Nature and Science April 2025 Recent Releases Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr Journalist Nicholas Carr argues convincingly that social media has taken over our society and brains so rapidly that we haven’t been able to formulate a response, much less calculate the damage it’s wreaking. Carr points to research citing epidemic levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among users, especially teenagers. Other revealing reads on this topic include Alone Together by Sherry Turkle and The End of Absence by Michael Harris. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton Debut memoirist Chloe Dalton, a political consultant, spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic raising a baby hare she rescued near her country home. This fascinating, endearing, and rarely domesticated creature became Dalton’s companion for a time, awakening her senses to the natural world around her. For more moving encounters with wildlife, try The Puma Years by Laura Coleman or Alfie & Me by Carl Safina. Carbon: The Book of Life by Paul Hawken An exploration of carbon's vital role in sustaining life, revealing its profound connections to nature, humanity and the planet's history, while offering a hopeful perspective on embracing its potential to shape a sustainable future. Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe by Nia Imara An astrophysicist and visual artist comprehensively illustrates the history of the universe and our position in it through the interwoven perspectives of astrophysics and art. The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships by Nathan H. Lents An evolutionary biologist argues that sexual diversity is a long-standing biological phenomenon, not a modern invention, drawing on a wide range of animal examples to illustrate how nature embraces various sexual behaviors, ultimately suggesting that embracing this diversity can enhance our understanding of human sexuality and counteract societal bigotry. Treekeepers: Race For a Forested Future by Lauren Oakes In recent years, planting a tree has become a catchall to represent "doing something good for the planet." Many companies commit to planting a tree with every purchase. But who plants those trees and where? Will they flourish and offer the benefits that people expect? Can all the individual efforts around the world help remedy the ever-looming climate crisis? In Treekeepers, Lauren E. Oakes takes us on a poetic and practical journey from the Scottish Highlands to the Panamanian jungle to meet the scientists, innovators, and local citizens who each offer part of the answer. Their work isn't just about planting lots of trees, but also about understanding what it takes to grow or regrow a forest and to protect what remains. Throughout, Oakes shows the complex roles of forests in the fight against climate change, and of the people who are giving trees a chance with hope for our mutual survival. Timely, meticulously reported, and ultimately optimistic, Treekeepers teaches us how to live with a sense of urgency in our warming world, to find beauty in the present for ourselves and our children, and to take action big or small. Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl Zimmer Science writer Carl Zimmer puts airborne pathogens under the microscope, taking readers on a tour spanning from the 14th century to COVID-19 that exposes how much we have yet to learn about communicable diseases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Other accessible reads about microbes and disease include The Secret Body by Daniel M. Davis and Immune by Catherine Carver. Contact your librarian for more great books! Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/