 Supporting COMMUNITY. Inspiring DISCOVERY. Promoting LITERACY. |
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Nature and Science February 2026 |
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The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body
by Starre Vartan
Science writer Starre Vartan, like many women, grew up believing what she had always been told: that women were weaker than men. Not so, according to her book and a decade’s worth of research, which shows that women tend to outperform men in several areas, including endurance, flexibility, and longevity. The Stronger Sex is a valuable, corrective study that asks “why testosterone is considered an unfair advantage” (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: The Better Half: On the Genetic Superiority of Women by Sharon Moalem.
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Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives
by Daisy Fancourt
A groundbreaking exposé showing how the arts--alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature--are the forgotten fifth pillar of health. From cradle to grave, engaging in the arts has remarkable effects on our health and well-being. Music supports the architectural development of children's brains. Artistic hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia. Dance and magic tricks build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries. Arts and music act just like drugs to decrease depression, stress, and pain, reducing our dependence on medication. Going to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theater decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty. Engaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body, even helping us to live longer. This isn't sensationalism, it's science: the results of decades of studies gathering data from neuroimaging, molecular biomarkers, wearable sensors, cognitive assessments, and electronic health records. From professor Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning scientist and science communicator and director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, this book will fundamentally change the way you value and engage with the arts in your daily life and give you the tools to optimize how, when, and what arts you engage in to achieve your health goals. The arts are not a luxury in our lives. They are essential.
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When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy
by Beronda L. Montgomery
This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees. The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely. In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees--as well as the cotton shrub--are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning.
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| The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind by Simon WinchesterAuthor and journalist Simon Winchester presents a celebration of wind. Drawing fascinating references from science, engineering, and literature, Winchester is clearly enraptured by this natural force, evidenced by his vivid depictions of its role in civilization’s destruction (typhoons, tornadoes, wildfires) and salvation (wind-powered energy solutions). This is a captivating ode to elemental nature in the vein of Cynthia Barnett’s Rain: A Natural and Cultural History. |
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The Genius of Birds
by Jennifer Ackerman
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our view of what it means to be intelligent. At once personal yet scientific, richly informative and beautifully written, The Genius of Birds celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures.
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| Bird City: Adventures in New York's Urban Wilds by Ryan GoldbergJournalist Ryan Goldberg debuts with a vividly descriptive account of urban birdwatching in New York City. The author shares his enthusiasm with an expansive community of birders who join him in his forays through the parks and neighborhoods that provide sanctuary to over 400 species. Along the way, readers will learn about urban environmentalism, wildlife hazards, and little-known facts about the author’s home city. Read-alike: Birding Without Borders by Noah Strycker. |
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Ten Birds That Changed the World
by Stephen Moss
For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religion, and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art, and poetry. In [this book], naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the ... story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world's continents. From Odin's faithful raven companions to Darwin's finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is [an] ... engaging work of natural history.--
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| Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili TaylorAward-winning actor Lili Taylor first became a birdwatcher and nature advocate about 15 years ago during a break between film projects. She noticed how observing the sparrows and jays outside her house awakened her senses, especially her ability to listen, a skill she prizes in her acting work. Today she goes birding whenever she can, in the city and country, and will inspire her readers to rediscover the gift of noticing the world around them. For fans of: Amy Tan’s The Backyard Bird Chronicles. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 703-248-5030 (TTY 711) www.mrspl.org
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