. This cabin needed a lot of work, and Patrick did not have the skills necessary to do the work, but that didn’t stop him. Over seven years, he renovated the cabin from the ground up. This book chronicles both the cabin’s transformation and his own, as he navigates the mishaps and joy of biting off more than you can chew. Fans of Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer, and Charles Bukowski will love this hilarious and adventurous memoir.

Available for download on Edelweiss and NetGalley. LibraryReads votes due by November 1st.

MICHELLE’S PICK: THE CAUTIOUS TRAVELLER’S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS BY SARAH BROOKS

Set in an alternate nineteenth century where the human and natural worlds collide, this story spins a powerful climate allegory about our relationship to nature and how we got to where we are. The Trans-Siberian Express travels across the Wastelands as passengers inside enjoy catching sight of the terrifying creatures outside. On the train’s previous journey, something went horribly wrong but no one seems to remember exactly what happened. Now, the train is about to embark again and there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all? This debut will especially appeal to fans of ORDINARY MONSTERS, HELL BENT, and THE ATLAS SIX.

Available for download on Edelweiss and NetGalley. LibraryReads votes due by May 1st.

ELLIE’S PICK: HAVE A GOOD TRIP: EXPLORING THE MAGIC MUSHROOM EXPERIENCE BY EUGENIA BONE

Can psychedelic mushrooms change your life? In this original exposé, popular science writer Eugenia Bone reports on how and why folks from all walks of life use magic mushrooms to enhance their lives. From careful microdoses to full-on experiential trips, this book examines the use and effects of mushrooms in various settings and cultures providing a truly fascinating insight into this unbridled territory! The new wave of mushroom users and advocates is defining a cultural zeitgeist. In some use cases, Psilocybe fungi positively treat mental health or can provide transformative spiritual awareness. That is to say, this somewhat mystical phenomenon needs more attention, and this book successfully provides a balanced, personal, and satisfying portrait. By studying the set and setting of psychedelic trips, Bone analyzes the various life-altering portals of transcendence, opened up by these natural substances from Mother Earth. From the foresty spores of Seattle to indigenous curanderas who conduct traditional ceremonies in remote Mexican villages, Bone’s thorough analysis weaves personal experience and scientific rigor, attempting to draw back the curtain on the power of psychoactive shrooms. Considering the new Harvard study on the power of psychedelics, I am ever fascinated by the society-changing potential of magic mushrooms! Fans of Michael Pollan’s THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS will greatly enjoy it.

Available for download on Edelweiss and NetGalley. LibraryReads votes due by September 1st.