Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

On the first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million Americans - 10% of all Americans - took the streets to demonstrate and educate about the declining health of our planet. Since then, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 worldwide, with lessons on everything from the environmental impacts of oil and gas to the ways that people can change their habits to help the Earth. This week, we are reading a book that's related to Earth Day, whether it's cli-fi or it features animals, plants, and the outdoors.

Suggestions:
An Earth Day Reading List for Grown Ups: https://bookriot.com/earth-day-readin...
13 Books to Read on the Environment and Climate Change: https://www.earthday.org/13-must-read...
5 New Books on Our Earth Day Reading List: https://localnewsmatters.org/2021/04/...
6 Cli-Fi Novels to Get You Started: https://blog.ed.ted.com/2021/07/08/6-...
12 of the Best Cli-Fi Novels to Inspire You: https://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/polls...
Top 10 Books of Eco-Fiction: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
10 Compelling Eco-Fiction Reads: https://bookriot.com/eco-fiction-books/
15 Best Eco-Fiction Novels: https://elifthereader.com/prettything...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and do you have any recommendations?

Ecofiction is another way to approach this prompt.

Ecofiction is the branch of literature that encompasses nature-oriented (non-human) or environment-oriented (human impacts on nature) works of fiction.

Here’s some lists:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
https://bookriot.com/eco-fiction-books/
https://elifthereader.com/prettything...

Thanks, dalex. I'll add those to the top post. This is definitely a prompt I'm not as comfortable with / don't have as many options for!

I'm reading The Lorax because I couldn't find another option I wanted to read.

The Lorax for me. It's my go-to for Earth Day/environment prompts.

I'm reading Parable of the Sower for this one. I've read a bunch of Butler's short stories and essays for college course, but this will be my first novel of hers. This is probably the book I'm most looking forward to reading in 2022!

I wish I would have thought of it before I purchased the book, but a BIO for this prompt could be to also borrow the book from the library or thrift it, which would be a fun way to incorporate the purpose and practices of Earth Day into the challenge.

Emily wrote: "Thanks, dalex. I'll add those to the top post. This is definitely a prompt I'm not as comfortable with / don't have as many options for!"

Perfect, thanks!

I have Once There Were Wolves down for this.

I'm thinking I'll read one of these:
Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips
Once There Were Wolves - Charlotte McConaghy
A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River - Aldo Leopold

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy was excellent.

Disappearing Earth is one of my top 10 books of 2021, so I definitely recommend, Kathy!

I'm reading Once There Were Wolves in January for my book club, so it's going on the author with double letters, but I may save Migrations for this prompt.

I've moved Disappearing Earth to the top of my list, Emily! It's a book I didn't get to this year.

Quick note - I don't remember an ecology or environmental angle in Disappearing Earth. I liked the cross-cultural aspects with indigenous peoples, the college students, and the mystery involving missing girls. Maybe there was something else I'm just not remembering. It was a series of related short stories each taking place in one month of the year.

This is my favorite prompt so I'm going to use some of these books for other prompts, such as 440+ pages, npr, double letters, powells' awards, flora & fauna, 22+ letters, and women in stem, etc.
✔= read in 2022

My top choices:
✔The Overstory by Richard Powers +Earth, fauna, 440+ pages, npr, awards.⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2 - Not recommended for audio
✔Greenwood by Michael Christie⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
✔The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - second in series ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔MaddAddam⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at BreakfastJonathan Safran Foer food, earthday, weather ⭐⭐1/2
✔The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Still interested in reading:
The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future 2021, by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time
The Hungry Tide
Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back - n
Even As We Breathe -npr, double letters
Annihilation - double letters, women in stem
The Journeys of Trees: A Story about Forests, People, and the Future or, The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring, or another book on trees
Happiness

I recommend:
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy - fiction, set on water, fauna, psychology, author w double letters⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐💖
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood- fiction, first in series, flora & fauna
Lab Girl Hope Jahren- memoir, women in STEM
✔The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World -nonfiction, flora
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes nonfiction, set on water, 22 letters, fauna
Once There Were Wolves - fiction, double letters, women in STEM, fauna
Flight Behavior byBarbara Kingsolver - fiction
✔The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
✔The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here, by Hope Jahren

NancyJ wrote: "Quick note - I don't remember an ecology or environmental angle in Disappearing Earth. I liked the cross-cultural aspects with indigenous peoples, the college students, and the mystery involving mi..."

I'm using it just because of the title - Disappearing Earth, which seems perfect for Earth Day.

Yea, I agree with NancyJ on the real connection plot/theme-wise, but also think using it as a title prompt is perfectly fine, mostly because I loved the book so much lol

Kathy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Quick note - I don't remember an ecology or environmental angle in Disappearing Earth. I liked the cross-cultural aspects with indigenous peoples, the college students, and the myste..."

Yes, sorry Kathy, I meant to add that the title alone is good. I just didn't want you to be disappointed later if you expected otherwise. I really liked the book. It's funny, the chapter that I thought was irrelevant at first, turned out to be one that I thought about all year.

NancyJ wrote: "Kathy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Quick note - I don't remember an ecology or environmental angle in Disappearing Earth. I liked the cross-cultural aspects with indigenous peoples, the college students,..."

Oh, no problem, NancyJ. I actually didn't know there wasn't an environmental theme, but really like the title. Your last line about the chapter that seemed irrelevant really has me intrigued.

Kathy, I hope you like it too! There were quite a few stories that really stuck with me, and I can visualize many of the settings (even one character's apartment). I think I raised my rating later on because of that.

