I was deeply disappointed by the lack of nature/science/climate/enviro on many major end-of-year book lists—so I decided to make my own! Introducing: ✨🎁📚 The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide to Nature & Science Books ✨🎁📚 Please share: Let's make this go viral in time for Black Friday / holiday shopping! - ThreadSky

ferrisjabr.bsky.social • 188 days ago

I was deeply disappointed by the lack of nature/science/climate/enviro on many major end-of-year book lists—so I decided to make my own!

Introducing: ✨🎁📚 The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide to Nature & Science Books ✨🎁📚

Please share: Let's make this go viral in time for Black Friday / holiday shopping!

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Comments

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

This list is by no means comprehensive. It's focused on new nature & science books published this year. These are 24 titles that either I have read and loved or that have been highly recommended by multiple trusted sources. I've arranged them alphabetically by book title:

robert-e-630.bsky.social•184 days ago

i wanna buy them all

mnent.bsky.social•188 days ago

Brilliant thread. Thank you!

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger

"A superb testament to the scientific virtue of curious wonder." —Wall Street Journal

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250283641/alienearths/

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Atlas Obscura: Wild Life: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Living Wonders by Cara Giaimo and Joshua Foer

"Almost as jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring as the planet itself — and more portable." ―BJ Novak

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cara-giaimo/atlas-obscura-wild-life/9781523514410/?lens=workman-publishing-company

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life by Me!

“A masterwork of journalism—exhaustively researched, wide-ranging, simultaneously intricate in detail and accessible to general readers…Popular science writing at its very best.”
—Kirkus Reviews, ⭐ Review

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623907/becoming-earth-by-ferris-jabr/

jazzaleamia.bsky.social•188 days ago

Just subscribed to your newsletter and will get your book! 💙🦋💙

stilldanlehrer.bsky.social•187 days ago

I recommended your book minutes ago on this very platform and now here you are! I really enjoyed it—both accessible and packed with stuff to think about. Thanks for writing it.

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Deep Water by James Bradley @ghostspecies.bsky.social

"Deep Water is a major achievement...wise, compassionate and urgent." —Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/deep-water-james-bradley

ghostspecies.bsky.social•185 days ago

Thank you! That's incredibly generous of you. I hope Becoming Earth is finding readers - it deserves to!

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World by Edward Dolnick

“An illuminating exploration.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Dinosaurs-at-the-Dinner-Party/Edward-Dolnick/9781982199616

chrisbaraniuk.com•188 days ago

Yh this is a good one but I would say that - I have a spread in it!

sylys.bsky.social•181 days ago

Next stop: Proxima Centauri!

ballbob.bsky.social•188 days ago

Ms. Kaltenegger is certainly qualified to write a knowledgeable book on this topic, and she has done an excellent job!

booksdogscoffee.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you!

terpsichorecmlos.bsky.social•187 days ago

👍🏿👍🏽👍🏻👍🏾👍🏼👍

janineeaby.bsky.social•188 days ago

Have you seen this series for kids? Great nature/science books with illustrations for younger readers.

joannakedzierska.bsky.social•188 days ago

Wow it looks awesome !

betsyloren.bsky.social•187 days ago

*swipes to Libby* 🙏🏻

booknblues.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks for that. I enjoy these kinds of books, but only read one which was published this year- Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World by Rae Wynn-Grant

lastcurlew.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks for the list.

lonegadfly.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

altsprite.bsky.social•188 days ago

I’m so into this, thank you for doing it. I rediscovered my love of reading once I stopped forcing myself to read the fiction that everyone else liked. Nonfic was always my jam.

fnrobinne.bsky.social•187 days ago

Saving it! Thanks

eliposch.bsky.social•175 days ago

📌

thehappysnout.bsky.social•186 days ago

Omg you got my follow with this list!! I particularly love nature memoirs a la Lab Girl, My Puma Year etc..

simeyowen.bsky.social•187 days ago

You forgot Sy Montgomery's book about snapping turtles and Margaret Renkl's The Comfort of Crows.

