Although at times I have taken classes and consulted with experts, family, and friends, much of my knowledge has come from books. And then my experience takes me further. Books usually contain a host of ideas and information suitable for the subject at hand and to assist me in more learning. Before there was the internet, I was in the library at least once a week to explore a new subject. It was a place I could go to learn and discover--even as an adult. I have been inspired, educated, and entertained by books. And that is why I thought it might be interesting to see what books others have found environmentally inspiring in The Earth Day Reading Project.
As I read the posts for the project, I was even more inspired to delve into books and learn something new or read how someone uniquely managed something with which I was already familiar. Some books I had read, some I had heard about, and some were new to me. A few times, the description of a book or how the book influenced the reader was so inspiring, I was ready to read a book again. Often I was pleasantly surprised to discover what books were selected. Fiction, children's books, and even poetry were included. Science fiction, magazines, and newspapers were often inspirational. Some selected books fall in no environmental category but were inspirational nonetheless. It is so interesting to discover what inspires one person or another.
For my reference and for yours, I thought it would be nice to have the list of books (and other reads) in one place. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts, and I have made a long personal list of books for reading. Below is a list of the selected books and the blogs that participated. The books are linked to Amazon so you can read its description. This is in no way a plug for Amazon--although I like and use Amazon--but it is a good way of finding out more about each book. The blogs that participated are listed below the books. It is almost sad to have to separate the books from the blog posts because these posts were so well done. The stories, descriptions, and personal accounts are so inspirational. If you have missed any of them, give them a look. If I have missed someone, please let me know and I will add you to the list.
I have changed The Earth Day Reading Project badge to point to this post for easy access to the list of books. I will keep it up for a while to allow everyone enough time to refer to the list. Enjoy!
Nonfiction
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth - The Earthworks Group
1001 Gardening Secrets the Experts Never Tell You - FC & A Publishing
1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus - Charles Mann
A Guide to Green Housekeeping - Christina Strutt
A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold (essays on conservation)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature - Linda J. Lear
Beginner's Guide to Earthworm Farming - Mary Murphy
Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd - Karsten Heuer
Bringing Nature Home - Douglas W. Tallamy
Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs - May R. Berenbaum
By Oak, Ash, and Thorn - D.J. Conway (shamanism, celtic wisdom)
Camping and Woodcraft: A Handbook for Vacation Campers and For Travelers in the Wilderness - Horace Kephart
Choose to Reuse - Nikki & David Goldbeck
Collins Complete Guide to British Insects - Michael Chinery
Converting to an Eco-Friendly Home - Paul Hymers
Crockett's Victory Garden - James Underwood Crockett
Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul - Elizabeth Murray
David Attenborough's Life Stories - David Attenborough (nature)
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet - Bill McKibben
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer - Novella Carpenter
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
Finding Sanctuary in Nature - Jim Pathfinder Ewing (native american ceremonies for healing)
Foxfire Book (and other Foxfire books) - Foxfire Fund (how-to, natural living)
Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces - Susan Morrison
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses - Robin Wall Kimmerer
Gnomes - Will Huygen
Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden - Sally Jean Cunningham
Greenhouse Gardener's Companion - Shane Smith
In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan (food and whole foods)
How to Make a Forest Garden - Patrick Whitefield
How to Make a Wildlife Garden - Chris Baines
Kitchen Garden Planner - Darrell Trout, Cathy Barash, Jo Kellum
How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth - David Attenborough, BBC
My First Summer in the Sierra - John Muir
My Side of the Mountain - Jean Craighead George
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World - Paul Stamets
National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America - Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer
Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines - William Cullina
Naturalist - Edward O. Wilson (autobiography of a naturalist)
Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards - Sara Stein (backyard ecology)
Northwest Coastal Wildflowers - Dana Visalli, Derrick Ditchburn, Walt Lockwood
Organic Gardening - Pauline Pears, Sue Strickland, Royal Horticultural Society, Christopher Brickell
Passalong Plants - Steve Bender, Felder Rushing, Allen Lacy
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America - Roger Tory Peterson
Powers of Ten: About the Relative Size of Things in the Universe - Phylis Morrison
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs - Claire Kowalchik and William H. Hylton
Sacred Land: Intuitive Gardening for Personal, Political and Environmental Change - Clea Danaan
See You in a Hundred Years: Discover One Young Family's Search for a Simpler Life - Logan Ward
Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
Square Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew
Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web - Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis, Elaine Ingham
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds - National Audubon Society
The Barefoot Beekeeper - P.J. Chandler
The Bible
The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices - Michael Brower and Warren Leon
