Sustainable Bookshelf Volume I

An open book on a tray and blanket with reading glasses laid on top.

Looking for a good read? We turned to our friends at Royal River Books in Yarmouth and Longfellow Books in Portland for their top picks on books about living with compassion for the planet—and they delivered. Here’s a list of recommendations to keep you pondering deeply, laughing frequently, eating superbly, and above all reading—and living —well.

LB: recommended by Longfellow Books | RRB: recommended by Royal River Books


Outdoors and Environment

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World

By Peter Wohlleben

A beautiful read. Full of fascinating bits like this: one of the oldest trees on Earth is a spruce in Sweden – more than 9,500 years old. That’s 115 times longer than the average human lifetime.

In addition to drawing on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families, the author also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland. -LB + RR

The Hidden Life of Trees book cover

The Hour of the Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks

By Terry Tempest Williams

From the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine, Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique, The Hour of Land is a meditation and a manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America. -LB

The Hour of Land book cover

On Trails: An Exploration

By Robert Moor

In 2009, while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others fade? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of the next seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds, from the miniscule to the massive. Moor interweaves his adventures with findings from science, history, philosophy, and nature writing, and sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions including: How does each of us pick a path through life? -LB

On Trails book cover

Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World

By Andrea Wulf

The acclaimed author of Founding Gardeners reveals the forgotten life of Alexander von Humboldt, the most famous scientist of his age, a visionary German naturalist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world—and in the process created modern environmentalism. -LB

The Invention of Nature book cover

Lab Girl

By Hope Jahren

The memoir of a girl who grew up in her father’s lab and loved hugging and climbing trees. She went on to become an acclaimed scientist who built three laboratories in which she has studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Jahren’s first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but also so much more. It is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. -LB

Lab Girl book cover

Paper: Paging Through History

By Mark Kurlansky

Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. It is a central piece of culture and history, and also an unforgettably dirty neighbor. Along with all the fascinating tidbits, we cannot ignore the ugly ones. Kurlansky proves himself a top journalist once again as he unfolds the history of paper. -LB

Paper: Paging Through History book cover

Food & Farms

The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District

By James Rebanks

The story of a family and a family-owned farm in the Lake District in Northern England and the challenges they and the generations of shepherds who came before them have endured in this rare place to sustain their livelihood and landscape. A must read for anyone who has ever farmed or even considered it—or just wants a lovely read. -LB

The Shepherd's Life book cover

Modified

By Caitlin Shetterly

A personal book about how a mother and journalist discovered the importance of GMOs the hard way. Shortly after she learned that her son had an alarming sensitivity to GMO corn, she was told that she had the same condition, and her family’s daily existence changed forever. -LB

Modified book cover

Preserving Italy: Canning, Curing, Infusing, and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions

By Domenica Marchetti

Three reasons we included this book in this list: Oil-Preserved Butternut Squash with Mint, Savory Mint Sauce, and Hot-and-Sweet Pickled Peppers. The notion of preserving shouldn’t be limited to American jams and jellies, and in this book, author Domenica Marchetti turns our gaze to the ever-alluring flavors and ingredients of Italy. -LB

Preserving Italy book cover

Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South

by Vivian Howard

Ten years ago, Vivian opened Chef and the Farmer and put the nearby town of Kinston, NC on the culinary map. But in a town paralyzed by recession, she couldn’t hop on every new culinary trend. Instead, she focused on rural development: If you grew it, she’d buy it. Inundated by local sweet potatoes, blueberries, shrimp, pork, and beans, Vivian learned to cook the way generations of Southerners before her had, relying on resourcefulness, creativity, and the traditional ways of preserving food. -RR

Deep Run Roots book cover

Mindful Living

Upstream

By Mary Oliver

This collection of essays by beloved poet Mary Oliver is part meditation and part spiritual journey. In it, she reflects on her willingness as a young child and an adult to lose herself within the beauty and mysteries of both the natural world and the world of literature. -LB

Upstream book cover

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet. -RRB

The Book of Joy book cover

Animals

Esther the Wonder Pig: Changing the World One Heart at a Time

by Steve Jenkins

Unlikely pig owners Steve and Derek got a whole lot more than they bargained for when the designer micro piglet they adopted turned out to be a full-sized 600-pound sow! In the bestselling tradition of pet memoirs such as Oogy, Dewey, and Giant George, the story of Esther the Wonder Pig shows how families really do come in all shapes and sizes. -RRB

Esther book cover

Do Unto Animals: A Friendly Guide to How Animals Live and How We Can Make Their Lives Better dountoothers

by Tracey Stewart

Former veterinary technician and animal advocate Tracey Stewart is on a mission to change how we interact with animals. Through charming illustrations, homemade projects, and her humorous, knowledgeable voice, Stewart lends insight into the secret lives of animals and the kindest ways to live alongside them. -RRB

Do Unto Animals book cover

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