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•187 days ago

Those are both great, but they were published last year. This particular list is focused on new science/nature nonfiction pubbed in 2024

simeyowen.bsky.social•187 days ago

So they were! I've got my copy of Renkl by my bed. I'm pretty sure that good beaver book I read was published in 2023 too. I'm a year behind....thanks for the list!

scicommic.bsky.social•181 days ago

I volunteer at a small aquarium that’s part of a Washington Dept of Ecology Interpretive Center, and frequently recommend Sy Montgomery’s “Soul of an Octopus.”

Montgomery is great at finding that balance of fact and feeling that makes science relatable.

doggfish.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌 Fantastic, thank you! A few were on my list but most were not.

awsumt70.bsky.social•187 days ago

THANK YOU!

justlikemyeyes.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks.

natureintheory.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌 thank you

worldresources.bsky.social•187 days ago

Great list! Previously we had a summer-end book list by our experts, full of nature books, which could be additional inspiration!📚

chloegeog.bsky.social•188 days ago

@severnpiscator.bsky.social

carylma33.bsky.social•187 days ago

I see some really good books I'd like to read. Thank you

kateclancy.bsky.social•188 days ago

It's like non-fiction is just memoir and politics but there are so many other great topics just waiting for readers to discover!

doomandgloom1951.bsky.social•187 days ago

I read The Light Eaters... it was fantastic. And I am reading Hoof Beats now. It is excellent.

trix9406.bsky.social•187 days ago

Not sure it was this year but “The Deluge” was one of my favorites.

jagungal.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks for putting this list together - so many great titles here!
I already had my eye on the Serviceberry - it looks amazing!

blowen.bsky.social•187 days ago

Excellent selection!

blueskybooks.bsky.social•187 days ago

Added to the #Blueskyreadinglist

alizerin.bsky.social•188 days ago

Playground: A Novel by Richard Powers is fiction but worth a mention in the field of environmental science.

panchoram.bsky.social•180 days ago

@aspenproposal.bsky.social this is a good read

clarkindeir.bsky.social•188 days ago

I'll look for it in the library. I loved Overstory!

alizerin.bsky.social•188 days ago

Me too. Overstory was wonderful.

petesivak.com•187 days ago

Just reading it now and loving it. Finished Bewilderment just before that and that could fit into this list too

minifig81.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks Ferris. Every Christmas I buy my dad two books (usually about climate change) and didn't know what books were hot this year. This list helped me find the two I want to buy him. Your book, Becoming Earth might be read by me, first before I give it to my dad. 😅

cherry-limes.bsky.social•185 days ago

It’s more science adjacent, but Natural Magic by Renée Bergland is fantastic so far! Part biography of Darwin and Emily Dickinson, and part discussion of how the philosophy of science shifted in this era.

garoo1980.bsky.social•188 days ago

Oh wow! Thanks so much for putting this together

jspaceryan.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

lodubb11.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you for this!! I added 11 new books to my WTR list.

keke6483.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you! I love this!

hazmatzo.bsky.social•187 days ago

Loved Alien Earths and have a hold on Serviceberry!

lindajulien.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you much!

fangornsfinest.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

luckyloo.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌
Great list and gift ideas!

fedkukso.bsky.social•161 days ago

… in English. There are awesome science books in other languages, you know.

kirtim.bsky.social•187 days ago

Shared this with the community at @terradotdo.bsky.social. Massively appreciated ❤️❤️

sbmalive.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks!

clarepatrick.bsky.social•187 days ago

Tha~nk Yo~u, for this list. Adding to my Goodreads.

barble.bsky.social•187 days ago

Great list. Might gift myself first.

mobydog.bsky.social•187 days ago

I will buy from local bookseller and not Amazon

bryancobo.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

sillyowl.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you for this!

constantcait.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

americanbookdragon.bsky.social•187 days ago

I probably have a bunch, but they're definitely not organized together in an easy to find manner.

benryanwriter.bsky.social•187 days ago

Jon Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Abigial Shrier’s Bad Therapy are science books.

hilarywollis.bsky.social•184 days ago

Thank You!

There is a perfect gift for someone - ‘Hoofbeats’ - on this list!

nonnybeanie2.bsky.social•187 days ago

@windbarb.bsky

cava9092.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks for posting and for the additional titles below. I have added several of them to my reading list for the coming year.

cmgolden.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you! ❤️📌

kvelligan.bsky.social•175 days ago

📌

drcrob.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

realityglimpses.bsky.social•188 days ago

💞

bstansell.bsky.social•186 days ago

Frostbite is still on my “to be read” list. It sounded really interesting.

thirdsister3.bsky.social•188 days ago

Love it!💙

jefrir.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

devinsheehan.bsky.social•187 days ago

Ooo this is awesome, thank you!

adventuresofjoy.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

thesimplysyn.bsky.social•188 days ago

The Tree Collectors was an amazing book! Loved that one so much!🌴🌲🌳

beejay99.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

kentharnois.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

townhallseattle.bsky.social•187 days ago

Rating this a 10/10 gift guide, with some great authors who've spoken at Town Hall! ❤📚

thecopperpen.bsky.social•187 days ago

Please shop at small, independent bookstores!

jenbug.bsky.social•186 days ago

If you're looking for environmental fiction, you might enjoy The Night Field by Donna Glee Williams.

samg92.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks for posting this!!!

scottrubel.bsky.social•187 days ago

Witness Tree
Twain’s Feast

lukemcguff.bsky.social•187 days ago

What a great looking list!

diannag.bsky.social•187 days ago

Fantastic list. Thank you!

fransaundersays.bsky.social•188 days ago

I donated my climate change book to the library. The Uninhabitable Earth. David Wallace-Wells. Please share.

officialmtg.bsky.social•187 days ago

Why isn't the #bible on the list?

scicommic.bsky.social•181 days ago

staceypowells.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you!

fourmoyle.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

holdtheolives.bsky.social•188 days ago

Just bought one of these thanks to you!

danielstonestudios.bsky.social•187 days ago

Great, mores books I'm gonna buy, tell myself I'm going to read and read in like...5yrs! Thank you! 😊

cattea.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thanks! 📌

ryebaby.bsky.social•187 days ago

this is awesome!!! thank you !

jazzaleamia.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thank you so much for this great list of books!!! 👍

likeagilmoregirl.bsky.social•187 days ago

Great list! I really enjoyed “What Do Bees Think About” by Mathieu Lihoreau this year!

sarahkedney.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

oburbidge.bsky.social•186 days ago

📌

handsomeganondorf.bsky.social•187 days ago

Half-Earth https://a.co/d/g9mSwQb

nicolekittredge.bsky.social•187 days ago

Following. 📖

margaretdumont.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

antjeg.bsky.social•186 days ago

Oh, thank you! I need new books...

2024newbee.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

feiryred.bsky.social•188 days ago

Nice tyvm x

ibetrying.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

disastermarch.bsky.social•187 days ago

I haven't read it but the title "The Light Eaters" for a book about plants goes hard 😂

Thank you for this list!

orrorin.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

acostayaya.bsky.social•187 days ago

I LOVE this! Thank you!

shakaroniatekeni.bsky.social•187 days ago

Where ate Vaclav Smil’s works?

mxashmc.bsky.social•187 days ago

@ayanaeliza.bsky.social is on here, yahoo!!

enawhatever.bsky.social•186 days ago

📌

zadett.bsky.social•188 days ago

Next four years educated people will be ostracized.

mayhemmaker.bsky.social•143 days ago

Something in the Woods Loves You by Jarod K Anderson. Mental health healing via engagement with nature.

claytonzippo.bsky.social•188 days ago

These look great. Thanks for sharing your list.

veprecosia.bsky.social•178 days ago

What a wonderful list! Thank you!

poojanbabu.bsky.social•188 days ago

This list is awesome! Thank you for sharing. :)

clobella.bsky.social•187 days ago

Excellent selections, good variety. That’s 24 new books for me!

archivelove.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

socalleslie.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

socalleslie.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thank you . I get the shakes if I don’t have at least 10 books on my iPad at a time.

lensofalex.bsky.social•187 days ago

Thx for sharing!

justplainbagel.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

drvandermast.bsky.social•187 days ago

Oh god. Why is life so much shorter than the books to be read?

