"'If you wanna read about hot, sexy Scottish men, sex, murder, deception... and by accident... also learn about rewilding..." - that should be printed on the dust sheet. Never have I read a more inviting summary!
Psalm of the wild built is an incredible book about mental health, purpose and living in a fictional future world that has moved towards sustainability and renewable circular economy approaches. Very calm and hopeful if you need something after an intense read
Thank you for this! I would highly recommend Braiding Sweetgrass as such a hopeful read that made me want to change my relationship to nature completely :)
That's the book I wanted to recommand! This book was packed with (indegenious) knowledge, so well written, and made me also re-think my relationship to nature. :))
Octavia Butler’s “The Parable of the Sower” is the one that really kicked me into gear, got me to make a bug-out bag, showed me just how much climate/capitalism/race are all connected, and gave me ideas of what community care looks like in/after climate change.
This is one of the book that scares me, I've got this on my TBR for more than a year, and I know that I will love it. But somehow I am impressed... I think I'm going to ask a friend to buddy read with me, so I can share thoughts afterwards. :)
I’m currently reading this book, but it is not an easy read. I keep alternating with a fluffy romance book. It reminds me of watching funny catvideos after a scary film to ease the mind😂
Losing Eden sounds right up my street. I took on the challenge of reaching 1000 hours outside every single year for my daughter. Last year was our first and we hit 1000 on new years eve. This year we're currently sitting at 847. For any parents/childcare workers, I highly recommend the 1000 hours outside podcast.
I started reading The Overstory but for some reason the way people had talked about it I had gotten it into my head that it would be a cool book narrated by trees, and once I realized it was not, in fact, an omniscient tree narrator, I got bored and quit. I had a similar experience with Once There Were Wolves; I wanted it to be more about the wolves and less about the people, but I did manage to finish that one. And I listened to about 70% of Pod this summer but quite honestly I am tired of all the SA and I can't quite bring myself to finish it. I'm currently 1/3 of the way through The Parable of the Sower, which I tried last year but was not in a headspace to deal with something so heavy, but I am enjoying it this time, despite it being quite dark.
it's not explicitly about the climate, but a psalm for the wild-built shows a way that people can engage with the environment (and eachother), which has made me want to fight for that possibility
The patches look gorgeous!! And I love your descriptions and challenges written under each one, I can really tell how much thought and care has gone into these.
I just finished Saving Time by Jenny Odell, and while not directly about the climate, it's definitely one of those "mindset" books that helps to integrate ideas of deep relationships with all the non-human beings that we share the planet with. Beautifully written and hopeful. She draws on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer and Rebecca Solnit, among others. Her previous work, How to do Nothing, is similarly impactful. I read We are the Weather on your recommendation last year, and concur, it was fantastic. Pod & We Were Once Wolves are both on my list!
I was afraid to watch this video because I thought I'd be too scared to read any of the books and feel guilty 😂 But you've sold me on a few books and I'm going to pick up Losing Eden. Not because I feel disconnected from nature, but because I resonate strongly with the message and struggle to communicate it to other people. I'm hoping reading it will better equip me with the facts and language I need to talk about it :)
My favourite thing is how often, when watching many of your book recs, I can find most of the ones that stand out to me on my local library's digital catalogue on Libby. Its so handy since its now where I comsume most of my books and I don't have to lose the titles and can just pick something out that I've already shortlisted
This changes everything and On fire by Naomi Klein are both such great books I would highly recommend. They are quite heafty but so informative and taught me so much about how we need to go about tackling the crisis. It's not that radical is also a great book and one I would recommend as a starter book, very accessible and easy to read and also hopeful!
Me checking my local borrowbox app to see how many of these are in audio format....❤ I've listened to we are the weather (amazing book! Definitely altered the brain chemicals), and losing eden is on borrow box! Yey! Already reserved it to listen to! Once I get more reservation slots I will listen to the overstory, I've got the physical book but I never get the time to finish it!! Pod and once there were wolves is not on there yet, so will have to ask the library if theres an audio book available? I hope so!
thank you so much for making videos about books - and especially books about important topics! it is so so important and talking about it all together makes it less scary :)
Awesome video as always!!! I also loved the Ovestory but would rate „bewilderment“ (also by Powers) a tad more terrifying. The ending properly broke me and I felt intense eco grief throughout the whole thing. I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but really got me. I still think about it often.
I highly recommend ''it's not that radical'' as a climate crisis entry reading book. It's scary but in a more fluffy way? I don't know how to describe it. Also ''It's not just you'' which is all about climate anxiety and how to find the sweet spot between not bothered enough and too terrified to act. Both great starter books before building up to the really scary books like the uninhabitable earth.
