42 New Nature Books to Connect You with the Wild
Spring is finally here, thank the gods. That was a rough winter.
To celebrate the year’s greenest season, we’ve gathered here the best new nature books that have hit shelves since 2020. We’ve taken a relatively broad approach to the concept of nature, but as you’ll see below, it really pays off.
Take, for instance, the innovative nonfiction book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. Author Mary Roach is both a very funny writer and a ridiculously gifted science communicator. With Fuzz, she finds a unique approach vector to the complicated and perpetual conflicts between humans and wildlife.
Other highlights in this collection include an exhaustive historical profile of America’s favorite raptor. Or check out NPR reporter Lulu Miller’s personal adventures in piscine taxonomy, Why Fish Don’t Exist. If you’re feeling despair about our culture’s current relationship with nature, don’t miss this hopeful vision from world-famous anthropologist Jane Goodall.
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each title, and add the ones that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf.
Have a favorite nonfiction nature book? Share it with your fellow readers in the comments below!
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Check out more recent articles:
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The 60 Most Reviewed New Books of the Past Five Years
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Great list! You might also enjoy these:
The Hidden World of the Fox
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature
Candice
The Hidden World of the Fox
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature
Candice
I think both ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ and ‘Gathering Moss’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer also belong on this list
Wholeheartedly agree with Alex re: Braiding Sweetgrass. Although not new, ‘The spell of the sensuous’ by David Abrams is my top ‘connect to nature’ book
My TBR list just got longer....
I loved Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures!
I loved Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures!
Oh, so many!
Seed to Dust: A Gardener's Story
Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery
Anything by Katherine May
Seed to Dust: A Gardener's Story
Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery
Anything by Katherine May
Dirty Chick: Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
I don't know if Dirty Chick is exactly a "nature" book, but it deals with truly fascinating farm animals and humans interacting with them hilariously.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
I don't know if Dirty Chick is exactly a "nature" book, but it deals with truly fascinating farm animals and humans interacting with them hilariously.
alex. wrote: "I think both ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ and ‘Gathering Moss’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer also belong on this list"
I agree! Braiding Sweetgrass was amazing, and Gathering Moss is high on my To Read list.
I agree! Braiding Sweetgrass was amazing, and Gathering Moss is high on my To Read list.
I echo the recommendations for Braiding Sweet Grass and The Soul of an Octopus. I would also add Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb as well as The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf.
A couple that are worth checking out - Earth's Wild Music looks at the auditory environment in which we live, decrying the loss of sonic diversity as species vanish. The Ghost Orchard tracks the history of apples. Fascinating
Thomas wrote: "All these look fantastic! I'll never complete my to-read list :-(
First world problems I guess!"
One of my biggest problems!
First world problems I guess!"
One of my biggest problems!
I agree Doug Tallamy’s books. Natures Best Hope and The Nature of Oaks
Lots of great books here too- now on my RBR 👍🏻
Lots of great books here too- now on my RBR 👍🏻
Worlds of Wonder, Life's Edge and The Insect Crisis sounds more like the subjects I could get into more. Can't go wrong with Sir David Attenborough either.