Nature Book!
July 9, 2010 11:34 AM Subscribe
Book recommendation! Need a gift, fast! Nonfiction or fiction, but must deal in some way with humanity's relationship with the natural environment.
The Beardwoman needs a gift for her mom on short notice, but she doesn't have time to buy it, so it's been delegated to the Beardman.
The mom is a voracious reader, so if it's nonfiction it has to be really new, though that doesn't hold for fiction. She has the following interests:
- wilderness (especially Western Canada, but not picky)
- environmentalism
- wild animals
- dogs
Nonfiction: narrative nonfiction, rather than purely expository stuff, would be preferred. Something with a personal touch (like The Golden Spruce) would be preferable to something purely expository/exhoratory. I thought about getting The World Without Us, but it was huge, so there's too great a risk that she's read it.
Fiction: should also deal with these themes in a prominent way. Must be modern (i.e. not Moby Dick). The only thing I know about novels she's enjoyed is that she likes Ann-Marie MacDonald, but that doesn't mean it has to be Oprah-approved. I thought about Annie Dillard's The Living, which I liked, but I know it's divisive. The key here is that it should be "literary" without being a slog to read.
THANK YOU.
The Beardwoman needs a gift for her mom on short notice, but she doesn't have time to buy it, so it's been delegated to the Beardman.
The mom is a voracious reader, so if it's nonfiction it has to be really new, though that doesn't hold for fiction. She has the following interests:
- wilderness (especially Western Canada, but not picky)
- environmentalism
- wild animals
- dogs
Nonfiction: narrative nonfiction, rather than purely expository stuff, would be preferred. Something with a personal touch (like The Golden Spruce) would be preferable to something purely expository/exhoratory. I thought about getting The World Without Us, but it was huge, so there's too great a risk that she's read it.
Fiction: should also deal with these themes in a prominent way. Must be modern (i.e. not Moby Dick). The only thing I know about novels she's enjoyed is that she likes Ann-Marie MacDonald, but that doesn't mean it has to be Oprah-approved. I thought about Annie Dillard's The Living, which I liked, but I know it's divisive. The key here is that it should be "literary" without being a slog to read.
THANK YOU.
Merle's Door by Ted Kerasote is a memoir of raising a dog in a more natural environment; the author lives in a tiny mountain town and basically just lets his dog run loose. It's got lots of neat observations about dog personality and instincts and how the dog views the natural world, wildlife, etc.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:37 AM on July 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:37 AM on July 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
eep -- saw too late that if it's non-fiction, it really has to be new -- apologies
posted by vers at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by vers at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2010
Well, Ishmael, if she hasn't read it. Also not exactly new, but The Sand County Almanac and Desert Solitaire are pretty radtastic reads.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks--alas, I should clarify what I mean by "really new" for nonfiction suggestions--it needs to be no older than 2007 or 2008. Pollan's book meets all the conditions except that one...the older it is, the higher the chance that she'll already have read it. But that is exactly the kind of thing I'd buy her if it was safer.
posted by Beardman at 11:39 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by Beardman at 11:39 AM on July 9, 2010
Earth Abides was written in the late 40s, but doesn't come across as too dated. It's a post apocalyptic novel that touches on environmentalism and wild animals - namely human impact on animal populations and the environment.
posted by backwards guitar at 11:41 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by backwards guitar at 11:41 AM on July 9, 2010
The World Without Us, but it's 2007. It's about how long humanity's impact on the planet will be felt when we disappear, with some historical digressions to show how the environment changed due to past mass migrations.
posted by davextreme at 11:42 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by davextreme at 11:42 AM on July 9, 2010
And here I was coming in to recommend The World Without us but you say she's probably read it! If she hasn't read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, that's a great one, but if she has (it's nonfiction and a couple of years old) her novel Prodigal Summer is one of my favorite books ever and I believe will fit your specs.
posted by hungrybruno at 11:45 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by hungrybruno at 11:45 AM on July 9, 2010
The Lost City of Z. A very recent book about the disappearance of a famous explorer in the Amazon jungle. Lots of great description of the jungle itself and the hardships of exploration. Interspersed with sections of a modern recreation of the explorer's journey. Surprising ending, very good read. Came out late last year, so she might not have read it yet.
posted by cosmicbandito at 11:50 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by cosmicbandito at 11:50 AM on July 9, 2010
The Outermost House by Henry Beston or The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.
posted by jquinby at 11:59 AM on July 9, 2010
posted by jquinby at 11:59 AM on July 9, 2010
One Square Inch of Silence, by Gordon Hempton, came out last year but it didn't get a ton of attention. Plus it comes with a cool CD.
