Natural History Book Club
Sitting in the Highlands Center ramada while the wind rustles through the ponderosa pine needles and a robin chirps, there is a moment of silent contemplation. Natural history is complicated – personal and universal at the same time. Our Natural History book club met beginning in 2021 and the discussions occasionally resulted in these special moments of quiet thoughtfulness.
We’re excited to continue to offer this free and open to the public program. Reading is something on many of our “to-do” lists, but some of us need a little extra incentive, like having a group that meets monthly to discuss. This group focuses on books related to natural history, with some southwestern component, written in the last decade or so. Books are selected by the group and then sold in the Benson Family Nature Store. We take our time reading – two months for each book. And we encourage personal connections, as well as universal questioning, when we come together for our meetings. People can jump in at any time!
Join the Natural History Book Club today!
Book club meetings are the first Friday of each month from 1pm-2pm and meet in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Discovery Gardens Ramada, weather depending.
2023 Natural History Book Club Dates & Books:
- February 3, 2023: First half of An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong
- March 3, 2023: All of An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong
- April 7, 2023: First half of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction and the Beginning of Our World by Riley Black
- May 5, 2023: All of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction and the Beginning of Our World by Riley Black
- June 2, 2023: First half of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
- July 7, 2023: All of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
- August 4, 2023: First half of The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization by Roland Enos
- September 1, 2023: All of The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization by Roland Enos
- October 6, 2023: First half of The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker
- November 3, 2023: All of The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker
- December 1, 2023: TBD excerpts from natural history classics
2022 Natural History Book Club books:
- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Future by Merlin Sheldrake
- On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor
- The Hour on Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks By Terry Tempest Williams
- Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in a Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn
2021 Natural History Book Club books:
- Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb
- Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America by Craig Childs
- Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Kimmerer