I'm going to try and get through The Uninhabilitable Earth with you & the Gumption Club - you know I'm determined because I have the audibook and digital book together in the hopes that the collaboration will help me get through it faster!
My recommendations: Less is more - Jason Hickel Doughnut economics - Kate Raworth Thinking in systems - Donella Meadows And a recommendation from leena I liked: talking to my daughter about the economy. I find it important to learn about the capitalistic system and the ways it exploit our planet and people on this planet. It opened my eyes on an individual level, buying and owning stuff doesn’t make me happy and it is interesting to determine your values and what does make you happy!
Eating Animals (along with a book by a German author about the same topic) was the last straw for me to go vegetarian over ten years ago. So consider yourself being warned. But also: It is a great book, i can fully recommend it!
@pirlie I started reading it years ago now because it was when I was pregnant with my son. I got to the fourth chapter/section and then put it down because I needed something more comforting to read. But I need to go back and finish it.
Rachel Griffin writes YA fantasy books are all based around conservation, and I love them so much! Her book The Nature of Witches is particularly exceptional
I’ve read three of the books mentioned - “We Are the Weather”, “The Overstory”, and “When There Were Wolves” - and I can genuinely recommend all of them! They were also very well described in this video ❤ Now, I really feel like I should continue with “Pod”! Edit: Love love love the badges!!
This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein is really great. Only just started it but so far it's been an incredible deep dive into why so many of us deny climate change (not just outright deniers but also people who will perpetually "get to it later" etc) and how dealing with climate change could be a catalyst for positive social change if we do it right. I can't do it justice with my poorly worded UA-cam comment but it's an incredible book!
It’s well worth the time; it explores the profound connection between humans (all backgrounds and interests) and trees and also, full of mind blowing facts. A great read.
.. WHY are those patches WORKING for me as a reward system for reading the scary tm climate books? I just finally might start on the ones i have at home, those chunks of guilt sitting unread on the shelf because LOOK AT THOSE SHINY THREADY DETAILED THINGIES oh my oh my
So I read Once there were wolves, and absolutely loved it, but I need to say that maybe Leena's review doesn't do it justice so I'm just gonna rave about it case someone needs extra convincing: It explores themes of rage and regret, what it means to be wild and our relationship to the places we inhabit, the fragility of familiar love and how that mixes with depression and trauma, and healing. And it leaves with a sense that the world is much wider and wilder than you'd have imaged, just read it.
I have Braiding Sweet Grass sitting on my sled right now, it’s my next read on my TBR! So many good recommendation on here! A year or two ago I read We Are The Weather per Leenas recommendation, and from my memory I didn’t love it. I might give it another go, sometimes like a movie the second time you just understand it more.
We Are The Weather is my favorite too! JSFoer made me give up meat as well already with its previous book Eating Animals... I've read The Overstory, thanks to your relentless suggestions about it haha... and now after this video I'm super pumped to get Once There Were Wolves! Sounds amazing!
I think a really underrated book about the climate is "A Hole in the Wind" by David Goodrich. He was head of the World Meteorological Organisation and this book is about a challenge he set himself to cycle from end of the United States to the other, and the conversations he had about climate with the people he met along way.
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert was really interesting. If I remember accurately, it's a look at the indicators of us being in the Holocene. I also second the recommendation of Foer's works.
I really struggle reading books, being dyslexic. But I would love to check these out, I borrowed a book about fast fashion not long ago and it’s impact. I only could read some. These seem WAY more interesting, rather then just spitting facts. Which is good but can get mind numbing.
Im currently listening to the Overstory via audiobook! I checked it out on Libby after I relistened to your first Unbound Books episode and I picked up all your favs (I really liked Geek Love and Wicked) but I’m finding it really hard to follow the different story lines - this is one of the few books I’ve listened to that I think would be better via actual reading, but as a new mom that’s not an option rn. I’m trying to power through and I’ve already listened to a third of the book, but who knows I might DNF if I’m still not liking it by the halfway mark
I'm super excited for NBOADP season 2! And oh no you've set me a challenge to earn that badge and not just buy it immediately. How dare you! But my version would defo be We Are The Weather. I'm terrified of reading that but I feel a deep set urge to. Oh god.
I haven't got round to reading Pod yet, but I highly recommend Laline Paull's other book The Bees 🐝 Best book I've read this year and honestly ones of my favourites of all time.
Omg i was just trying to remember the title of Once There Were Wolves / who i heard about the book from. I wanted to read it after reading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver bc there’s a theme of the importance of predators to the well-being of ecosystems and also a hot romance.
David Abram's The Spell of the Sensuous and Becoming Animal - this man has changed my life! He talks about the more-than-human world and how we, as humans, are embedded in it and this interconnectedness is just as important as the interconnectedness of other beings with the earth.
It doesn't offer solutions (just a snap shot of where things are right now) but " The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth" (Ben Rawlence) was beautifully written and reminded me that we can't afford to give up (I was in a doom and gloom slump at the time - it was really depressing to read during a doom and gloom slump, but it strengthened my resolve to keep pushing). Also, a colleague of mine mentioned that it's the book that made her realize that climate change really isn't just about the weather being wonky.
my library has basically all these books, this is amazing. also i love that edition of Pod so much, where did you get it? i got my copy from the library and i'm definitely rereading it.
I prefer "just the facts, ma'am" books, so here are my recs: The heat will kill you first and The water will come by Jeff Goodell. Feckin scary. Not super great at "what do??" though. Net zero by Dieter Helm would be a good follow up to those, because it's FULL of his ideas about "what do?" Bill McKibbon's books are lovely and full of hope, but not quite my style, although it did get me to sign up for 350's mailing list. And because I hate grass and want more local, sustainable, Earth friendly produce, Single Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. I have a small yard and had already intended to destroy the grass and plant a food meadow, but he covers a bunch of things to pay attention to that didn't occur to me. A book I quickly gave up on because I didn't need convincing was Nomad Century by Gaia Vance, about climate change causing mass migration of people to... You know... Stay alive. But if you need any useful data to convince your xenophobic family why they should believe or care about climate changing, probably this one has it. The Petroleum Papers by Geoff Dembicki pissed me off because he wrote it with too much "inflammatory" language. I want all of the info in that book, but in a format that my family wouldn't immediately dismiss for being liberal biased. They like to talk about follow the money, but think individual climate scientists make more than the oil companies. Lol wut. I checked out Overstory last time you mentioned it and i tried. I really did. But i gave up about 75% through. IDK if I have a good reason other than I got bored and wanted to cram more nonfiction facts in my skull instead. Okay that's all I have. Sorry for rambling! 😅
I really want to get to The Overstory and We Are the Weather. I really appreciated Eating Animals by JSF. I’ve been vegan for a couple of decades now and that book just reminded me again why it’s so important.
Have you read Fire weather by John Vaillant? It has just come up on my library’s website while I was looking for some of the books you mentioned in this video. Looks like a fairly new release!
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm made me want to commit crime and empowered me to feel like I could attend more extreme protests and actions if I wanted to. It had some direct ideas/examples of direct action as well as general inspiration for more loud and sometimes destructive acts
The High House by Jessie Greengrass! It's a futural view on the present and is basically about climate change denial, but with a lot of compassion. There's a found family in an isolated house living through catastrophe, a climate activist, three generations with their different experiences of the changes, and no closure just for the sake of poetic justice... and lots to discuss!
So many good recommendations! And I love the diversity on this list. The climate books I read are mostly very factual and science based and while I do think those are really important, I've also felt a little burned out reading them. This video made me realise that I maybe should just mix in some books that are approaching the climate/biodiversity crisis from a different angle :)
I'm like you! I read The Heat Will Kill You First and The Water Will Come back to back and had to read several Judy Blume novels as palate cleaners to get out of the despair hole. :)
This might sound ridiculous but the more of your videos I watch, the more I feel like you're one of my friends. It's a mindset thing I think. I'm a bit of a head in the sand person with the climate - I know it's a problem but feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it. Your approach to discussing it is cheerful, practical and not at all preachy, just like a person who knows you well would be. I will give Once There Were Wolves a go first, but I did write down some of the others too.
May I add to this list a little hopeful book which can help us face our fears: Beyond Biofatalism: Human Nature for an Evolving World by Gillian Barker
Okay, having just finished listening to Once there were wolves, I get it. Very sexy rewilding of Scotland. I was half expecting there to be werewolves though-like right up till the end. 🤣
Not directly about the climate but I think N K Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy are a really interesting lens to think about climate resilience & the fragility of our world through
"Cloudland: the dramatic story of Australia's extraordinary rainforest people and country" by Penny Oosterzee A long title I know but geological history that is spellbinding
i managed to get a digital copy of ‘the uninhabitable earth’ and i can’t wait to read it! thanks leena for motivating me to start reading books related to the climate crisis. ❤️
Immediatly interested in Losing Eden, and once again shocked, as I've been far too often, at how different UK and norwegian societies are, even though we're ~practically~ neighbouring countries. Do british toddlers really not spend time outside? Why? Why not?? Is this once again us in the nordics being the odd ones? It this why nobody on tiktok understand the concept of rain suits and snow suits for toddlers (or is that just tiktok tiktoking?)? I have two small kids, and they spend several hours outside, both when in daycare and at home, no matter the weather (unless it's really, really cold, like -15C or more). They eat, play, learn and have their naps outside. As is the norm for most toddlers in the nordics, as far as i know.
Adding Losing Eden to my climate TBR! And recommending The Impossible Resurrection of Grief by Octavia Cade, an incredible fiction about climate grief and hope as well as Elizabeth Rush's nonfiction Rising (about sea level rise) and The Quickening (about glacier loss and reconciling the desire to become a mother with the knowledge of climate change)
Also I’ve come across the book called The Great Plant Based Con by Jayne Buxton which discusses if going Vegan is best for our health (I’m almost certain for a lot people it’s not but cutting down on meat is) and if it’s actually helping the planet. I haven’t read it yet so can’t comment but thought you might be interested :)
I have added all those book to my TBR although I have read We are the weather already. I think the one I will put top of my list is The Breaks as having a child is something me and my partner are thinking about but I’m worried about the world we would be bringing them into, so feels like the right time to read this
Rising by Elizabeth Rush is a favorite read of mine from last year! Pretty US-centric but very beautifully written about communities experiencing sea level rise (she also has a new book called the Quickening about climate change and motherhood that I have not read but only because I think it will gut punch me too much). I also have been terrified to read the uninhabitable earth so very eager to listen to the podcast episode and perhaps finally read it afterwards!!
In terms of spooky reads, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is the only book to every truly scare me. Highly recommend! I suspect Lena will recommend Motherthing By Ainslee Hogarth, which is a gruesome, feverish read just perfect for the month of October. Won't be at all surprised if she mentions The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells; is there anything scarier than the reality of our planet dying and us dying with it because we chose to ignore the climate crisis?
Hi Leena! If you had a day to convince a politician (who could make a difference) that climate change is an immediate threat and needs to be urgently dealt with, how would you do it?
"'If you wanna read about hot, sexy Scottish men, sex, murder, deception... and by accident... also learn about rewilding..." - that should be printed on the dust sheet. Never have I read a more inviting summary!
Haha I had the exact same thought!
indeed!! that made me want to read it so badly!!!
Psalm of the wild built is an incredible book about mental health, purpose and living in a fictional future world that has moved towards sustainability and renewable circular economy approaches. Very calm and hopeful if you need something after an intense read
I love this book so so much!
Becky Chambers my beloved
Thank you for this! I would highly recommend Braiding Sweetgrass as such a hopeful read that made me want to change my relationship to nature completely :)
Currently reading this and it’s already made me re-think so much!
That's the book I wanted to recommand! This book was packed with (indegenious) knowledge, so well written, and made me also re-think my relationship to nature. :))
I think Leena has mentioned this before, maybe in one of her colored books on her bookshelves vids, but I'm not sure. It's definitely on my TBR.
So happy to see you there Kathrin !!! :)
I started it because Leena did a podcast episode on it
Octavia Butler’s “The Parable of the Sower” is the one that really kicked me into gear, got me to make a bug-out bag, showed me just how much climate/capitalism/race are all connected, and gave me ideas of what community care looks like in/after climate change.
This is one of the book that scares me, I've got this on my TBR for more than a year, and I know that I will love it. But somehow I am impressed... I think I'm going to ask a friend to buddy read with me, so I can share thoughts afterwards. :)
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Bug out bag? Do you mean for evacuating?
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I’m currently reading this book, but it is not an easy read. I keep alternating with a fluffy romance book. It reminds me of watching funny catvideos after a scary film to ease the mind😂
Losing Eden sounds right up my street. I took on the challenge of reaching 1000 hours outside every single year for my daughter. Last year was our first and we hit 1000 on new years eve. This year we're currently sitting at 847. For any parents/childcare workers, I highly recommend the 1000 hours outside podcast.
I started reading The Overstory but for some reason the way people had talked about it I had gotten it into my head that it would be a cool book narrated by trees, and once I realized it was not, in fact, an omniscient tree narrator, I got bored and quit. I had a similar experience with Once There Were Wolves; I wanted it to be more about the wolves and less about the people, but I did manage to finish that one.
And I listened to about 70% of Pod this summer but quite honestly I am tired of all the SA and I can't quite bring myself to finish it.
I'm currently 1/3 of the way through The Parable of the Sower, which I tried last year but was not in a headspace to deal with something so heavy, but I am enjoying it this time, despite it being quite dark.
I'm an old person, and you completely inspire me. Every single video. Thank you!
it's not explicitly about the climate, but a psalm for the wild-built shows a way that people can engage with the environment (and eachother), which has made me want to fight for that possibility
The patches look gorgeous!! And I love your descriptions and challenges written under each one, I can really tell how much thought and care has gone into these.
I just finished Saving Time by Jenny Odell, and while not directly about the climate, it's definitely one of those "mindset" books that helps to integrate ideas of deep relationships with all the non-human beings that we share the planet with. Beautifully written and hopeful. She draws on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer and Rebecca Solnit, among others. Her previous work, How to do Nothing, is similarly impactful.
I read We are the Weather on your recommendation last year, and concur, it was fantastic. Pod & We Were Once Wolves are both on my list!
I was afraid to watch this video because I thought I'd be too scared to read any of the books and feel guilty 😂 But you've sold me on a few books and I'm going to pick up Losing Eden. Not because I feel disconnected from nature, but because I resonate strongly with the message and struggle to communicate it to other people. I'm hoping reading it will better equip me with the facts and language I need to talk about it :)
i immediately went and checked out the audio book for We Are the Weather from my library 🎉
Thanks for sharing- I often forget I can borrow digitally. 😅
My favourite thing is how often, when watching many of your book recs, I can find most of the ones that stand out to me on my local library's digital catalogue on Libby. Its so handy since its now where I comsume most of my books and I don't have to lose the titles and can just pick something out that I've already shortlisted
This changes everything and On fire by Naomi Klein are both such great books I would highly recommend. They are quite heafty but so informative and taught me so much about how we need to go about tackling the crisis.
It's not that radical is also a great book and one I would recommend as a starter book, very accessible and easy to read and also hopeful!
Me checking my local borrowbox app to see how many of these are in audio format....❤
I've listened to we are the weather (amazing book! Definitely altered the brain chemicals), and losing eden is on borrow box! Yey! Already reserved it to listen to!
Once I get more reservation slots I will listen to the overstory, I've got the physical book but I never get the time to finish it!!
Pod and once there were wolves is not on there yet, so will have to ask the library if theres an audio book available? I hope so!
Pod just became available from being on hold at my library. I’m excited to start reading it!
thank you so much for making videos about books - and especially books about important topics! it is so so important and talking about it all together makes it less scary :)
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy - This book is so beautifully written, and even more beautifully narrated by Barrie Kreinik on audio!
Awesome video as always!!! I also loved the Ovestory but would rate „bewilderment“ (also by Powers) a tad more terrifying. The ending properly broke me and I felt intense eco grief throughout the whole thing. I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but really got me. I still think about it often.
I highly recommend ''it's not that radical'' as a climate crisis entry reading book. It's scary but in a more fluffy way? I don't know how to describe it. Also ''It's not just you'' which is all about climate anxiety and how to find the sweet spot between not bothered enough and too terrified to act. Both great starter books before building up to the really scary books like the uninhabitable earth.
I'm going to try and get through The Uninhabilitable Earth with you & the Gumption Club - you know I'm determined because I have the audibook and digital book together in the hopes that the collaboration will help me get through it faster!
I love the color choices of this video. Your top against the table and the wallpaper all go together gorgeously!
My recommendations:
Less is more - Jason Hickel
Doughnut economics - Kate Raworth
Thinking in systems - Donella Meadows
And a recommendation from leena I liked: talking to my daughter about the economy. I find it important to learn about the capitalistic system and the ways it exploit our planet and people on this planet. It opened my eyes on an individual level, buying and owning stuff doesn’t make me happy and it is interesting to determine your values and what does make you happy!
Borrowed Uninhabitable Earth from my library and ordered those patches. I might make my own jean jacket from old jeans, who knows!
Braiding Sweetgrass is my favorite climate book at the moment. Eating Animals is the book I need to conquer.
Eating Animals (along with a book by a German author about the same topic) was the last straw for me to go vegetarian over ten years ago. So consider yourself being warned. But also: It is a great book, i can fully recommend it!
@pirlie I started reading it years ago now because it was when I was pregnant with my son. I got to the fourth chapter/section and then put it down because I needed something more comforting to read. But I need to go back and finish it.
@@annabelle42688 You can do it! 💪
Rachel Griffin writes YA fantasy books are all based around conservation, and I love them so much! Her book The Nature of Witches is particularly exceptional
I’ve read three of the books mentioned - “We Are the Weather”, “The Overstory”, and “When There Were Wolves” - and I can genuinely recommend all of them! They were also very well described in this video ❤ Now, I really feel like I should continue with “Pod”!
Edit: Love love love the badges!!
This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein is really great. Only just started it but so far it's been an incredible deep dive into why so many of us deny climate change (not just outright deniers but also people who will perpetually "get to it later" etc) and how dealing with climate change could be a catalyst for positive social change if we do it right. I can't do it justice with my poorly worded UA-cam comment but it's an incredible book!
The Overstory actually sounds interesting even though I usually dislike long books due to ADHD!
It is AMAZING!! The audiobook is excellent too :)
It’s well worth the time; it explores the profound connection between humans (all backgrounds and interests) and trees and also, full of mind blowing facts. A great read.
.. WHY are those patches WORKING for me as a reward system for reading the scary tm climate books? I just finally might start on the ones i have at home, those chunks of guilt sitting unread on the shelf because LOOK AT THOSE SHINY THREADY DETAILED THINGIES oh my oh my
I read The Overstory on your recommendation and I absolutely loved it. It's breathtaking and brilliant!
AND I am literally about to start a reread of The Overstory, which I read for the first time three years ago, as per your recommendation!!!!!
So I read Once there were wolves, and absolutely loved it, but I need to say that maybe Leena's review doesn't do it justice so I'm just gonna rave about it case someone needs extra convincing:
It explores themes of rage and regret, what it means to be wild and our relationship to the places we inhabit, the fragility of familiar love and how that mixes with depression and trauma, and healing. And it leaves with a sense that the world is much wider and wilder than you'd have imaged, just read it.
I have Braiding Sweet Grass sitting on my sled right now, it’s my next read on my TBR! So many good recommendation on here! A year or two ago I read We Are The Weather per Leenas recommendation, and from my memory I didn’t love it. I might give it another go, sometimes like a movie the second time you just understand it more.
We Are The Weather is my favorite too! JSFoer made me give up meat as well already with its previous book Eating Animals... I've read The Overstory, thanks to your relentless suggestions about it haha... and now after this video I'm super pumped to get Once There Were Wolves! Sounds amazing!
I also highly recommend Losing Eden. This is a book I refer to often as an Ecotherapist.
I think a really underrated book about the climate is "A Hole in the Wind" by David Goodrich. He was head of the World Meteorological Organisation and this book is about a challenge he set himself to cycle from end of the United States to the other, and the conversations he had about climate with the people he met along way.
Ooo this sounds right up my street thanks for the recommendation!
Going to read We Are The Weather. Thanks for the push!
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert was really interesting. If I remember accurately, it's a look at the indicators of us being in the Holocene. I also second the recommendation of Foer's works.
I love that one
I really struggle reading books, being dyslexic. But I would love to check these out, I borrowed a book about fast fashion not long ago and it’s impact. I only could read some. These seem WAY more interesting, rather then just spitting facts. Which is good but can get mind numbing.
"If it's mentionable, it's manageable" sounds so right! Very apt for lots of matters. Thank you for mentioning these things!
I'm just so in love with your wallpaper
Im currently listening to the Overstory via audiobook! I checked it out on Libby after I relistened to your first Unbound Books episode and I picked up all your favs (I really liked Geek Love and Wicked) but I’m finding it really hard to follow the different story lines - this is one of the few books I’ve listened to that I think would be better via actual reading, but as a new mom that’s not an option rn. I’m trying to power through and I’ve already listened to a third of the book, but who knows I might DNF if I’m still not liking it by the halfway mark
Those patches are so cool Leena!!!!
I read Once There Were Wolves after you suggested it in a different video and it is def in my top 3 favorite books now
'I'm probably not going to 'want' to read any of these' thinks I... the first book grabbed me, along with 3 others. Nicely done!
More excited about this list than i thought i would be! I recently read Patricia Likes to Cuddle by Samantha Allen and it would fit in here perfectly
When I saw the title of the video 'The uninhabitable Earth' came to mind immediately. I read it last year and it was the scariest book I've ever read
i think i started reading the ministry for the future like 2 or 3 years ago 😂 this video inspires me to pick it up again. i will finish it!!!
I'm super excited for NBOADP season 2! And oh no you've set me a challenge to earn that badge and not just buy it immediately. How dare you! But my version would defo be We Are The Weather. I'm terrified of reading that but I feel a deep set urge to. Oh god.
I was able to find The Uninhabitable Earth on Libby so I’m excited to read along!
I fucking love this channel so much
I love your podcast leena! You've inspired so much change in my life over the years.
I haven't got round to reading Pod yet, but I highly recommend Laline Paull's other book The Bees 🐝 Best book I've read this year and honestly ones of my favourites of all time.
Omg i was just trying to remember the title of Once There Were Wolves / who i heard about the book from. I wanted to read it after reading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver bc there’s a theme of the importance of predators to the well-being of ecosystems and also a hot romance.
Love this list! I'm starting "Once there were wolves" today
David Abram's The Spell of the Sensuous and Becoming Animal - this man has changed my life! He talks about the more-than-human world and how we, as humans, are embedded in it and this interconnectedness is just as important as the interconnectedness of other beings with the earth.
These patches are so well designed! I love actually awesome merch
I just finished reading Once There Were Wolves for the second time this year alone...I am so enamored. So good!!
The Uninhabitable Earth is definitely the scariest book I’ve ever read.
It doesn't offer solutions (just a snap shot of where things are right now) but " The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth" (Ben Rawlence) was beautifully written and reminded me that we can't afford to give up (I was in a doom and gloom slump at the time - it was really depressing to read during a doom and gloom slump, but it strengthened my resolve to keep pushing). Also, a colleague of mine mentioned that it's the book that made her realize that climate change really isn't just about the weather being wonky.
my library has basically all these books, this is amazing. also i love that edition of Pod so much, where did you get it? i got my copy from the library and i'm definitely rereading it.
I prefer "just the facts, ma'am" books, so here are my recs:
The heat will kill you first and The water will come by Jeff Goodell. Feckin scary. Not super great at "what do??" though.
Net zero by Dieter Helm would be a good follow up to those, because it's FULL of his ideas about "what do?"
Bill McKibbon's books are lovely and full of hope, but not quite my style, although it did get me to sign up for 350's mailing list.
And because I hate grass and want more local, sustainable, Earth friendly produce, Single Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. I have a small yard and had already intended to destroy the grass and plant a food meadow, but he covers a bunch of things to pay attention to that didn't occur to me.
A book I quickly gave up on because I didn't need convincing was Nomad Century by Gaia Vance, about climate change causing mass migration of people to... You know... Stay alive. But if you need any useful data to convince your xenophobic family why they should believe or care about climate changing, probably this one has it.
The Petroleum Papers by Geoff Dembicki pissed me off because he wrote it with too much "inflammatory" language. I want all of the info in that book, but in a format that my family wouldn't immediately dismiss for being liberal biased. They like to talk about follow the money, but think individual climate scientists make more than the oil companies. Lol wut.
I checked out Overstory last time you mentioned it and i tried. I really did. But i gave up about 75% through. IDK if I have a good reason other than I got bored and wanted to cram more nonfiction facts in my skull instead.
Okay that's all I have. Sorry for rambling! 😅
Thanks for the comprehensive list!
All this talk of Pod has really convinced me to pick it up!!
I'd love to know how the badges are made and how the thread is recycled 🤔
I believe the badges are made by the folks behind Gung Ho clothing - maybe you could find out about their process from their website?
@@marym361 good idea, thanks!
It would be super cool if you made them pins too (if there’s any way to make them sustainable)
Once there wolves was awesome 🎉!! Want to re-read. Written beautifully, smart, and an ultimate page-turner
I really want to get to The Overstory and We Are the Weather. I really appreciated Eating Animals by JSF. I’ve been vegan for a couple of decades now and that book just reminded me again why it’s so important.
Have you read Fire weather by John Vaillant? It has just come up on my library’s website while I was looking for some of the books you mentioned in this video. Looks like a fairly new release!
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm made me want to commit crime and empowered me to feel like I could attend more extreme protests and actions if I wanted to. It had some direct ideas/examples of direct action as well as general inspiration for more loud and sometimes destructive acts
The High House by Jessie Greengrass! It's a futural view on the present and is basically about climate change denial, but with a lot of compassion. There's a found family in an isolated house living through catastrophe, a climate activist, three generations with their different experiences of the changes, and no closure just for the sake of poetic justice... and lots to discuss!
I wanted to buy the patches but they don't ship to the Americas 😢
Same...😭
So many good recommendations! And I love the diversity on this list. The climate books I read are mostly very factual and science based and while I do think those are really important, I've also felt a little burned out reading them. This video made me realise that I maybe should just mix in some books that are approaching the climate/biodiversity crisis from a different angle :)
I'm like you! I read The Heat Will Kill You First and The Water Will Come back to back and had to read several Judy Blume novels as palate cleaners to get out of the despair hole. :)
This might sound ridiculous but the more of your videos I watch, the more I feel like you're one of my friends. It's a mindset thing I think. I'm a bit of a head in the sand person with the climate - I know it's a problem but feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it. Your approach to discussing it is cheerful, practical and not at all preachy, just like a person who knows you well would be. I will give Once There Were Wolves a go first, but I did write down some of the others too.
Will be adding Losing Eden to my list. I found Paradise by Lizzie Johnson very impactful.
May I add to this list a little hopeful book which can help us face our fears: Beyond Biofatalism: Human Nature for an Evolving World by Gillian Barker
How DARE you realease these INCREDIBLE patches when I can't get them as a EU resident *cries in patience*.
Okay, having just finished listening to Once there were wolves, I get it. Very sexy rewilding of Scotland. I was half expecting there to be werewolves though-like right up till the end. 🤣
Aaargh you got me, you cheeky so-and-so! FINE I'll put Once There Were Wolves on my list 😅
The Heat will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell. I read this recently and it was amazing.
Not directly about the climate but I think N K Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy are a really interesting lens to think about climate resilience & the fragility of our world through
Love love love this video ❤ Keep making content like this!!! 📕❤️
Have you read "How To Blow Up a Pipeline"? would love to hear your thoughts on that!
"Cloudland: the dramatic story of Australia's extraordinary rainforest people and country" by Penny Oosterzee A long title I know but geological history that is spellbinding
i managed to get a digital copy of ‘the uninhabitable earth’ and i can’t wait to read it! thanks leena for motivating me to start reading books related to the climate crisis. ❤️
Immediatly interested in Losing Eden, and once again shocked, as I've been far too often, at how different UK and norwegian societies are, even though we're ~practically~ neighbouring countries. Do british toddlers really not spend time outside? Why? Why not?? Is this once again us in the nordics being the odd ones? It this why nobody on tiktok understand the concept of rain suits and snow suits for toddlers (or is that just tiktok tiktoking?)?
I have two small kids, and they spend several hours outside, both when in daycare and at home, no matter the weather (unless it's really, really cold, like -15C or more). They eat, play, learn and have their naps outside. As is the norm for most toddlers in the nordics, as far as i know.
Already immediately sold on the first book lol!!!
Watched to the end, gonna read ALL these
Just ordered ‘It's not that radical’ from the library, going to earn myself a badge 😍
You had me at murder tbh, Once There Were Wolves sounds amazing. (And some of the others, even though less exciting lmao)
Adding Losing Eden to my climate TBR!
And recommending The Impossible Resurrection of Grief by Octavia Cade, an incredible fiction about climate grief and hope as well as Elizabeth Rush's nonfiction Rising (about sea level rise) and The Quickening (about glacier loss and reconciling the desire to become a mother with the knowledge of climate change)
Also I’ve come across the book called The Great Plant Based Con by Jayne Buxton which discusses if going Vegan is best for our health (I’m almost certain for a lot people it’s not but cutting down on meat is) and if it’s actually helping the planet. I haven’t read it yet so can’t comment but thought you might be interested :)
I have added all those book to my TBR although I have read We are the weather already. I think the one I will put top of my list is The Breaks as having a child is something me and my partner are thinking about but I’m worried about the world we would be bringing them into, so feels like the right time to read this
Rising by Elizabeth Rush is a favorite read of mine from last year! Pretty US-centric but very beautifully written about communities experiencing sea level rise (she also has a new book called the Quickening about climate change and motherhood that I have not read but only because I think it will gut punch me too much). I also have been terrified to read the uninhabitable earth so very eager to listen to the podcast episode and perhaps finally read it afterwards!!
I. NEED. THEM. ALL.
what an incredible idea to create and sell patches instead of new pieces of clothes!! I love it
I’m being difficult but would love a recommendation on fashion/clothing environmental impact if anyone has any recommendations!
The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton
In terms of spooky reads, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is the only book to every truly scare me. Highly recommend! I suspect Lena will recommend Motherthing By Ainslee Hogarth, which is a gruesome, feverish read just perfect for the month of October. Won't be at all surprised if she mentions The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells; is there anything scarier than the reality of our planet dying and us dying with it because we chose to ignore the climate crisis?
Hi Leena! If you had a day to convince a politician (who could make a difference) that climate change is an immediate threat and needs to be urgently dealt with, how would you do it?