Nature Book Club: The Big List

The eighth and ninth  #NatureBookClubs saw many recommendations and lots of discussion about nature books. The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2020 by Lia Leendertz continues to crop up lots, and I suspect it will do well in nature book prizes this year.

I used it to help research this article on celebrating January and am also using it to plan my year, celebrating all the months, seasons, solstices and equinoxes.

The Nature Book Club list is growing every week, so I’m updating The Big List after each Nature Book Club. Predictably, the same names crop up frequently. Chris Thorogood, Steve Backshall, Jackie Morris, Robert MacFarlane, Patrick Barkham, John Lewis Stempel and numerous others feature every week. However, I’ve obviously only included each book once.

Here are the 175 books that have been recommended to date during Nature Book Club. I’ve included links from the author’s names to their Twitter accounts where possible. (It took ages to find them all so please click on the links and follow writers you like. Better yet, write nice things about their work and tag them – then add a review to Amazon to make your favourite author smile).

1. Watership Down by Richard Adams
2. The Shark and the Albatross by John Aitchison.
3. My Name is Mina by David Almond
4. The Last Wilderness: A Journey Into Silence by Neil Ansell
5. Deep Country by Neil Ansell
6. The Moor by William Atkins
7. Adventures of a Young Naturalist by David Attenborough
8. Life on Earth by by David Attenborough
9. Zoo Quest by David Attenborough
10. Amazing Rare Things by by David Attenborough
11. The Last Tiger Wars by Steve Backshall
12. Wildlife Adventurer’s Guide by Steve Backshall
13. Pam the Peacock Butterfly by Nicola and Rebecca Bailey
14. Pat the Caterpillar by Nicola and Rebecca Bailey
15. Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
16. Being a Beast by Charles Foster
17. Food You Can Forage by Tiffany Francis Baker
18. Nature Teacher’s Handbook by Nick Baker
19. Badgerlands by Patrick Barkham
20. Birdwatching With Your Eyes Closed by Simon Barnes
21. Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes
22. There is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee
23. Little Grey Men by BB
24. The Nature Lover’s Book by Enid Blyton
25. The Bumble Bee Flies Anyway by Kate Bradbury
26. Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything by Kate Bradbury
27. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
28. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
29. All Rivers Run Free by Natasha Carthew
30. Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey
31. A Year in the Garden by Beth Chatto.
32. Clare’s Countryside by John Clare
33. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
34. Common Ground by Rob Cowen
35. Ring the Hill by Tom Cox
36. The Nature of Spring by Jim Crumley
37. Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann
38. How to Be More Tree: Essential Life Lessons for Perennial Happiness by Annie Davidson.
39. On the Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin illustrated by Sabina Radeva
40. The Storm Whale by Benji_Davies
41. My Garden and Other Animals by Mike Dilger
42. Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn
43. My Family and Other Animals by Gerard Durrell
44. Badgered to Death by Tom Dyer
45. Butterflies by EB Ford
46. The Edible Garden by Alys Fowler
47. Hidden Nature by Alys Fowler
48. What a Waste by Jess French
49. How to Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear by Jess French
50. The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
51. So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs? series by Ben Garrod
52. Ghost Trees by Bob Gilbert
53. Through a Window by Jane Goodall
54. Wild Signs and Star Paths by Tristan Gooley
55. Go Wild! Over 200 Ways to Connect With Nature by Emily Goss
56. Garden Jungle by Dave Goulson
57. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
58. Tidy by Emily Gravett
59. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
60. Halcyon River Diaries by Charlie Hamilton James
61. Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill
62. The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill
63. Foxes Unearthed by Lucy Jones
64. Bird Therapy by Joe Harkness
65. The Seasons anthologies edited by Melissa Harrison
66. The Wonders of Nature by Ben Hoare
67. Complete James Herriott
68. The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden.
69. Thinking on my Feet by Kate Humble
70. British Wildflowers in Their Natural Haunts by Horwood
71. Dancing With Bees by Brigit Strawbridge Howard
72. Death on Earth by Jules Howard
73. Badgers to Nighthawks: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger by
    Mal Ingham
74. Findings by Kathleen Jamie
75. Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie
76. Seedbombs for Bees by Josie Jeffrey
77. A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings by Helen Jukes
78. Seven Worlds One Planet by Jonny Keeling
79. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
80. The Almanac by Lia Leendertz
81. Butterflies of Britain and Ireland by Richard Lewington
82. Pocket Guide to Butterflies of Britain and Ireland by Richard Lewington
83. Beetle Boy by MG Leonard
84. The Outrun by Amy Liptrott
85. H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
86. The Bluebird by Maurice Maeterlinck
87. The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck
88. A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals by Millie Marotta
89. Lips too Chilled by Matsuo Bashō
90. The Outrun by Amy May
91. Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell.
92. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
93. Underland by Robert McFarlane
94. Landmarks by Robert McFarlane
95. The Old Ways by Robert McFarlane
96. The Wild Places by Robert McFarlane
97. 365 Days Wild by Lucy McRobert
98. The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell
99. Making Winter: A Creative Guide for Surviving the Winter Months by Emma Mitchell
100. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
101. Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
102. The River Singers by Tom Moorhouse
103. News From Nowhere by William Morris
104. The Sundering Flood by William Morris
105. The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert McFarlane
106. Feral by George Monbiot
107. Winter Sleep by Alex Morss and Sean Taylor
108. Wild Hares and Hummingbirds by
     Stephen Moss
109. The Twelve Birds of Christmas by Stephen Moss
110. The Great British Year: Wildlife Through the Seasons by Stephen Moss.
111. Camping by the Waterside by Stephen Neale
112. Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham
113. Back Garden Nature Reserve by Chris Packham
114. Wild Side of Town by Chris Packham
115. Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? by Lev Parikian
116. Badger Behaviour, Conservation and Rehabilitation by George E. Pearce