lclairegraham.bsky.social•188 days ago

Great list. Perhaps UK peeps might consider purchasing from the very wonderful Sherlock and Pages bookshop which specialises in nature writing and is on a mission to sell 5000 books before Christmas https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAoIyc4g4Wb/?igsh=N2ozZXYyaGh0aW52

https://sherlockandpages.com/

n8t8sh8.bsky.social•182 days ago

Just purchased my first book on Anglo-Saxon history. Feels good helping an independent bookstore.

davidhuang.blog•188 days ago

📌

tea-n-me.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

laranewsom.com•187 days ago

This is the exact type of book I enjoy! Thank you I’ve added them to my list ❤️

elisabethkosters.bsky.social•187 days ago

I was just given Marcia Bjornerod's book!

emilmalta.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

brywi.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

limbic.bsky.social•187 days ago

Terrific list!

kd-mirage.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks for the recommendations!

brettmagoo.bsky.social•187 days ago

always good to get reading inspiration. thanks

mbthehiker.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

meerasub.bsky.social•188 days ago

I reviewed two on your list for Scientific American. The Great River by Boyce Upholt. 1/2 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-imagining-a-radical-new-relationship-with-the-mississippi-river/

wellreadnaturalist.bsky.social•188 days ago

Nicely done.

watsonview.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

heraclitus07.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thank you, I suggest also 'Eve', a great book!

cissybgood67.bsky.social•187 days ago

That's great!
Thank you! 😃📚

maudelussier.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

neecy.bsky.social•181 days ago

I recently read This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild by Nate Schweber and really enjoyed it.

rachelvardeman.bsky.social•187 days ago

Audibly just said "oh heck yeah!" So, thank you for this list!

chindaswind.bsky.social•188 days ago

I really like this!

gghill.bsky.social•187 days ago

taking cues from what the forest looked like before https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/11/28/Harvesting-Small-Trees-BC-Forestry/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=281124

sarahrosenberg.bsky.social•188 days ago

Ah this is amazing…brb gotta go send this to my spouse

justme42.bsky.social•178 days ago

I can personally recommend almost half of them! Good selection!

limnologylauren.bsky.social•187 days ago

And another to consider https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194803881-the-backyard-bird-chronicles

limnologylauren.bsky.social•187 days ago

One more to consider https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198563669-sing-like-fish

tracyonthemta.bsky.social•187 days ago

"Becoming Earth" is on my to-read stack

kwatsrn.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

lindydoesart.bsky.social•186 days ago

@ferrisjabr.bsky.social I also made a list today of 5 important life things to me that I thought the world needed to see. Ever explored lit mags? If so, what are your faves?

lindydoesart.bsky.social•186 days ago

Anyone who would put this together would probably be a gem. Let's be friends.

Love,
A former Librarian named Lindy

reginblue.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thank you for doing this!

nerdicuriousnurse.bsky.social•187 days ago

Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party sounds wonderful!!

texmexelsa.bsky.social•187 days ago

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years

doxy-cycling.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌

doxy-cycling.bsky.social•187 days ago

You people really don’t wan’t me to have any money do you? 😁

jchuckjohns.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks! 😊
Shared and re-posted

dinainthebluesky.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

drzgoo.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thank you.

martinmorrey.bsky.social•188 days ago

📌

ohwonderful.bsky.social•188 days ago

Thanks- great Christmas gifts

dasculprit.bsky.social•187 days ago

📌 Thank you!

kunzea.bsky.social•188 days ago

I'm enjoying Andrew H. Knoll's A brief history of Earth. I liked his notion of 'organisms as chemical machines that evolve through time - chemistry with a history, if you will. '

leeway-vf.bsky.social•187 days ago

My to-read list just got a lot longer after this thread. Thanks!

robzero.me•188 days ago

These are great, thanks for sharing. Any recommendations for newer books in the areas of evolutionary biology or the great apes?

ferrisjabr.bsky.social•188 days ago

Eve by Cat Bohannon (2023) has been widely praised https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/227568/eve-by-cat-bohannon/

Infinite Life focuses on eggs and evolution https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Infinite-Life/Jules-Howard/9781639367740

robzero.me•188 days ago

Thanks!

sallyannesadler.bsky.social•187 days ago

I was just going to suggest this one! I loved it. Looking at evolution through a lens of all of humanity rather than just 1/2 the population was very illuminating! I don't think I've ever seen a book with this many notes and references! She did her research!