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Books chosen for our 2025 Nature Book Club discussions.

Next Nature book club meeting: July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025: Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, Ben Goldfarb. This is an informative, entertaining, and powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet. Don Krech will lead discussion. Meeting at the Shikellamy State Park Marina pavilions and Zoom. 7 p.m.
    The July 28, 2025 Nature Book Club session is free and open to the public, but it would help to know how many to expect. Please fill out the following form if you can attend the meeting:

Previously reviewed books:

Check out the recorded video from our May 19, 2025, Nature Book Club discussion on "In Praise of Poison Ivy" by Anita Sanchez:
​Check out the recorded video from our March 31, 2025, Nature Book Club discussion on The Chesapeake Watershed:  A Sense of Place And A Call to Action by Ned Tillman​:
Check out the recorded video from our January 27, 2025, Nature Book Club discussion on "Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden" by Terry Grosz:
  • Ned Tillman, The Cheseapeake Watershed: A Sense of Place and a Call to Action
  • Terry Grosz, Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
  • ​Bernd Heinrich, Mind of the Raven. Investigations and Adventures with Wolf Birds
  • Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella, Cat Wars--The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer
  • David Sedlak, Water for All: Global Solutions for a changing climate
  • Douglas W. Tallamy,  Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants
  • Scott Weidensaul, A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds
  • Mitch Troutman, Bootleg Coal Rebellion
  • Marcia Bonta, Appalachian Spring
  • David Baron, The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature
  • Wallace J. Nichols, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do
  • Eric Rutkow, American Canopy, Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation 
  • Kevin Bailey, Fishing Lessons: Artisanal Fisheries Around the World and the Future of our Oceans
  • Colin Jerolmack, Up to Heaven and Down to Hell
  • William Stolzenberg, The Heart of a Lion
  • John Vaillant: The Golden Spruce: A True Story Of Myth, Madness And Greed
  • John A. Shivik: Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes: The Science of Animal Personalities
  • Kirk W. Johnson: The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
  • Abbey, Edward: Down the River
  • Fletcher, Colin:  The Man Who Walked Through Time
  • Hawkins, Paul:  The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming (selected chapters)
  • Kimmerer, Robin:  Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants
  • Lose, Charles:  Vanishing Trout
  • McPhee, John:  The Founding Fish
  • Montgomery, Ben:  Grandma Gatewood’s Walk:  The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail
  • Montgomery, Sy:  The Soul of an Octopus
  • Pollan, Michael:  The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World
  • Stewart, Amy:  The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
  • Stranahan. Susan Q.:  Susquehanna, River of Dreams
July 28, 2025: Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, Ben Goldfarb. This is an informative, entertaining, and powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet. Don Krech will lead discussion. Meeting at the Shikellamy State Park Marina pavilions and Zoom. 7 p.m.

September 29, 2025: On Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell, Sy Montgomery. 2023. Compassionate and deeply researched, warm and astonishing, this book is an invitation to slip into turtle time. It's a story that shows us a way to mend a world beset with unprecedented perils, shell by shattered shell. Sandy Costello will lead discussion. Meeting at the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper office at 112 Market Street, Sunbury, PA, and on Zoom. 7 p.m.

November 24, 2025: Casting Homeward: An Angler and Naturalist's Journey to America's Legendary Rivers, Steve Ramirez, 2024.  As writer, naturalist and educator, Ramirez takes the reader on a physical and philosophical journey to some of the most legendary rivers and wild landscapes in America. Imbued with fly-fishing throughout, this journey seeks to explore what makes certain places feel magical and meaningful. How do we define “iconic” when considering wild places that have seemingly held the ability to restore our souls and fill them with feelings of peace, belonging, awe, and gratitude?  Three chapters (of 21) are dedicated to streams in Pennsylvania, including: the Little Juniata and Penns Creek. Ann Fisher will lead discussion. Meeting at the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper office at 112 Market Street, Sunbury, PA, and on Zoom. 7 p.m.

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