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Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book
By Johanna Basford
Laurence King Publishing, 84 pages, $10.15
Who says that adults aren’t allowed to color? Illustrator Johanna Basford’s series of coloring books is geared toward an older audience with its ornate designs and fantastical narratives. Enchanted Forest is particularly captivating: It’s filled with mushroom gardens, symmetrical owls, leafy foxes, and songbirds perched on deer antlers. A blast from the past or an escape from reality—the experience can be whatever you want it to be.
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
By Carl Safina
Henry Holt and Co., 480 pages, $16.95
Award-winning marine biologist Carl Safina has a bone to pick with anyone who believes that animals can’t convey emotions. But instead of airing his grievances on a pulpit, he covers his side of the debate in a thought-provoking new book. Melding science with his own experiences in the field, Safina dives into the murky world of animal cognition: Elephants, cranes, orcas, parrots, and wolves are just a few of the creatures that are illustrated to have complex sensibilities and social lives. The book is a guide for anyone who wants to see the “who” in the animal, not the “it.”
By David Showalter
Braided River, 176 pages, $24.95
Nearly 150 years ago, the American West was blanketed with thousands of miles of sagebrush. That dry sea of scrub is still vast and full of life, but it’s vanishing quickly. In his book of striking portraits and essays, photographer David Showalter paints the sagebrush as an essential element of the West; without it entire ecosystems of sage-grouse, mule deer, and hera moths could collapse. The book masterfully illustrates the openness of the habitat, while inspiring adventure and stewardship at the very same time.
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus
By Donna Andrews
St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 312 pages, $24.99
In the 17th installment of the popular Meg Langslow fiction series, an amateur sleuth and decorative blacksmith stumbles upon her own family secrets. The trail of clues leads her to a town infested by Emus, and a contingent of Emu rescuers who might have gotten a little murderous in their heroic pursuits. The Good, the Bad, and the Emus helps Donna Andrews’ string of bird-themed mystery novels return to its former hilarity and edge.
Adventures in the Anthropocene
By Gaia Vince
Milkweed Editions, 448 pages, $30
Climate change is a lofty issue—one that might feel impersonal and inhuman to some. That’s why Gaia Vince’s travelogue-style book is a breath of fresh air in the climate conversation. Vince takes a trip through some of the most extraordinary communities in the world—the depths of the Amazon, the peaks of Nepal, the reefs of the Maldives—to show how people are battling environmental changes in innovative ways. Though they have few resources, they prevail through science, creativity, and persistence. It's an insightful book, filled to the brim with conscious optimism.
By Brian Kimberling
Vintage Books & Anchor Books, 224 pages, $13.18
Snapper is told through the voice of an ornithologist who’s good at identifying songbirds, but not so good at identifying the problems in his life. His story will probably ring true for anyone who shares his less-than-lucrative career: long days in the sticks, ugly run-ins with hunters, meager paychecks. But the narrator (and author Brian Kimberling) uses humor to skate through the doldrums of surveying the same mile of forest every day, punctuated by breakups with a free-spirited girlfriend. Kimberling’s debut novel is a quick read and a fantastic treat for anyone who’s fascinated by birds or birders.
By Megan Mayhew Bergman
Scribner, 272 pages, $15.00
Back in 2012, fledgling author Megan Bergman released a book of short fiction that focuses on human relationships through the scope of birds and other wildlife. Each story revolves around complex characters and a strong sense of natural wonder. In the title piece, for example, a woman named Mae ventures into the steamy, perilous swamplands with her father and a mysterious stranger to find the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Overall, it’s a stunning selection of stories that’s funny, yet fragile.
By Farid ud-Din Attar
Penguin Classics, 240 pages, $13.16
If you’re interested in bird lore, look no further than this translated version of Attar’s long-form poem about the birds of the world. (The great Persian poet first published the 4,500-line piece in 1177.) Follow the tale of the Hoopoe as it leads its comrades to the lair of the phoenix, who they want to adopt as their king. The mystical quality of the story, paired with Attar’s sweet phrases, makes it a captivating read—one that rivals Beowulf and the Iliad when it comes to classic verses on adventure.