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Reading Challenge A book with a tree or flower on the cover |
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The hidden life of trees : what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world
by Peter Wohlleben
Are trees social beings? Author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers.
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The overstory
by Richard Powers
A novel of activism and natural-world power presents interlocking fables about nine remarkable strangers who are summoned in different ways by trees for an ultimate, brutal stand to save the continent's few remaining acres of virgin forest.
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The magicians
by Lev Grossman
Harboring secret preoccupations with a magical land he read about in a childhood fantasy series, Quentin Coldwater is unexpectedly admitted into an exclusive college of magic and rigorously educated in modern sorcery.
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The plague of doves
by Louise Erdrich
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The Plague of Doves--the first part of a loose trilogy that includes the National Book Award-winning The Round House and LaRose--is a gripping novel about a long-unsolved crime in a small North Dakota town and how, years later, the consequences are still being felt by the community and a nearby Native American reservation.
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The god of the woods
by Liz Moore
When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk one morning in August 1975, it triggers a panicked, terrified search. Losing a camper is a horrific tragedy under any circumstances, but Barbara isn't just any camper: she's the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp--as well as the opulent nearby estate, and most of the land in sight. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared in this region. Barbara's older brother also went missing 16 years earlier, never to be found. How could this have happened yet again?
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The women
by Kristin Hannah
When sheltered nursing student Frankie McGrath hears, "Women can be heroes," her world shifts. In 1965, inspired by her brother’s deployment, she joins the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam. Thrust into the horrors of war, she faces both battlefield chaos and the heartbreaking struggle of returning to a divided America.
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What happens in paradise
by Elin Hilderbrand
A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn't Irene's only shattering news: he'd also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too. Now Irene and her sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious life--and death--of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they're about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
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Greenteeth
by Molly O'Neill
In Greenteeth, a monster with sharp teeth lurks in a lake, until a witch named Temperance is thrown in, sparking an unlikely alliance. Despite their differences, they embark on a magical quest to defeat an evil pastor threatening Jenny's lake, Temperance's family, and the soul of Britain.
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The river has roots
by Amal El-Mohtar
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family. There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic--none more devotedly than the family's latest daughters Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees. But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters' bond but also their lives will be at risk.
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The paradise problem
by Christina Lauren
Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam "West" Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she'd signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed... Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There's just one catch. Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather's will, Liam won't see a penny until he's been happily married for five years.
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Sabrina & Corina : stories
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Kali Fajardo-Anstine's magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado--a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite--these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force. Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.
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Give me your hand
by Megan Abbott
Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school echemistry class. But Diane's academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship...until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them. More than a decade later, Kit thinks she's put Diane behind her forever, and she's begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet: taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that treatens to destroy them.
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Black dahlia & white rose : stories
by Joyce Carol Oates
A collection of eleven stories explores the slippage between fantasy and everyday life, the commingling of sexual love and violence, and the complexity of family life.
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Upstream : selected essays
by Mary Oliver
A collection of essays in which poet Mary Oliver reflects on her willingness, as a young child and as an adult, to lose herself within the beauty and mysteries of both the natural world and the world of literature. Emphasizing the significance of her childhood 'friend' Walt Whitman, through whose work she first understood that a poem is a temple, 'a place to enter, and in which to feel,' and who encouraged her to vanish into the world of her writing, Oliver meditates on the forces that allowed her to create a life for herself out of work and love
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Around the world in 80 trees
by Jonathan Drori
In Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori uses plant science to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable. From the trees of Britain, to India's sacred banyan tree, they offer us sanctuary and inspiration - not to mention the raw materials for everything from aspirin to maple syrup. The book combines history, science and a wealth of quirky detail - there should be surprises for everyone.
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How to read a tree : clues and patterns from bark to leaves : learn to navigate by branches, locate water with a leaf, and unlock other secrets in trees
by Tristan Gooley
Trees are keen to tell us so much: about themselves, the land, the water, the people, the animals, the weather, and time. To understand their story, you have to know how to read it. Gooley helps readers uncover the clues hiding in a tree's branches and leaves; its bark, buds, and flowers-- even in its stump. No two trees are exactly alike, and each difference reveals the story of how this tree lived-- if we stop to look closely.
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The tree collectors : tales of arboreal obsession
by Amy Stewart
Fifty vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their obsessive passion for trees--written and charmingly illustrated by the New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist. In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Stewart populates this lively compendium with her own hand-drawn watercolor portraits of these extraordinary people and their trees, interspersed with side trips to investigate famous tree collections, arboreal glossaries, and even tips for unauthorized forestry. This book is a stunning tribute to a devoted group of nature lovers making their lives--and the world--more beautiful, one tree at a time.
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The snow child
by Eowyn Ivey
Alaska, 1920 is especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning they glimpse a young girl, Faina, who seems to be a child of the woods. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.
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The flower bearers
by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Poet and novelist Griffiths details the most challenging period of her life, during which her best friend died and her husband, the author Salman Rushdie, was brutally attacked.
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Jane Austen's garden : a botanical tour of the classic novels
by Molly Williams
Through explorations of the botanical inspirations and symbolism in Austen's work and personal life, as well as historical information about the gardens and landscapes of the Regency Era, Jane Austen's Garden will transport readers back in time to the lush English landscape of the early 1800s. Woven throughout are DIY projects to help you create a home garden worthy of a surprise visit from Lady Catherine de Bourgh or maybe just give your dining table a bit of historical flair. Accessible, entertaining, and enhanced by the enchanted illustrations of celebrated artist Jessica Roux, Jane Austen's Garden is a fun twist on a familiar subject that will delight plant lovers and Janeites alike.
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Flora nouveaux : not your grandma's dried flowers
by Carla Wingett
Embrace the unique and sustainable beauty of dried flowers with this bright, fun, and modern flower book from Carla Wingett, popular flower designer and founder of Idlewild Floral.
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How flowers made our world : the story of nature's revolutionaries
by David George Haskell
In this exquisite exploration of the role flowers played in creating the world we know today, David George Haskell observes, smells, and studies flowers such as magnolias, orchids, and roses, as well as fascinating but less celebrated flowers such as seagrasses and tea to show us what we've been missing. How Flowers Made Our World combines lyrical writing, sensual exploration, and the latest in scientific research to explore some of the most consequential life forms ever to have evolved, showing how our planet came to be and how it thrives today.
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Life : a love story
by Elizabeth Berg
As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those "little" things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.
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Wild reverence
by Rebecca Ross
Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters, there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world.
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In trees : an exploration
by Robert Moor
A wondrous new journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees--from the mightiest sequoia to the tiniest bonsai--can teach us to grow wise. A witty and relentlessly curious excursion through philosophy, history, and science, what begins as an ode to the miracle of trees blossoms into a joyous, daring, fiercely hopeful endeavor to arborize humanity.
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Thistlemarsh
by Moorea Corrigan
Welcome to Thistlemarsh--a ramshackle estate where an impoverished orphan and a beguiling Faerie collide in an enchanting novel of love, revenge, and ruin. In the wake of The Great War, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin's body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams. When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother's side and return to her childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle's offer: If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month's time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother. It quickly becomes clear it's impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh...for a price. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie--especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant--but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process.
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