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge - Jeremy Narby
The Death and Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival - Stephen R. Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka
The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man - David Attenborough
The Garden Guardian's Guide to Environmentally-responsible Garden Care - Johan Gerber
The Golden Spruce: The True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed - John Vaillant
The Insects: An Outline of Etymology - P.J. Gullan
The Limits of Growth - Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis L. Meadows
The Moosewood Cookbook - Mollie Katzen
The Natural History of Selborne - Gilbert White (natural environment)
The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live - Sarah Susanka and Kira Obolensky
The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
The Ornamental Kitchen Garden - Geoff Hamilton
The Power of Positive Thinking - Norman Vincent Peale
The Private Life of Plants - David Attenborough
The Revolutionary Yardscape - Matthew Levesque
The Rodale Book of Composting - Grace Gershuny and Deborah L. Martin
The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox - Jennifer Lee Carrell
The Tightwad Gazette - Amy Dacyczyn
Tropical Horticulture & Gardening - Francis S. P. Ng
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
What are People For? - Wendell Berry (ecology essays)
Whole Earth Catalog - various
Fiction
Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather
Dune - Frank Herbert
Emily of New Moon - L.M. Montgomery
Forty Signs of Rain - Kim Stanley Robinson
Grass - Sheri S. Tepper
In the Garden Trilogy - Nora Roberts
Ishmael: An Adventure of Mind and Spirit - Daniel Quinn
Lark Rise to Candleford - Flora Thompson
O Pioneers! - Willa Cather
Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
Soylent Green - Harry Harrison
Swami and Friends - N.K. Narayan
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lost Child - Mulk Raj Anand
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Whispering in Shadows - Jeanette C. Armstrong
Wolf Totem - Jiang Rong and Howard Goldblatt
Children's Books
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky - Susan J. Jeffers
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes - Beatrix Potter
Gumnut Babies - May Gibbs
Miss Rumphious - Barbara Cooney
The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein
The Lorax - Dr. Seuss
The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies - Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin - Beatrix Potter
The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Poetry
Dog, Fox, Field - Les A. Murray
To A Mouse (poem) - Robert Burns
Newspapers
The Washington Post
Magazines
Dwell Magazine
National Geographic
Organic Gardening
The Gardener (South Africa)
Participating Blogs
A Garden of Possibilities
A Walk in Our Garden
Asea Aranion - Healing and Death
Bamboo and More
Birds, Blooms, Books
Blue Heron Landscapes
Blush and Bees
Canoe Corner
Casa Mariposa
Commonweeder
Cool as a Cucumber
Ecological Gardening
Elephant's Eye
Experiments with Plants
Garden by the Sound
Gardening with Binoculars
Gardens Eye View
Green Out Every Window
It's Not Work, It's Gardening
Jean's Garden
Joene's Garden
Law of the Land
Microcosm
My Garden, My Hobbies
My Nice Garden
My Weeds Are Very Sorry
My World of Euphoria
On a Hays County Hill
Patio Patch
PlantPostings
Plantaliscious
Polka Dot Galoshes
Prairie Rose's Garden
Roses and Other Gardening Joys
South of Sunnybrook
Southern Meadows
Summit Springs Farm
Sweet Bean Gardening
The Bunnies Buffet
The Gardening Blog
The Metropolitan Field Guide
The New Adventures of Hemlock Hollow
The Sundial Garden
©Michelle A. Potter
Related posts: The Earth Day Reading Project
Great idea! I should note that the Gnomes book is actually fiction (could also go in children's). It is written as though gnomes are real and the author was allowed unprecedented access to them. It is set up as a "study" including illustrations of how gnomes live, work, history, culture, fables, etc.
ReplyDeleteI have already secured several books from this list to read!
Thanks so much for the list. I had missed a few, and now I can go back and see each post. And print this out for future purchases!
ReplyDeleteWonderful list of resources, Michelle;-) I did get asked by Jean if I would like her to link to me, but I felt a bit overwhelmed with my own earth-day project at the time and politely declined. I will be sure to check out this link when I need a little inspiration in the future;-) Thank you, again, for joining my project for earth day. It was a pleasure hosting it and reading your post. I've been meaning to mention the fact that we don't live far from each other! Less than an hr., probably. Perhaps we can get together sometime this summer;-) Take care!
ReplyDeleteIt is fantastic to have the entire list in one spot! I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the blog posts and reading about everyone's picks. Now, it is time for me to get reading some of these inspiring choices.
ReplyDeleteIt must have taken you time and effort to put this whole thing together for the purpose of sharing. Great job and I am sure many would appreciate your effort. I love those kiddie Gnome books. :)
ReplyDelete@Becky Thanks, Becky. I would like to read it because it sounds so interesting....and cute.
ReplyDelete@HolleyGarden I am so glad you can use it. I wanted a list for myself and thought I'd share.
ReplyDelete@Jan@Thanks for today. I enjoyed participating in your Sustainable Living project. It was such a worthwhile blog meme. I still have not completed reading all the posts which are so inspiring. I have noticed our close proximity as well. It would be very nice to meet in person sometime.
ReplyDelete@Karin / Southern Meadows I am thrilled that you enjoy the list. I couldn't believe how many books were selected. I have a list that will last me for a while.
ReplyDelete@One It was an enjoyable endeavor, and I added more books to my list. Thank you for appreciating the effort.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Thank you for such a thoughtful list, handy to print and take shopping with me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words about Astrid too.
