*Heads up! This post contains affiliate links. This just means if you click and make a purchase I may receive a small commission. Get the full run down here.
Looking for a good nature-inspired read? John Muir is great. But if you’re looking to branch out, I have recommendations! I bet you were thinking this was going to be a Top Ten List. Confession. I have the hardest time ranking things and picking favorites. What’s your favorite food? Well, for me it depends on the day, my mood, the weather, the season, and a number of other factors. And there’s lots of foods I haven’t even tried yet. So who knows, maybe my favorite food is some scrumptious dish waiting to be discovered! Favorite movie? Yikes! I mean, there’s so much to consider, like the genre, time period, audience, purpose, and the list goes on and on.
In reality, I have always been told I was a “big picture” person. Truthfully, I used to be slightly offended by that distinction because I thought people meant that I lacked focus. Now, I understand it to mean that I prefer to gather as much data as possible and make connections among, between, and beyond my experiences. Life is built on and defined by experience. When you open your mind to nature and connect to the natural world those experiences become more meaningful. And books are the best way to open your mind.
Here are my 10 book recommendations for nature-inspired reading:
- On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor
- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
- Peace is Every Step by Tich Nhat Hanh
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
- Tinkering with Eden by Kim Todd
- The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker by Tim Gallagher
- Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing the Face of Discovery by Caren Cooper
So rather than a “top ten” book list, which ranks items by subjective opinion, I am making 10 book recommendations based on my experience. Each of these books lives on one of my bookshelves to be read and reread when I am needing to reconnect to my wild self. These nature-inspired books cover all my favorite outdoor topics! HIking, hiking trails, natural history, science, and being present to enjoy each moment. Read on to discover which one of these 10 books will be your next nature-inspired read!
On Trails
Robert Moor’s New York Times Bestseller On Trails: An Exploration takes you beyond the well-worn and maintained public hiking trail into the hidden life of all trails. Moor gives trails a soul, a life, by taking the reader along with him on his years-long journey of trying to learn who created trails and why they exist. As a frequent traveler of “modern hiking trails [that] loudly announce their existence” I poured over Moor’s discoveries like a new camper eagerly exploring an undiscovered campground so I too could understand the essence of “trail-ness”.
If you enjoy reading stories that take you along a contemplative journey with nature as your inspiration, this book will not disappoint. The book examines how trails are formed, how they shape our understanding of the world, and how they guide us in both physical and existential ways. Through a blend of personal reflection, historical analysis, and scientific insight, Moor illuminates the intricate connections between trails and the ways we navigate life.
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods reminds everyone that being outdoors is essential for connection. You will laugh out loud as you read about how this novice hiker attempts to take on one of America’s most famous and longest trails, the Appalachian Trail (AT). As a recreational hiker myself, I delighted in reading Bryson’s humorous take on outdoor gear, trail names, trail angels, and the humbling realities of being out in the wilderness.
Bryson hilariously recounts his intrepid idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail as a way to rediscover America after living abroad. Unlike the British Isle, where Bryson spent a couple of decades, America still has vast swaths of wilderness. It is this wilderness, a space untamed, that reflects the American character. Bryson’s comical narration of his attempt at a thru-hike makes the experience real for anyone who dreams of attempting the AT. There’s lots of laughter, some tears, and a clear message that we are all better when we can step away from domestic life to be out in the woods.
Peace is Every Step
Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s anthology Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life offers gentle reminders to be joyful and present during everyday life. In parable style, Hanh makes you feel like you are listening to him tell stories. Reading each story brought me back to my breath and gave me a new perspective about my privilege and place in the world.
Editor Arnold Kotler organized Hanh’s stories into three parts to take the reader on a spiritual journey. The journey begins with gratitude, continues through healing and transformation, and ends with an open call to peace. Some stories are easy reminders that life is a gift not to be forgotten. Other commentaries guide the reader through meditative exercises to build awareness of both body and mind. Hanh muses on the perfection of a dandelion and the importance of human relationships to make accessible the “inner work” that brings peace.
Wild
Cheryl Strayed’s autobiographical story Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is the type of visceral writing that makes you feel her experiences. As a young woman without familial support and direction, Strayed trusted her instinct to immerse herself in the wilderness to save herself. While reading about her blunders, failures, and triumphs, I found myself rooting for Strayed to reach the end of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) because it would mean a win for all solo women hikers.
This book is Strayed’s personal account of how personal loss drove her to the edge of losing herself and how hiking the PCT helped heal old wounds. She took on the 2,650 mile trail with no real hiking experience, very little money, and no companion. Her story tracks a suspenseful but powerful journey with humor and honesty that connects hikers and non-hikers to the healing forces of the natural world.
