Robin Wall Kimmerer is an indigenous woman. She is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Still, she is also a professor who teaches ecology and has studied science and environmental science in a very Western scientific way. When she writes Braiding Sweetgrass, she blends these two worlds to take an aspect of nature. Then she’ll discuss it in the scientific term, and this is what we know about it from a very scientific perspective.
It is the most extraordinary storytelling technique, and above all, I must admit that both of her books are available on Audible. She reads them. Following in the text with her reading her work, her voice, and how she talks honestly feels like you’re getting a warm hug from someone the whole time she speaks in such a thoughtful way.
You understand that she has so much love and passion for these things. On top of blending this spiritual component with the scientific, she says there isn’t much difference between the two worlds. Books like Braiding Sweetgrass share a reverence for nature, a deep connection to the environment, and an appreciation for indigenous wisdom. They offer scientific knowledge that inspires readers to reevaluate their relationship with the natural world.
7 Books Like Braiding Sweetgrass (Nature & Environment Science)
Braiding Sweetgrass is the story of nature and the environment that most don’t know. On holiday, I love to spend time in a quiet forest and read nature-related books. It refreshes me for a week and helps me discover myself through the environment.
You also love to read in the same way. If you want to read nature and ecological books, you are in the right place. I will talk about seven nature books similar to Braiding Sweetgrass. Let’s start our journey!
1. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
Do you want to know the secret of a healthy environment? It doesn’t seem apparent at first. That’s why you’ve got to read this book. It will change your entire paradigm of seeing the forest and city landscapes. It will also give you a deeper understanding of permaculture.
There are thirty-six chapters, each with a gem of an idea that shines with brilliance. First off, the trees can communicate via their roots with ectomycorrhizal fungi. They also communicate with molecules. In the ecological system, trees disperse through their leaves in the air.
Like other animals, they also feed each other. Even evergreens feed deciduous trees and vice versa. Second, we determine the odds of these trees against the unforgiving weather elements. We learn how they stand up and form a barrier to protect each other from the wind and that each tree species has its design for managing water and its growth patterns. Their memory dictates it. We learn of their potential. Left to its devices, that tree does not grow old at one hundred.
The older and fatter they become, the more carbon they absorb. We learn that trees naturally move over time. The next generation of trees creates new boundaries, creeping like the slowest creature across the planet, looking for more favorable areas. Rogue seeds catch a ride in the river, or birds carry the seeds, feathers, or other migrating animals. They take these seeds with them migrating. But the big takeaway is that trees’ products and services are more numerous and beneficial when the trees are left alive.
I love this book and found it even more fun in the bibliography. You will learn the behaviors of individual species of trees from an experienced forest manager from Germany. You have a property with a bit of a tree or help your community decide about trees. Like Braiding Sweetgrass, The Hidden Life of Trees will give you an understanding of how to investigate which trees would best suit your area and better care for them.
Author: Peter Wohlleben
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Nature Writing & Essays, Trees in Biological Sciences, Plant & Animal Photography (Best Seller)
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
2. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
This is the author’s story, Sy Montgomery, and how she came into contact with four distinct octopuses over many years. She learned about their personalities and intelligence. It brought her into contact with people she wouldn’t have otherwise. It can be the strangest of things sometimes that brings people together. The book is lyrically written and quick to read. You will get a sense of what the author was trying to convey.
White is the color of a relaxed octopus, and close cuttlefish relatives of octopus females turn white when encountering fellow females. These little nuggets of almost pure poetry are scattered throughout the book. Along with The Soul of an Octopus is another long line of books I have read this year. It touches and helps me remember that other people can feel the same way too. You will get many biological secrets similar to Braiding Sweetgrass.
Author: Sy Montgomery
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Invertebrates Zoology, Marine Biology
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
3. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
The book Entangled Life is about how Fungi change our worlds and shape our futures. It is fascinating that fungi and mushrooms are a significant part of life here on Earth and essential to how we do things and achieve things in the future. There’s a lot of talk about what fungus can do could potentially do for us in the future.
