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Original poster

Nature writing - any fellow fans?

34 replies

Crazzzycat · 02/02/2022 13:45

I’ve been hanging around on the “what we’re reading” part of the site for a while, but don’t see many mentions of non-fiction. That got me thinking...I can’t be the only one who enjoys a good bit of nature/ natural history writing, can I?

So, I’m starting this thread to share what nature books I’ve read this year.
Does anyone wants to join me? Also if anyone has recommendations of great nature writing, or books to avoid, feel free to share!

What I’ve read so far:

1. Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth by Hugh Aldersley Williams

Part social science, part natural history, I LOVED this book for the breath of topics it covered. I’m not sure why it started with possibly the most tedious chapter ever written (an in-depth description of someone watching a full tidal cycle), but the rest of the book more than made it for it.

2. The genius of birds by Jennifer Ackerman

This should have been an interesting book on an interesting subject, but a bit too heavy on the science for me. The frequent mentions of experiments on birds also put my off.

Currently reading:

3. Curlew Moon by Mary Colwell
4. The Sea is Not Made of Water by Adam Nicolson

OP posts:
IceandIndigo · 03/02/2022 10:14

@InisnaBro there were a number of things. I found the author really self-indulgent and found I didn’t want to spend time with her. I realised I don’t really agree with falconry on animal welfare grounds. I also didn’t really see the point of all the stuff about T.H White.

IntermittentParps · 03/02/2022 10:07

There are some wonderful essays in Vesper Flights.

InisnaBro · 03/02/2022 10:06

@IceandIndigo

I really disliked H is for Hawk, I feel like I’m the only one.
What was it you disliked?
InisnaBro · 03/02/2022 10:06

Dara McNulty’s Diary of a Young Naturalist comes highly recommended. I also liked Helen McDonald’s H is for Hawk, but haven’t yet read her Vesper Flights, and I love almost anything by Robert McFarlane, especially The Old Ways and Underland. Tim Dee’s Landfill about urban gulls. Farley and Roberts’ Edgelands about nature on the edges of cities.

IceandIndigo · 03/02/2022 09:58

I really disliked H is for Hawk, I feel like I’m the only one.

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 03/02/2022 09:17

I just read The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

IntermittentParps · 03/02/2022 09:11

Off the top of my head:

Old now, but wonderful: H Is For Hawk, Helen Macdonald
Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne Simard
The Seaweed Collector's Handbook, Miek Zwamborn
Also old, but delightful: Corvus: A Life with Birds, Esther Woolfson
Not exactly nature, but sort of, Adrift: A Secret Life of London's Waterways, Helen Babbs The author and partner live on a canal boat. There is some nice nature writing but also interesting stuff about London's waterways, currently and in history.

Original poster
Crazzzycat · 03/02/2022 00:22

I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who enjoys a bit of nature writing 😅

Those books all look really interesting @IceandIndigo and I don’t think I’ve come across them before. Thanks for sharing!

OP posts:
IceandIndigo · 02/02/2022 20:09

I like nature writing. I’ve recently enjoyed:

The Most Perfect Thing by Tim Birkhead
Surfacing by Katherine Jamie (also recommend her earlier books)
Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith - this is really more popular science.