Whatever you get, it sounds like you should go into a bookstore and make sure you get a gift receipt so she can return it. If it's new and heard of, there is a good chance she ran out and bought it or got it from the library.
posted by BibiRose at 12:03 PM on July 9, 2010
Whatever you get, it sounds like you should go into a bookstore and make sure you get a gift receipt so she can return it. If it's new and heard of, there is a good chance she ran out and bought it or got it from the library.
posted by BibiRose at 12:03 PM on July 9, 2010
Rats, missed your timeline requirement. Both of my suggestions are sort of old. Sorry.
posted by jquinby at 12:07 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by jquinby at 12:07 PM on July 9, 2010
Oh! John Geiger, The Third Man Factor.
Another thought: nothing says love like a bright shiny new ereader. They cost about as much as six hardcover books now. She will love saying her kid bought it for her.
posted by BibiRose at 12:09 PM on July 9, 2010
Another thought: nothing says love like a bright shiny new ereader. They cost about as much as six hardcover books now. She will love saying her kid bought it for her.
posted by BibiRose at 12:09 PM on July 9, 2010
The Daily Coyote blends a lot of these, though in a less deep-thinker way, but it definitely has a personal touch and meets the wild animals/nature/newer requirements.
posted by questionsandanchors at 12:16 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by questionsandanchors at 12:16 PM on July 9, 2010
I came in to suggest Merle's Door (good call, infinitywaltz) and Annals of the Former World by John McPhee. <i
posted by workerant at 12:20 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by workerant at 12:20 PM on July 9, 2010
My favorite science-y nature-y book right now is The Song of the Dodo by David Quamman, though any compilation of his nature writing is wonderful (Wild Thoughts from Wild Place was the first compilation by him I'd read and I really enjoyed it). I'd be very surprised if your MIL had read it, though it came out in 1997 (I know, I'm sorry). It's a substantial book that makes Island Biogeography fascinating and relevant to environmentalism for people who care about conservation but are less familiar with the Theory of Island Biogeography. I promise, it's readable and fantastic and very much a character-driven exploration of everything about extinction and island biogeograpy (I promise! It's cool!).
Alternately, Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer came out in 2009 and it's supposed to be great. I haven't read it, though.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:25 PM on July 9, 2010
Alternately, Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer came out in 2009 and it's supposed to be great. I haven't read it, though.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:25 PM on July 9, 2010
I think these two books would be perfect.
http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/stuff/
Fred is a friend, and both books are basically explorations of his relationship with the land around him. And given that they are self published, odds are very very slim that your mother in law has read them. Poke around his blog for a few minutes. Both books are built from blog posts, so what you read on the blog is very much what you get in the books.
posted by COD at 12:48 PM on July 9, 2010
http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/stuff/
Fred is a friend, and both books are basically explorations of his relationship with the land around him. And given that they are self published, odds are very very slim that your mother in law has read them. Poke around his blog for a few minutes. Both books are built from blog posts, so what you read on the blog is very much what you get in the books.
posted by COD at 12:48 PM on July 9, 2010
Margaret Atwood's Surfacing deals a lot with nature and people's relationship with it, as well as family and relationships. It's quite old though, so she may have read it already.
posted by calistasm at 12:58 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by calistasm at 12:58 PM on July 9, 2010
Annie Dillard's A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
The Best of Edward Abbey
Terry Tempest Williams' Coyote Canyon and All My Rivers Are gone
A beautiful picture book of Andy Goldsworthy's natural sculptures--there are several, and they are gorgeous.
posted by Elsie at 1:10 PM on July 9, 2010
The Best of Edward Abbey
Terry Tempest Williams' Coyote Canyon and All My Rivers Are gone
A beautiful picture book of Andy Goldsworthy's natural sculptures--there are several, and they are gorgeous.
posted by Elsie at 1:10 PM on July 9, 2010
Gretel Ehrlich fits the bill perfectly, except that she doesn't have anything especially new. Still, I think her books are entirely about wilderness, environmentalism, wild animals, dogs and humanity, and are tremendously satisfying reads. Her 1995 book, A Match to the Heart, about being struck by lightning, is a wonderful and rich reading experience.
posted by judith at 1:18 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by judith at 1:18 PM on July 9, 2010
What about Voyage of the Turtle by Carl Safina? It's from 2004, but I expect that it's sufficiently obscure that your mom wouldn't have gotten to it. It's about the plight of Pacific leatherback turtles, which are on the brink of extinction. Carl Safina has recently been in the news as a witness in the Congressional hearings on the BP oil spill, so he's current, even if the book's a few years old.
