Polly Atkin doesn’t go far from home. She has a chronic illness, so she stays close to her house in England’s Lake District. Polly felt lonely and isolated, and as a stopgap, she started paying attention to the animals living in the nearby woods.

She is delighted to discover a nest of owls who thrill her, and as they transform – so quickly! – from small, curious babies into one of nature’s most interesting predators, Polly starts to examine her own life and views on solitude. When should someone intervene when survival is on the line vs. letting nature take its course?

This is a lovely memoir about community and finding our place within the larger whole, which can be difficult in the era of social media. An emotional connection to any social media platform keeps us from connecting with others in real life but can offer the whole wide world to someone who may be bedbound or desperate for company. Now that is a double-edged sword.

This book, the recipient of the 2025 Wainwright Prize in Nature Writing, offers us advice on finding peace in the midst of all of the chaos and pressure that comes with being a human in 2026. Joy is all around us. Sometimes we just have to be spiritually quiet enough to find it.

“The Company of Owls is a beautiful guide to moving through this world with tender curiosity, joy and reflection. Polly Atkin’s words left me with a longing for owls and a longing for a world in which every single one of us can belong.”—Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean

“The Company of Owls is a book filled with wonder, wisdom, and warmth … Her moving and meaningful observations and lyrical prose will stick with you for a long time.”—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

Are you the kind of person who tears up at an incredible sunset or a beautiful view? If so, don’t miss this lovely book that celebrates the way that nature can change us, both physically and mentally.

The author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Deep Woods, Wild Waters, delivers another incredible journey through both the planet and his soul. By exploring the wilderness through a series of outdoor experiences, Douglas Wood reflects on his journey from a not-so-great student to authoring a bestselling memoir and a variety of other books for both children and adults. His experience as a wilderness guide shines through on every single page.

Wood delivers an amazing, introspective study on the importance of natural beauty’s influence on and in relation to the written word. He offers hope to anyone feeling isolated or experiencing turbulent times and shares how he made his own way toward inner peace. Each essay is hopeful, positive, and optimistic, and Wood is a truly gifted writer.

“A warm evocation of nature’s gifts.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Filled with depth, heart, and wisdom, A Wild Path provides valuable lessons connected to the great outdoors.”—Northern Wilds

Whether you are an established fan of Mary Oliver or a newbie, don’t miss this compendium of three complete works. The Leaf and the Cloud, What Do We Know, and Long Life all offer homage to the natural world.

Walk alongside Oliver as she pays tribute to nature in the most lyrical of ways. Examining why some things pass while others persist, Oliver’s work has a distinct voice that will lull and pacify you on through a journey of the sky, the ocean, and the trees. You will experience her joys and sorrows and her highs and lows while she holds “a constant conversation with the sublime.” Truly transcendent.

A joyful forward from Natalie Diaz sets a wonderful tone for this integral volume!

“Oliver’s poems are thoroughly convincing as genuine, moving, and implausible as the first caressing breeze of spring.”―The New York Times

“A rigorous mind combined with a capacity for devotion; a desire to find the exact, economical, shining phrase; a wish to witness, and a wish to share.”―Chicago Tribune

How much time do we as humans spend thinking about how awesome it is that we exist? Author A. Kendra Greene spends A LOT of time thinking about it, so we get 26 essays that celebrate all things great and small.

We can certainly find joy in the little things, another thing that humans probably don’t dwell on too frequently. And sometimes it is the little things swaddled in big things that matter the most and bring us happiness. Greene takes a BIG topic like grief, nothingness, or human connection and explores that theme by examining the tiniest nuance or detail.

Sometimes these examinations kick off with a wacky encounter. I’ll list a few of those encounters, but first I want to remind you that this is in fact a nonfiction book:

• Someone in a giant sloth costume
• Exploding sharks
• A sentient bag of wasps

If for no other reason, give this a shot and find out who was in that sloth costume! Celebrate nature and all things wild and wonderful as you read your way through this charming book.

There’s a bonus as well: Greene is a supremely talented artist in addition to all of her other talents, so be sure to take the time to pore over the magnificent illustrations.

“Intricately considered (and remarkably intimate). . . . It is impossible not to be intrigued and beguiled.”—Booklist

“Astonishingly imaginative, wise, and weird, the essays in this illustrated collection. . . have the power to reshape the way one sees the world.”—Shelf Awareness

“It is impossible not to be moved by Greene’s essays, all caught up in a miraculous kind of exigency… Asks us to consider the nature of perspective in our daily lives…. The language isn’t caged or encased like a fossil, it’s conscious and considerate of each passing moment.”—Pittsburgh Post Gazette

If you are going to read any of the books in this article in the physical edition vs. on a device, please let it be this one. The hardcover will be an absolute stunner on your bookshelf.

When Robert Moore climbs a tree on a whim one day, he unknowingly takes the first steps on a globe-trotting adventure that seeks the answers to some of life’s biggest questions.

Ageing and growing are two very different things. What is the secret to GROWING old? Not physical growth, but spiritual growth. As the world around us gets crazier by the second, how can humans set down roots that will foster positive mental results? Moor refers to these concepts as “tree thinking.”

After Moor journeys through remote parts of Tanzania, then climbs to the tippy top a giant sequoia (WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH), he visits a tribe of treehouse-dwelling hunter-gathers in Papua. In other words, this guy knows how to conduct his research!

Every single plant on earth, from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean floor, has something to teach us. Moor offers us a lush roadmap to slowing down long enough to learn the lesson!

“Robert Moor is one of the few I’d trust to bring a fresh perspective to trees and he does not disappoint. By turns earthy and philosophical, what a captivating and exhilarating book!”—Tristan Gooley, Sunday Times bestselling author of How To Read A Tree

“Brilliantly written, supremely intelligent, and philosophically provocative.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

If you are interested in the details of climate change, you may have heard of Elizabeth Kolbert. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and her work has changed the way that we view the environment in the 21st century. Kolbert knows what she is talking about.

This collection contains a series of thought-provoking essays that truly capture the magnificence of the natural world and the dedication of the people working to save it. Readers will travel to the Greenland ice sheet, an island in Denmark that created worldwide buzz by going carbon neutral and will meet a scientist who truly believes that actual communication is possible between humans and whales.

Elizabeth Kolbert has committed her life to identifying environmental threats that escalate by the day. She presents concepts in a way that makes this tough science accessible to everyone.

“[Life on a Little-Known Planet] reads like a world tour of what’s disappearing and what’s being brought back to life. . .. Kolbert’s writing is clear and well sourced. [She] reminds us that even in a time of crisis, regeneration is possible.”—Imagine5

“There is a great deal that humanity doesn’t know about how the world works, and expanding that knowledge may turn out to be crucial. [Life on a Little-Known Planet is] a worthwhile and convenient collection from one of the best-known writers on climate change and the environment.”—Library Journal