Eco Mysteries Reading List
19/12/24 11:02 Filed in: Environmental Fiction
“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb
The time has come the whale said, to talk of many things, of plants, and trees, and freshwater fish, octopuses, hurricane, lizards and plastic squid, tigers, racoons, and Monarch butterflies, and why the sea is boiling hot and weather pigs have wings.— Apologies to Lewis Carrol’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”
Whether you’re a writer or reader, I hope your pursuits continue to be successful and satisfying. As an author, “success,” in part means publishing your books to share with the world. Success also means perseverance. Case in point, my most recently published books were purchased by Star Bright Books five years ago are now finally printed.
The Japanese quote about perseverance is "石の上にも三年" (Ishi no ue ni mo san-nen), which translates to "Three years on a stone,” meaning, it takes patience to warm up a stone by sitting on it.
For all lovers of stories, this is my somewhat random list. I often choose books with topics that complement my current writing. Some are for adults, others are for ages 9-14, but have crossover appeal for all ages. Looking down this list I see that most have focus on the natural world and how humans relate to it. No surprise since I write eco adventures and climate fiction with a focus on solutions on how to conserve the natural world.
In no particular order or genre:
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence by Zoë Schlanger
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen
Alabama’s Surprising Biodiversity and Southern Rivers: Restoring America’s Freshwater Biodiversity, by Scot Duncan
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
Hurricane, Lizards and Plastic Squids by Thor Hanson
All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Missing Mike a novel in verse by Shari Green.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Selby VanPelt
Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo.
Archipelago by Monique Roffey.
A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon by Karen Romano Young.
All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Flight Behavior Barbra Kingsolver.
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk.
Migrations by Charlotte Mcconaghy
Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson
Song for a Whale by Lynn Kelley
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Sending Kudos to all the talented writers of our SCBWI, Southern Breeze region.
Here are my just published Eco Adventures: Vanishing Birds and Operation Terrapin Rescue that are available now from Star Bright Books.
Please send your ideas and books for the next newsletter to me: cldatnow@me.com