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Nature and Science February 2026 |
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A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness
by Michael Pollan
When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature's greatest mysteries. In A World Appears, 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. When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view--assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to plant neurobiologists searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness. In Pollan's dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality.
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The Company of Owls: A Memoir by Polly Atkin Circumscribed by a chronic illness to her cottage and the surrounding area, author Polly Atkin turns to the trees and the animals among them for companionship—especially the owl siblings who surprise and delight her. As Atkin watches them grow from curious fledglings into sleek raptors, she contemplates the act of survival and our place within it. When should a human intervene? When should nature take its course? What do the owls know that we do not? The owls encourage her to think differently about solitude and community, individuality and belonging, rest and retreat. And with them as her companions, she weighs the many types of company we keep—in our relationships, in the darkness, and in our entanglement with the digital world that connects us across continents. A resounding call to find joy in unexpected places, The Company of Owls is a love letter to the world, teaching us to listen amid clamor and noise.
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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. Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.
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Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape by Manchán MaganIn this lyrical exploration of the Irish language's deep-rooted connection to nature, myth and memory, bestselling Irish author Manchan Magan offers readers a fresh way of seeing the world through words shaped by wind, water, ancestors, and the ancient rhythms of the land. The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are: Geamhar - a field of corn-grass - Tuar - a field for cattle at night - Reidhlean - a field for games or dancing - Cathairin - a field with a fairy-dwelling in it. The richness of the Irish language is closely tied to the natural landscape and offers a more magical way of seeing the world. Told through stories collected from his own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture, and language.
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Let's Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants
by Ben Goulet-Scott
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. Let's Botanize! is a guide to learning about and understanding the world of plants, a hobby that can ease stress, bring joy, and deepen your connection with the incredible diversity of life all around you. 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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The Eye of the Sandpiper: Stories from the Living World by Brandon KeimBrandon Keim pairs cutting-edge science with a deep love of nature, conveying his insights in prose that is both accessible and beautiful. In an elegant, thoughtful tour of nature in the twenty-first century, Keim continues in the tradition of Lewis Thomas, Stephen Jay Gould, and David Quammen, reporting from the frontiers of science while celebrating the natural world's wonders and posing new questions about our relationship to the rest of life on Earth.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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