Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Must-read Novels & Non-fiction for Nature Lovers <3
14
items My all-time favorite books that address nature (and sometimes climate) from both fiction and non-fiction perspectives. Must read all!!! Links from Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. Happy reading!
Sections
3
Novels
Non-Fiction
California
Novels
A masterpiece that weaves climate anxiety and ecosystem loss anxiety together in a new way. Everyone should read this tragically beautiful book. Woman author.
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
1
A wild read showcasing the power of nature and of eldery women. Woman author. Translated.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
An all-time favorite and the best of her books. Homesteading 1920s Alaska, it tells the story of family, love, loss, and nature. Woman author.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
A beautiful book about a period and place (Cyprus) in history I knew little about — with nature woven throughout.
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Popular for a reason, this book will change your life if you're indifferent about trees. Long, but worth it!
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Technically a sequel, this book is wonderful and horrible and definitely a must-read for today's world. Woman author. Black author.
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Non-Fiction
Cover-to-cover nature non-fiction books
Reflections on indigenous and western science told in stories. A modern environmental classic. Woman author. Indigenous author.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
This book started a movement, and is worth a read from anyone in the environmental space. Beautiful nature observations that make you want to go outside and better understand the place you call “home.”
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Picked this up at a used bookstore and was not disappointed! Even 30+ years later, it is relevant, poignant, funny, and somehow almost inspiring.
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams (yes, that Douglas Adams) and Mark Carwardine
This is a book for people who like to dive deep on random times and ideas in history. You know who you are. It's a fascinating look into how and why we name and categorize nature today.
Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
California
Cover-to-cover California nature non-fiction books
What makes the oak woodlands of California so special? These species accounts are fun, informative, and easy to read. Perfect to read one account each night before bed! Woman author.
Secrets of the Oak Woodlands by Kate Marianchild
Pre-order what will soon be a must-have book profiling thirteen iconic kelp forest species of the western US coast. I can't wait! Woman author.
The Mysterious World of the Bull Kelp Forest by Josie Iselin
Disclaimer that this book is not by a member of any Ohlone or indigenous tribe. Still, it gave me the most comprehensive and readable account of Bay Area indigenous life pre-Colonization. Worth a read if you're in the Bay Area!
The Ohlone Way by Malcom Margolin
We may no longer have P-22, but that doesn't mean this book is irrelevant. Learn more about wildlife-human interaction and coexistence in California. Woman author.
When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors by Beth Pratt