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Nature and Science April 2026 |
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When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World
by Suzanne Simard
Raised in a family of loggers committed to sensible forest stewardship, trailblazing ecologist Suzanne Simard has watched as timber companies leave forests at higher risk for wildfires, water crises, and plant and animal extinction. But her research has the potential to chart a new course. If we can honor the tools that trees have honed for sharing intergenerational wisdom, she argues, we can protect these sacred places for many years to come. Animated by wonder for our forests and the intricate practices of caretaking that have long sustained them, When the Forest Breathes is a vital reminder of all the natural world has to teach us about adaptability, resilience, and community.
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The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life
by Majid Fotuhi
In just 12 weeks, you can take major steps to prevent and reverse cognitive decline, boost memory, and enhance mental sharpness at any age. A leading neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University unveils a groundbreaking glimpse into the remarkable, resilient brain, and offers a science-backed plan to unlock its true potential. Your smarter, sharper future begins now.
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Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It's Like to Be Free
by Oprah Winfrey
Dr. Jastreboff describes strategies to optimize health and manage side effects all with the reassuring perspective of decades of experience treating patients with obesity and leading studies with these medications. Dr. Jastreboff's groundbreaking research offers a new way forward, not only for obesity treatment, but also for overall health, with significant implications for the prevention and reversal of hundreds of related diseases.
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A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness
by Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives--scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic--to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness.
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| How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries by David George HaskellFlowers are so much more than aesthetically pleasing, asserts biologist David George Haskell: they are nature’s true survivors. In addition to providing food and shelter for insects and birds, they adapt incredibly quickly to environmental changes, foster biodiversity, act as catalysts between different species, and are even capable of things like self-reproduction and “chromosome doubling” when the chips are down. For fans of: The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. |
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I Told You So! Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right
by Matt Kaplan
An energetic and impassioned work of popular science about scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted--from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners. In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA-a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making small changes to the forces that shape it.
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| Why We Drink Too Much: The Impact of Alcohol on Our Bodies and Culture by Dr. Charles KnowlesIn his accessible debut, British medical professor Charles Knowles breaks down the science behind humans’ enduring fascination with drinking alcohol and explains why the urge to over-consume is all too common. Far from a sobriety diatribe, Knowles instead presents a straightforward summary of alcohol’s effects alongside the chilling story of how it nearly destroyed his own life, urging drinkers to retain perspective on their habit. Try this next: Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction by Judith Grisel. |
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Let's Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants
by Ben Goulet-Scott and Jacob S. Suissa
Botanizing is the new birding! This fascinating book of 101 botany prompts is about the joy of getting to know plants in much the same way we get to know birds, through observation and attention.With easy entry points and lush photography, the 101 prompts inspire readers to engage with plant life meaningfully each day by observing the parts, patterns, and processes that make plants so amazing.
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| Winter: The Story of a Season by Val McDermidAs we brace for another “hottest ever” summer, readers wistful for winter coziness will want to immerse themselves in Scottish crime novelist Val McDermid’s ode to the season of cold, rest, and reflection. McDermid’s beloved Edinburgh comes to life with her vivid childhood recollections of busy street scenes, sprinkled with Scottish holiday traditions and a few soup recipes. For fans of: The Light in the Dark: A Winter Journal by Horatio Clare. |
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| When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. MontgomeryPlant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery’s richly detailed own voices book examines several varieties of common American trees and plants in a blend of memoir, Black history, and science. We learn facts both inspiring and haunting about traditional Black botanical knowledge, like that willow bark was boiled to make medicinal poultices, and that the hollow trunks of sycamores would often serve as safe shelter for people escaping enslavement. For fans of: the anthology A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Longwood Public Library800 Middle Country RoadMiddle Island, New York 11953
(631) 924-6400
longwoodlibrary.org |
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