Gathering Moss
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses is a beautifully written love story about unsung and oft-overlooked moss. As a botanist, Kimmerer likens “learning to see mosses with [her] first memory of a snowflake” and illuminates the intricacies of the small. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed and became fascinated by the tiny world of mosses as Kimmerer explained their complexity and significance to larger ecosystems.
Kimmerer writes as a science teacher and in personal reflection to capture mosses role of breathing life into an ecosystem. This book is an example of storytelling with the purpose of learning scientific knowledge. She artfully brings the reader down to the scale of moss to help them get an entirely new perspective of the world. In reading this book about flora that doesn’t normally warrant our attention our minds are open to how intricately and deeply connected we are to each other.
Why Fish Don’t Exist
Lulu Miller’s Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life is part biography, part memoir, and part natural history. In this unique story, I learned about David Starr Jordan’s tenacity which led him to become the founding president of Stanford University. Although he was a staunch taxonomist and eugenicist, I was captivated by how Miller paralleled Jordan’s trials with her own and revealed that lessons can be learned through interesting and problematic histories.
With a quick witted writing style, Miller dives into Jordan’s life with child-like fascination. Jordan was trained as an ichthyologist and is credited for discovering and preserving thousands of new fish species. During the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, most of his collection was destroyed. Miller became intrigued by Jordan’s response to this tragedy and gracefully weaves together Jordan’s life, her own tragedies and triumphs, and the natural history of fish taxonomy.
Silent Spring
In her most iconic work, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was an early treatise on chemical pollution credited with spurring America’s early environmental movement. Much has changed since Carson wrote the book in 1962 and when I read it in 1997, but the message of the book to heed nature’s warnings endures. I was awe-inspired by Carson’s ability to detail the dependency all life has on each other and her foresight to the impact humans will have on the Earth.
Carson’s literary style almost hides the fact that the book is a carefully laid out investigation of pesticide use in America. In this post-war boom era, chemicals manufactured during the war were being repurposed as insecticides and touted as panacea to all agricultural pests. However, Carson boldly wrote this book to push back against the culture of chemical fixes and to elevate the efficiency and beauty of nature’s own processes.
Tinkering with Eden
Kim Todd brings light to the murky history of introduced species in Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotic Species in America. Each chapter is like a noir novel full of intrigue and a cast of characters that are responsible for the “crime”. In some chapters it was like reading about an alien landing on Earth and wreaking havoc, and in others I learned about exotic species that have gone unnoticed for decades. I took so much away from this book about how balanced Earth’s systems are and how easily they can be disrupted.
Like a historical novel, Todd exquisitely delves into personal stories that led to ecological chaos. She highlights species introduction to their new worlds with such wonderful detail that it puts the reader in an understanding disposition for those that thought it was a good idea at the time. From insects, to plants, to mammals, and more this book builds attention and awareness about how perilously easy it is to rock the ecological boat and send one or more native species sinking.
The Grail Bird
Tim Gallagher is all of us wishing for the return of majestic animals long thought extinct. In his book The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Gallagher takes readers along on his hunt, not to shoot, but to sight the elusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker. In reading this book, I felt the sense of adventure and urgency that Gallagher and his colleagues surely felt in pursuit of this mythic creature that symbolizes both resilience and hope.
A bird not seen since the mid-1940s, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was thought to have gone the way of the Dodo. And then there were rumors, whispers, of sightings in the early 2000s. Gallagher narrates his hopeful birding exploration that leads him deep into the ancient cypress swamps of Louisiana. Take a journey alongside Gallagher and his team to discover the realm of the Ivory-billed and get a renewed sense of hope that wildlife can endure.
Citizen Science
Professor Caren Cooper believes in a world where everybody counts, and everybody can do science! In her book, Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing the Face of Discovery Cooper explains with the creativity and patience of a teacher how science has always been the purview of all people. Even as a person trained in science, I learned about so many other ways I can contribute to scientific discoveries and I am the better for it.
Cooper draws from varied scientific disciplines to demonstrate how everyday folks with an interest in scientific phenomena have contributed data, observations, and time to help researchers. If you think you can’t be or are not a scientist, this book can change your mind. Science belongs to everyone because it consists of creative acts that help us to understand the world we live in. And, with the power of connection we can all learn to make it better.
Nature-Inspired Reads
There are no bounds to the stories we can draw from nature. Each of these books were recommended because they are wide-ranging in how nature impacted the story-telling. Delving into the works of nature writers always brings me a sense of wonder, knowledge, and renewal. I hope you give one of these recommendations a try. But mostly, I hope you find a way to tell your own nature-inspired story.
Discover more from Tenderfoot Hiking
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
