Blog
Season's Readings
By Cincinnati Nature Center Naturalist Bob Buring for the January 10, 2024 issue of Now in Nature.
So, we have satisfied ourselves with a frigid foray into the natural world, followed by a retreat indoors, where we can ensconce in a comfy chair with a blanket, warm socks, a hot drink, and a book.
But what should we read?
Should we go for enhanced knowledge of our favorite topics, exploring an unfamiliar perspective, or pure escapism?
To avoid an analysis paralysis of choosing a book, begin with a comfortable read followed by choosing one a bit more challenging. A list of suggestions from peers and friends might make the task a bit easier.
Our Winter hibernation seems to last forever – why not emerge in Spring more tolerant and wiser?
At the Cincinnati Nature Center we have a formidable collection of naturalist staff, volunteers, and outside teaching talent. What follows are reading suggestions from each:
Jeff Corney, PhD – Executive Director, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Brenda Hunda, PhD – Invertebrate Paleontologist, Cincinnati Museum Center:
- The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell
- The Mill Creek: An Unnatural History of an Urban Stream by Stan Hedeen.
Connie O’Connor – Director of Applied Learning, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Anne Horne – Public Engagement Manager, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- A Guide to Nature in Winter: Northeast and North Central North America by Donald W. Stokes
- Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
Melissa Sabo – School Program Manager, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration by Bert Holldobler & E.O. Wilson
Anne Robinson – Visitor Services Manager, Cincinnati Nature Center:
Jen Gillen – Staff Naturalist, School Programs, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior by David A. Sibley
- The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickafoose
Bob Buring – Staff Naturalist, School Programs & OCVN Program, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus
- The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen
- The Natural History of the Cincinnati Region by Stan Hedeen
Andy Fix – Cincinnati Nature Center volunteer, naturalist, birder, and retired veterinary pathologist:
- The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal by Stephen R. Jones
- Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul
Jeanette Tacon – Naturalist, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Deborah Hodgkinson – Early Childhood Educator, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Underland, The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, and The Wild Places, all by Robert Macfarlane
Micayla Patton – Naturalist and Childhood Educator, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Kym Ramsey – Volunteer Services, Cincinnati Nature Center: –
Judy Mouch – Naturalist, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell
Tom Kimmerer, PhD – Chief Scientist at “Venerable Trees” and OCVN contributor at Cincinnati Nature Center:
Tammy Alverson – Naturalist and Visitor Services Staff, Cincinnati Nature Center:
- Your Brain on Nature by Alan C. Logan
- Wild Cincinnati by F. Lynne Bachleda