117. National Trust: 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 3/4 by Tom Percival.

118. Complete Works of Beatrix Potter

119. I Am The Seed That Grew the Tree by Frann Preston Gannon.

120. Outpost by Dan Richards
121. Between Pacific Tides by Ed Ricketts
122. A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter
123. The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose
124. The Lorax by Dr Seuess
125. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
126. The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
127. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
128. Think Like a Tree by Sarah Spence
129. Edward Thomas: A Miscellany by Anna Stemming.
130. The Wood by John Lewis Stempel
131. Running Hare by John Lewis Stempel
132. Still Water by John Lewis Stempel
133. Meadowland by John Lewis-Stempel
134. Where Poppies Blow by John Lewis Stempel
135. Journeys in the Wild by Gavin Thurston
136. Extraordinary Insects by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
137. The Queen of Speckled Wood by SW Teal

138. Saviour of Speckled Wood by SW Teal

139. Moon by Britta Teckentrup
140. A Miscellany by Edward Thomas
141. The Tropical Hothouse by Chris Thorogood
142. Curious Creatures on Our Shores by Chris Thorogood
143. Weird Plants by Chris Thorogood
144. Perfectly Peculiar Plants by Chris Thorogood
145. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
146. Journey into the Wild: The Secret Life a Cameraman by Gavin Thurston
147. A Field Guide in Colour to Plants and Animals by Jan Toman and Jiri Felix, illustrated by Kvetoslav Hisek
148. Extreme Adventures by Andy Torbet
149. Wilding by Isabella Tree
150. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
151. Of Cats and Elfins by Sylvia Townsend Warner.
152. The Beauty in the Beast by Hugh Warwick
153. All books by Terri Windling
154. Get Your Boots on by Alex White
155. The Inner Life of Animals by Peter Wohlleben
156. Wonderland by Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss
157. Natural History of Selbourne by Gilbert White
158. Arthropoda Iconicus Volume I: Insects From A Far Away Galaxy by Richard Wilkinson.
159. Masquerade by Kit Williams
160. Conundrum by Kit Williams
161. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
162. A Tour in Scotland by Dorothy Wordsworth
163. Trouble With Lichen by John Wyndham
164. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
165. Poems by WB Yeats
166. The Street Beneath My Feet by Yuval Zommer
167. The Big Book of Blue by Yuval Zommer
168. Observer Book of Birds
169. Ladybird Book of Birds
170. I Spy books
171. The RSPB Pocket Guide to Birds
172. The British Wildlife Photography Awards books.
173. Bloomsbury Wildlife Field guides.
174. The Kew Gardens Beautiful Gardens Dot-to-Dot Book
175. Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

People also shared #shelfie pics showing the diversity of nature books available.

Join in with Nature Book Club next Sunday and share your favourite nature books. It was 6-7pm but is now 8-9pm as this is easier for more people.

If you’re a nature writer or illustrator, please share extracts and illustrations from your books – and contact me via Twitter if you’d like to run a competition. I also post next week’s questions on my Twitter account, GrowEatGift.