Goodreads Choice nominees related to Earth day:

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need by BIll Gates

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (maybe just partially related?)
------------
This also looks really good, by people involved in the Paris Climate talks. They show two different potential futures.
The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis Christiana Figueres

There are so many good books to choose from! But I think I'm going to go with All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. it's a very diverse/ intersectional feminist collection of cautiously hopeful writings from different authors.

This is also uncomfortable for me but these are my options from the above lists:

The Dry by Jane Harper
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Dune by Frank Herbert
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Recommendations:
The Clearing
Bewilderment
The Cave
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
Barkskins
Arctic Dreams
Bearskin
Heat & Light
The Feather Thief
Happiness
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
The River Why
The Living Sea of Waking Dreams
The Island of Missing Trees

I'm probably going to read The Ones We're Meant to Find, War Girls, Zahrah the Windseeker, or Trail of Lightning for this prompt though I have some other options.

Recommendations:
Moon of the Crusted Snow
The Book of Koli

Does anyone know if Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail would count for this prompt? Goodreads has is under the genre of Environment > Nature.

Mo wrote: "Does anyone know if Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail would count for this prompt? Goodreads has is under the genre of Environment > Nature."

Yes, I think it would count for earthday or Flora and Fauna. I read it last year.

I finished Once There Were Wolves. I could also use it for Flora and Fauna. It's very good.

I read:
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert - 4* - My Review

I read Die Geschichte der Bienen by Maja Lunde (The History of Bees).

I chose Parable of the Sower after Sydney mentioned it as a possibility. This dystopian near-future (it starts in 2024) has water issues as a major element to the dystopia. Beautifully written and all too feasible.

I read Trashed it is a graphic novel. I thought the illustrations were interesting and the best thing about this. There was some good information about garbage generation and management in the US but the story itself was a little bland and at times seemed to wonder with no purpose. I am sure the garbage men have to deal with snarly dogs all the time but I was really put off by a scene at the end where one was chasing the men and it got slammed with a stick. This didn't add anything to the story and just put me off leaving me feeling unhappy with my choice.

I read The Fifth Season and can't wait to get to the rest of the series.

I'd recommend Parable of the Sower because Octavia Butler forecast a future that is pretty close to reality. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - what if we all spent a year eating foods only in season and locally grown or sourced? And The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future of Our Economy, Energy, and Environment for too many reasons to mention.

FYI - found this article yesterday:

https://www.theguardian.com/environme...

I read Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

Simard is a researcher who did work on finding out how trees communicate to other plants via underground fungus and her motivation is to have healthier forests and sustainable logging practices. I think her lifestyle and work totally fits in with the point of Earth Day.

I read Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. It was good. She was amazing. I found the abuse from her husband disturbing.

I read Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky for this prompt, which is a little tangential as it's not really about the environmental consequences of climate change, but it is a dystopia about how we might react to overpopulation and lack of access to resources, and how our society might evolve to address these challenges.

I read Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty. Wonderful descriptions of the natural world, coupled with the author's life with autism (and his lovely family) and his conservation work - writing and protests. Highly recommended.

I haven't decided what I am going to read for this prompt yet, but I do have one to recommend. Last year I read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It is a fabulous book. It is a mix of science, anecdotes, history, and Indigenous history.

I read and recommend Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver.

For this prompt, I read Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. Although published in 1990, the book focused on Adams' (and friends) global trek to locate exotic animals on the verge of extinction; sadly, over the years, many have succumbed. Despite the time gap, I'd recommend this book for its humor, humanity and great writing. Adams is always a joy to read.

I'd also recommend Greenwood by Michael Christie, which I read for the flora/fauna series this year. It was terrific.

I ended up reading Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy for this one. It could also be used for the woman in STEM prompt. It's about a novel about a woman involved in reintroducing wolves into the Scottish Highlands. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I read We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer (non-fiction). It was excellent, and encouraging that individual people can cumulatively make a difference in stopping/slowing climate change. Hint: it’s not fossil fuel related (that’s a more system level change that needs to happen also).

edit: added link to book

I read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens which just about everyone has gotten to long before I finally read it. I figured it would fit with the emphasis placed on nature and the marsh that the main character lives in.

I am reading book:Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland|39966261] not necessarily about climate control but definitely about respecting the earth

I read Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk. It's a collection of essays about nature, often about how humans have disrupted the natural world and / or about habitat loss, so it fits the prompt very well.

Unfortunately the kindle version I read has been badly formatted, with no line break between essays, so if you're going to read this and, like me, get irrationally worked up at small errors like this, I would suggest a physical or audio version!

I battled with this prompt and finally decided to read 5 books to kids at school on earthday. It was amazing some of the literature out there for kids. I especially like Greta and the Giants A true story. Also We Are Water Protectors and The Floating Forest. They made more impact on me than an adult book would have.

NancyJ wrote: "This is my favorite prompt so I'm going to use some of these books for other prompts, such as 440+ pages, npr, double letters, powells' awards, flora & fauna, 22+ letters, and women in stem, etc.
✔..."

Thanks for this great list! I've either read, or am interesting in reading, a good deal of them.

I read The High House by Jessie Greengrass. Interesting and thought-provoking.

I read Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland

folk tales surrounding plant life

For this prompt I read The End of the Ocean.

I am guessing all Maja Lunde´s book in the Climate quartet would fit the prompt but I have only read the first one yet except for The End of the Ocean which is The History of Bees which I recommend.

For this prompt I have selected this:



As well as dealing with the actual disaster, this spent a lot of time on the ecological impact as well as discussion on how nuclear power fell out of favour because of public fear and how this has had consequences for clean energy.

Read The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams