The Readlist: Climate Book Recommendations
Article by Talia K.
Often, thinking too much about the climate crisis might make you feel powerless: there’s too much to be done, too little support, and too much misinformation out there. Much of the media relating to climate change only enforces this eco-anxiety, reminding us of every terrible effect of warming temperatures without providing any realistic way to help make a difference. But there are also plenty of amazing resources that can inform, empower, and inspire us in positive ways, redirecting our feelings of climate doom towards meaningful action or gratitude. Below are relevant media, organized by the feeling they conjure.
If you want to gain a deeper appreciation for the natural world:
How to Speak Whale, Tom Mustill
If you’ve ever dreamed of being able to talk to animals, this is the book for you. Biologist-turned-documentarian Tom Mustill takes the reader on a deep dive of the efforts of marine biologists, linguistics, and tech experts in attempting to decode whale language. The book details the results of Mustill’s attempt to learn as much as possible about communication with whales after his close encounter with a breaching humpback. As the book presents fascinating insight into a majestic animal, it also mentions the dangers that whales and the entire marine ecosystem are currently facing as a result of climate change. But rather than focusing on the fear, this novel emphasizes the beauty and majesty of nature, and above all reminds us that humans are not at the center of our ecosystem.
Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake
Many people love animals, fewer love plants, and even fewer are fans of fungi, but this book has single handedly caused that number to skyrocket. Mycologist Merlin Sheldrake shines the spotlight on this often-overlooked kingdom, demonstrating fungi’s multifaceted roles in the ecosystem with a contagious enthusiasm. From their potential role in first granting human beings consciousness, to their essential ecological function as decomposers, to the complex living network they form beneath the soil, this book provides a thrilling look into a brimming world you likely never knew existed. Plus, Sheldrake also demonstrates the exciting possibilities of fungi in fighting the climate crisis, shedding light on creative, natural strategies that can help mitigate some of the worst effects of warming temperatures. By the time you finish this book, you’ll never see a forest in the same way again.
American Primitive, Mary Oliver
Or, really, anything Mary Oliver has ever written. This poet’s love and care for the natural world feels tangible in every word she writes. She wrangles the English language into entirely new, exciting, dazzling forms in a joyous attempt to translate her emotions and perceptions of nature into words, while at the same time keeping the poetry grounded and accessible. There’s a wholehearted gratitude and contentment that seeps through each page of her work, and it is sure to reaffirm your commitment to and expand your love for the natural world whenever you need it. This is the ideal poetry collection for whenever you need a pick-me-up, or simply want to see the natural world through a new pair of eyes. If that isn’t enough to make you want to read it, here’s an excerpt from one of the poems of this collection, “Moles:”
Field after field
you can see the traceries
of their long
lonely walks, then
the rains blur
even this frail
hint of them –
so excitable,
so plush,
so willing to continue
generation after generation
accomplishing nothing
but their brief physical lives
as they live and die,
pushing and shoving
with their stubborn muzzles against
the whole earth,
finding it
delicious.
If you want to stop feeling like the climate crisis is insurmountable:
How to Save a Planet, Gimlet
While this podcast was unfortunately canceled several years ago (suspiciously shortly after being taken over by Spotify), its archive still remains a great source for climate empowerment. Its information may no longer be the most up to date, but its mission of energizing rather than overwhelming its audience about the climate crisis remains incredibly timely. Each episode ends with a realistic, actionable effort that we as individuals can undertake to help make a difference. But at the same time, the podcast emphasizes the importance of communal action over individual action and demonstrates how to get involved on larger, more effective and unified scales. For an archive of these calls to action, see here.
The Overstory, Richard Powers
This novel spins together the perspectives of nine Americans who all have a deeply personal relationship with trees. Beyond this rich array of characters, Powers presents the forests and trees in the novel as multidimensional characters in their own rights, with the power to affect the world around them. By showcasing so many different pathways of fighting for change and speaking up for the natural world around across timelines, this novel is the ultimate motivating force for anyone feeling burnt out by the climate crisis. Plus, it always affirms the power of nature and places it at the center of the novel, an important reminder for all of the characters whenever they encounter obstacles, and for readers as well.
A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough
David Attenborough, renowned documentarian, created this film as a naturalist’s “witness statement” to the sprawling damages the climate crisis has wrought on the natural world. With his soothing voice and the array of at times startling and at times awe-inspiring footage from nature, this is sure to provide you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty of the environment as well as a renewed determination to protect it. It simultaneously informs and inspires, presenting truth and essential facts without veering into depressing and fatalistic “climate doomerism.
If you want to see the climate crisis from a fictional perspective:
Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki
This beloved Studio Ghibli film was released in 1997, but remains a remarkably current parable of the climate crisis. To cure himself of a curse, Prince Ashitaka must journey to Irontown, a dystopian, heavily industrial setting full of decimated forests. The town, led by Lady Eboshi, has destroyed the natural world around them in order to extract iron to fuel their economy, resulting in desolation. In response, the wolf tribe seeks to take their revenge on Lady Eboshi to protect the natural world, sparking a battle between modernization and nature. The film deals with themes of greed, abuse of the natural world, and the everlasting power and beauty of nature that still has the power to inform, inspire, and infuriate its audience all these years later.
Open Throat, Henry Hoke
Open Throat is a novella-length prose poem about a mountain lion living under the Hollywood sign, inspired by the true story of P-22. One of the main themes of this piece is human apathy toward nature, which early on results in a fire that forces the mountain lion out of their home and into Los Angeles. The book deals with ecological criticism, but in an enjoyable, relatable, and palatable way. We get a deep insight into the mountain lion’s perspective and emotions; their loneliness and disconnect directly mirrors their observations of the superficial humans that abound in LA. Ultimately, the book calls for the necessity of human connection and care for nature while exposing the inequities of the climate crisis and the way we perceive the natural world.
Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler
This classic novel takes place in a fictional future United States wracked by climate disaster, remarkably similar to our present-day state. These ramifications of the climate crisis make life in California extremely difficult, prompting the protagonist Lauren and a group of others to try to find a better, safer home. This novel presents a great perspective on environmental justice, exposing how class and race impact who feels the brunt of the climate crisis in juxtaposition to who produces the most emissions. This is a novel that will make you angry, but it will also make you reassess and examine many of the systems that our society is currently based on, allowing you to analyze the climate crisis from new perspectives