What a wonderful resource! Thank you so much for hosting the meme, and for compiling the list for all of us to access. Comparing knowledge and inspirational resources with all these wonderful bloggers is so rewarding!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to have all of these wonderful resources and reading ideas in one place (fuel for the fire), especially since they've inspired other gardeners. It must have been a lot of work to compile, so thanks! I also like to use the site "Goodreads" to keep track of all the books I'm reading/ read/ want to read. They've got reviews and descriptions there too.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! I have been working on a book list for a while for my blog, and I love the fact that this list has completely different books in it. I'm looking forward to doing some more reading when it stops being so beautiful outside.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you were inspired by The Secret Garden.
I'll never forget what it felt like to read this for the first time, although most of my memories from that time are much fuzzier. I have read it many times since, and now I'm ready to pick it up again for the first time in many years. It's like an old friend. Thanks so much for reminding me of how special it is!
Fantastic idea! Brilliant thanks for taking the time to do this. If you wanted to I could but the earth day reading project badge on my blog too, ifyou have the html code?
ReplyDeletewhat an impressive list! thanks for compiling it in one place. I forgot about that book Ishmael that someone else mentioned - definitely inspired me, too.
ReplyDeleteps- thanks for your sweet comment on my header pic of Clara w/a carrot :-)
I love that you put everything in one spot!! Now I know where to go for my next great read! Excellent idea!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle this was outstanding...I can't tell you how many of these books I purchased and they are now in a pile to be read....one of the best Earth Day memes....I will be bookmarking this post so I can check out what I missed...
ReplyDeleteWhat a great resource of a good list of books. Good job to all and to you! Now to get busy reading...
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great idea to put all the books and blogs together! I will be referring to these lists for the next while for sure!! Thank you so much :)
ReplyDelete@Mrs Bok - The Bok Flock I am so glad you like it. That is a good idea to print it and take it shopping. I hope Astrid is doing well.
ReplyDelete@PlantPostings I also find it rewarding. And I am constantly amazed at the knowledge, creativity, and inspiration of many bloggers.
ReplyDelete@Kate/ Beyond the Brambles Thanks for the tip. I will check Goodreads out.
ReplyDelete@Wendy You are welcome! There is some special quality to The Secret Garden that makes it something I can read over and over again.
ReplyDelete@DD Thanks, DD. You are so kind to add this to your blog. I am sure many will appreciate it...I know I do.
ReplyDelete@Ginger Ginger, I am so glad you like it. And that was such an adorable header...so perfect!
ReplyDelete@Casa Mariposa I was so impressed by the bloggers who selected all these books. They are the ones that really created the list.
ReplyDelete@Donna Thanks, Donna. It was so nice to see how many books inspired these bloggers/gardeners.
ReplyDelete@tina Hi Tina. I know how you feel. My summer reading list is full!
ReplyDelete@SeaBlush I am so glad it is something that you find useful. I was so glad to discover some new books. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting all the books together in one post, it certainly makes it easy to find and refer back to them. It's such an eclectic mix of expected and totally unexpected titles. All I need now is some free time to check them all out.
ReplyDelete@Debbie/GardenofPossibilities You are welcome...I enjoyed it. I will also need to carve out time to read the ones on my reading list.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post, so comprehensive, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis was a huge undertaking. Thank you so much for sharing all this information in one place. This meme was fun, thought provoking, and a great idea.
ReplyDeleteOh my mercy, what a big list! Thank you for hosting this AND for compiling it all together. I see I need to update my reading list. :)
ReplyDelete@Greenearth Thank you for stopping by, and I am so glad you like the list.
ReplyDelete@joene It would not have been as good a project had people like you not participated. Thank you!
ReplyDelete@Hanni @ Sweet Bean Gardening You are most welcome! I have made some updates to my reading list as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for creating this wonderful listing. As I was reading other blogs I was adding to my Amazon wish list but I know there were posts that I missed along the way. Now I can find all the books in one place. and again, thank you for this inspirational meme, it was a joy to participate.
ReplyDelete@Marguerite I am so glad you appreciate it. I also wanted all the books in one place. Thank you for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a great job putting out this list. It must have taken a lot of time and effort and for this I thank you very much. The Earth Day Reading Project was the most inspiring and I'm so glad I was invited to participate. Reading this post is like going to a virtual library. Good job, gal, my thumbs up!
ReplyDelete@Autumn Belle Thank you for appreciating all the work that went into it, but it was my pleasure. Once things slow down a bit, I am looking forward to cracking open some of these inspiring books.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reading books will surely increase the knowledge. During schooling, the students have to read a lot regarding the academic subjects. When they have to write the essays kind of works they have to research a lot on the topic and read it well to understand the concept. Yes reading will definitely increase your knowledge. Nowadays the internet is very much advanced that one can buy books online. Many writing services also available and for approaching them, many bets writing reviews sites like http://essaysthatwins.com/ also exists. But you need to refer and read the best work received. Reading is one of the best ways to increase the knowledge.
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