The author is a researcher in the field of parapsychology. Parapsychology is considered to be something that’s a bit spooky and goes against science. He covers everything from magic mushrooms and psilocybin, which’s been hot at the minute. Tim Ferriss tends to talk a lot about them. There are many things around mind-altering drugs and what they can do for depression. So that alone could take up an entire book.
The author weaves in some interesting stories. So there’s a place called Haddon Hall with a rotting floor and an old stone oven. That was found to have fungus in it. But the roots of the fungus had reached all the way to feed off the rotting floor, which is living there in the oven.
It was used in the Princess Bride film in 1986. So fungi live everywhere. Montgomery talks about how algae and fungi merged many years ago and were responsible for getting plants out of the water onto the land. So plants didn’t live on land for long because of a hostile environment. If you want to know more about it, read the book after Braiding Sweetgrass.
Author: Merlin Sheldrake
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Mushrooms in Biological Sciences, Ecology
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
4. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Pilgrim At Tinker Creek entails a series of entries by Annie Dillard throughout the year and her obsession with documenting their changes and season. Even to the point that somewhere in here, she talks about wanting to watch the grass turn green overnight. In this book, she is obsessing over all these details of nature.
Her memoir was more of a convenience to her for the sake of writing and craft. This is more about an intimate relationship with nature and the world to a larger extent. It also took on this very referential storytelling nature that Dillard seems to do. She says self-consciousness is the city’s curse, and all that sophistication implies is a glimpse of oneself in a storefront window.
It’s always this flurry of surprises where she realizes that being alone is an extension of being surrounded by so many people. It is because people might experience the world the same way in the sense of loneliness or, in this case, losing innocence.
Towards the end of this book, Dillard seals the deal by talking about the idea of her life being nibbled away. She references how the world is a mason jar, and we’re all bumping into each other. She sees this mosquito on a copperhead and how our whole ecosystem works. It’s the same way with human beings.
Dillard says that our fear of life isn’t so much in death but how willing we are to feel gracious that we can feel emotions, as many living things think differently. If you like Braiding Sweetgrass, you must read it.
Author: Annie Dillard
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Nature Writing & Essays, Literature
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Library Binding | Kindle | Audio CD
5. Gathering Moss
Gathering Moss is Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first book, and she wrote Braiding Sweetgrass. This one feels more like a thesis. There’s something about it that’s so focused on mosses. There are illustrations, but small ones where you have types of mosses, and then she’ll tell you about them. She’ll describe them to you and then tell you about their environment and how they reproduce.
Mosses have a lot of reproduction, and it’s very similar. Again, she’ll draw some parallels between us and Mosses. She forces you to think about Moss was there when the Earth started, how it took the weight of the water, and how it could adapt and survive in specific environments.
So this one is more focused. This book is worth every moment of reading. It covers scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants. So don’t miss the book if you want to impress again.
Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Natural History, Botany (Best Seller)
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
6. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben
In “The Hidden Life of Trees,” Peter faces a fascinating world of trees, exploring their social connections, communication methods, and the intricate web of life within a forest. Similar to “Braiding Sweetgrass,” this book offers a profound perspective on the interconnectedness of nature and our place within it. Wohlleben’s engaging storytelling style and scientific insights provide an eye-opening exploration of the natural world.
7. The Overstory by Richard Powers
The Overstory is a sweeping novel that intertwines the lives of various characters with their deep connections to trees. This book represents environmental activism, the beauty of forests, and the urgent need to protect our natural heritage. It profoundly reflects on the importance of our relationship with the natural world and the potential for human connection and change.
They highlight the importance of environmental stewardship and address urgent ecological issues. Also, they invite readers to reevaluate their relationship with the natural world and consider the wisdom and lessons that can be gained from indigenous cultures.
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