I've read a lot of environmentally-themed books, and this one stands apart for being beautifully written, highly informative and engaging, and still moving and hopeful for the future - something very few books about endangered species or other doom and gloom environmental issues have managed. I can't recommend this book enough.
Bonus: Leatherback turtles do range into Canadian Pacific waters, so there's the western Canada connection.
posted by just_ducky at 1:28 PM on July 9, 2010
I've read a lot of environmentally-themed books, and this one stands apart for being beautifully written, highly informative and engaging, and still moving and hopeful for the future - something very few books about endangered species or other doom and gloom environmental issues have managed. I can't recommend this book enough.
Bonus: Leatherback turtles do range into Canadian Pacific waters, so there's the western Canada connection.
posted by just_ducky at 1:28 PM on July 9, 2010
Farley Mowat's book Never Cry Wolf fits all of your criteria except the post-2007 one.
posted by colfax at 1:29 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by colfax at 1:29 PM on July 9, 2010
Oliver Morton's Eating the Sun is in trade paperback now.
posted by cgc373 at 1:48 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by cgc373 at 1:48 PM on July 9, 2010
Anything by Wendell Berry (the Godfather of Michal Pollan...), but especially "Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food."
posted by dbmcd at 2:02 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by dbmcd at 2:02 PM on July 9, 2010
Fiction: I really enjoyed Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile. It's about a garden turtle captured from Turkey and taken to England to be a garden ornament in the late 1700s. It's based heavily on actual garden events as documented by a manor's owner.
Non-fiction: I'm currently reading a book called Fire on the Plateau: Conflict and Endurance in the American Southwest, about the Colorado Plateau that describes the history and legal debates between Indian tribes and government and mining interests. It's got personal narrative, history, geology. Very interesting read.
posted by rw at 2:02 PM on July 9, 2010
Non-fiction: I'm currently reading a book called Fire on the Plateau: Conflict and Endurance in the American Southwest, about the Colorado Plateau that describes the history and legal debates between Indian tribes and government and mining interests. It's got personal narrative, history, geology. Very interesting read.
posted by rw at 2:02 PM on July 9, 2010
World Made by Hand : A Novel by James Howard Kunstler. What happens when the oil wells start to run dry, the world economy will collapses and society as we know it will cease.
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. If a virulent virus—or even the Rapture—depopulated Earth overnight, how long before all trace of humankind vanished?
posted by crunchland at 2:49 PM on July 9, 2010
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. If a virulent virus—or even the Rapture—depopulated Earth overnight, how long before all trace of humankind vanished?
posted by crunchland at 2:49 PM on July 9, 2010
Fiction: Has she read any of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries? They take place at different national parks (the main character is a national park ranger) and I think they'd fit her criteria.
posted by SisterHavana at 7:33 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by SisterHavana at 7:33 PM on July 9, 2010
Came in to recommend Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer so I'll enthusiastically second that for fiction. It's one of my very favorite books.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:54 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by BoscosMom at 11:54 PM on July 9, 2010
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. About how human beings might alter nature.
posted by imalaowai at 10:56 AM on July 10, 2010
posted by imalaowai at 10:56 AM on July 10, 2010
A bit liate, but I just ordered these two books from Amazon:
Finding Home: Writing on Nature and Culture from Orion Magazine (various authors)
and
Alongshore by John Stilgoe.
Picked them up from another recent AskMefi thread.
posted by jquinby at 1:09 PM on July 29, 2010
Finding Home: Writing on Nature and Culture from Orion Magazine (various authors)
and
Alongshore by John Stilgoe.
Picked them up from another recent AskMefi thread.
posted by jquinby at 1:09 PM on July 29, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by vers at 11:36 AM on July 9, 2010