A couple of great books I’ve read relatively recently and enjoyed very much:
Never Home Alone, by Rob Dunn, on the species that have co-evolved with humanity in our homes
The Arbornaut, by Margaret D. Lowman, on her experience as a biologist, pioneering the experience of studying trees from up in their canopies.
Lives of Weeds, by John Cardina, about the co-evolution of certain key weed species and how our actions, combined with their inherent traits, made them problems we made ourselves.
Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany, Michael J Balick
Fresh Banana Leaves; Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science, by Jessica Hernandez
Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake, about Fungi, their effect on our world, past, present, and future
I would definetely reccomend tristan gooley’s books, particularly the one on trees mentioned earlier.
Also very interesting is Landmarks by robert mcfarlane, a collection of landscape-related words at risk of being forgotten. It is more of a dictionary than something to read though. On top of that the words are sourced only from the british isles, which does make sense, but limits the interest for people residing elsewhere.
The Observologist, while more for children, is delightfully illustrated and aims to enable people to take more joy in the little critters that can be found wherever.
when it comes to fiction it is harder to find books which take nature as their focus, or even as something relevant. I’ve listed what I can think of, with a sentence about how they feature nature, and what kind of book they are.
Wildful is a graphic novel, with lovely sepia illustrations and not many words, about someone learning to see nature.
Rose Wolves is for a younger audience, and has no words at all. The main character is a child who explores the woods around her house.
A Snake Falls to Earth and Willodeen are somewhat similar in the way that nature is featured: the main character really loves it and the plot is very much about conservation. A Snake Falls to Earth is based on lipan apache mythology.
Liar’s test, The Sinister Booksellers of bath, Spear, and Mamo are all books which feature nature a little more than usual. Of course, all four above have some element of romance. It is near impossible to escape sometimes!
Some unique points: Liar’s Test is at least partially about the importance of nature (specifically plants) in aboriginal australian culture, although the book itself is set in a different world. Mamo is a graphic novel set somewhere in australia, and has really nice illustrations of the birds.
Finally, the starling’s song. I haven’t actually read it yet, but I think I’ll like it!
One of my favorites is The Only Kayak by Kim Heacox. It focus on his time spent in Glacier Bay, Alaska and how it has changed him through his life both while he was and wasn’t a park ranger there.
How directly nature-related does it have to be? Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is… well if you know Margaret Atwood, you can guess. I mention it here because its premise is a future world where all the predicted climate disasters have happened and GMOs run loose in what’s left of ecosystems. To me, that seems relevant to what we’re about.
My all-time favorite non-fiction nature book is The Amateur Naturalist by Nick Baker.
Yes!! I love that book! Her Braiding Sweetgrass is awesome too.
All great books! Did you hear he released a new one?
Yes!
I love that book!
No spoilers, but I found the ending disappointing.
There are more books.
where can I find some good books to learn about exotic plant life and wildlife?
Carnivorous plant books such as this one often have exotics in them.
Also,
I do as well. I would have preferred a resolution that allowed the protagonist a bit more agency over his life.
But in terms of the broad narrative arc, it is difficult to see how the book could have realistically ended any other way. I think there is a message there about both our relationship with nature and the ways in which we are inextricably embedded in society – even when living alone in the wilderness.
These tensions are present from the very start of the book. I’ve wondered sometimes if one reason the author wrote a sequel several decades later was because of the persistent sense that the ending was disappointing. I haven’t read it (too concerned that the sequel wouldn’t measure up to the original) so I don’t know whether she resolves some of those tensions in a more satisfactory way there.
Apparently there are two sequels, which I just discovered today. I only remember reading the first sequel when I was a kid and I remember not enjoying it as much, but have no other recollections about it.
I am writing a (not published, don’t worry) fan-fiction series about Frightful, the falcon, in which I fix all the details I don’t like, but I turn Frightful into a pyromaniac, so that’s not much of an ending, either… 
thanx so much I will definitely check this out it sounds like it would be a good read.
No, I hadn’t, probably because I live in the West. I went through his three previous books and made notes on which things he talks about are in the West and which aren’t, but I would still love to see him write a book just for those in the West.
I’ve recently listened to the audio versions of these books and can recommend them all. If you are struggling to find nonfiction nature-related books you haven’t read already you might just find something here.
Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge, by Erica Gies
The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed, by John Vaillant
Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest, by Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, by Ben Goldfarb
A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons, by Robert M. Sapolsky
Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat, by Edward Struzik
Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse, by Dave Goulson
Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm, by Isabella Tree
Wow, what a list! I’ve never even heard of any of these, so there must be some new reading material in here.
I agree! Maybe the author should move to Oregon, just for a few years.
First came across Sapolsky’s writing in an issue of Discover magazine back in the early 90s and have enjoyed several of his essays since then. I don’t think that I ever got around to reading his memoir so thanks for the recommendation and reminder.