Recs if you like Is a River Alive?...
All things wild and wonderful
A collection of non-fiction books that touch upon the stories of the natural world, and all the people who live among it. (Or, as an astronomer once said: "I love stories, and the story of our universe is the grandest one we have") Always open to suggestions!
the river
nonfiction books about rivers, their history, and the ways theyโve always connected and reflected us.
every body is a body of water
books that engage with water as a way to explore migration, multispecies kinship, race, capitalism, transatlantic slavery, and more. stories that take place in, on, or around the water. coastlines, swamps, rivers, maritime histories, and the oceanic.
NPRโs Books We Love 2025
Books We Love from NPR began in 2013, always boasting over 200 books (almost 400 in recent years) featuring genres from memoirs, to cookbooks, to graphic novels, to childrenโs literature, to nonfiction, to novels. Check out NPRโs website to filter this massive list.
The list is in reverse alphabetical order directly from NPR.
Ecology, Biology, Nature๐
Nonfiction books exploring the natural world and our โplace in the family of thingsโ (Mary Oliver, Wild Geese). ๐ฆโโฌ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ชธ๐ฆ๐ชท๐ชผ๐
Something in the water๐๐ฆ๐ชผ๐ชธ
Nonfiction books exploring water and the life it sustains. Oceans, lakes, fish, and more.
human inquiry into nature
Mother Nature's Reading List
Non-fiction for the planet - plants and animals, ecology, biology, climate change and inspiring reads from those trying to save the beautiful world that we live on.
Earth, Ethics, Environment
Nonfiction books about environmental ethics and philosophy, human/environment relations, cultural ways of knowing, and understanding wildlife. Essentially, books that will make you think about your role as a fellow creature of this earth๐ฑ๐พ๐ (Check pinned comment for more recs!) [created Sep '25]
Nature & Rewilding ๐
All about wildlife, nature, and restoring what we humans have lost. Attempting to include mostly inspirational books, but some may be harder hitting.
Good Reads Choice Awards 2025
Nominees and winners of every category of the Good Reads Choice Awards for the year of 2025. Some books overlap so they were only entered once.
unique nonfiction
The Wainwright Prize Shortlists 2025
All the adult Nature and Conservation books that made it to The Wainwright Prize shortlists in 2025.
Must-read nature & environment books
Learn more about conservation efforts, environmental science, and wildlife. Contemplate how we humans can interact with nature & help the world around us๐ฑโ๏ธ
BOATS BOATS BOATS!
i hate being on boats but i do love reading about being on boats ๐
Scientific Americanโs Best Nonfiction of 2025
The 10 best nonfiction books of 2025, from the history of replaceable body parts to our AI future. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-americans-best-nonfiction-of-2025/
Tiny Bookshelf!
All Non-Fiction books that appear in the Tiny Bookshop catalogue. Currently in works!
Non fiction for interesting people
Somewhat aus/asian/queer centric because I am
working with water
reads to get a basic understanding of water imagination and governance.
Non-Humans & Empathy (Non-Fiction)
One of several Non-Humans & Empathy -themed lists by @Myth.Ink (See also: Fiction, GNs/Manga+, Youth Titles, Creature Feature, & the Official @Myth.Ink Curation) | This list is the NON-FICTION edition, including real interactions and considerations of interactions between non-human beings of all types (trees, robots, animals, ai, aliens, creatures, etc) and humans, empathy and lack thereof. | Suggestions more than welcome!
