Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer changed the way I see moss. Before I started reading Gathering Moss, I jokingly told my husband that by the time I finished the book I would probably never let him clear the moss from our yard again. Turns out it was no joke. Kimmerer examines, explains, and describes mosses in a way that had me increasingly appreciating the role they play in our ecosystems. I felt like Kimmerer took me into the forest, the bog, and the river with her as she researched myriad mosses. The microecosystems living within the moss fascinated me while the resiliency of the mosses gave me hope. Kimmerer also shines a very bright light on the destructiveness of people and how that destructiveness is sometimes wrapped up in what are expressed as good intentions. Gathering Moss brought me to a place of appreciation for the mosses on my trees, in my yard, and on my porch by making Kimmerer's research feel relevant to my life. 


Currently Reading:


A Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg: How to Play the Game & Win by Elaine Sandberg

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn 

The Guided Meditation Handbook: The Complete Guide to Writing, Leading, & Recording Guided Meditations by Max Highstein

We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performance, and Spoken Word by Franny Choi, Bao Phi, No'u Revilla, and Terisa Siagaonu (editors)


Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

If you'd like to follow what I'm reading in real time, please follow/friend me on Bookbub, The StoryGraph, or Goodreads.

If you'd like to learn more about me and my books, please visit tlcooper.com.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Snitch in Time by Sunny Frazier

Image
Sunny Frazier always delights, and A Snitch in Time is no exception. She writes the Christy Bristol series in a way that feels lighthearted even in its darkest moments. When Bristol goes on vacation to visit her friend, Lennie, she never expects to get drafted into working for a different department doing her job. Bristol is intrigued enough by the crime at hand that her protestations seem half-hearted at times though her annoyance is very real. When she and Lennie get into a fight, she's left with nothing but the work the department expects her to do. Frazier drops the reader in the Sierra Nevada Foothills creating a sense of isolation that makes the reader cheer for Bristol to stand up to her superiors and get out of there while simultaneously wanting to her to solve the crime. When a witness contacts Bristol via phone she doesn't take her seriously at first only to discover she might have vital information. With suspicion cast in multiple directions, Bristol isn't sur...
Read more

Larger Than Life: A Novella by Jodi Picoult

Image
Larger Than Life: A Novella by Jodi Picoult is, at its heart, a story of mothers and daughters. Picoult explores the expectations of mothers and daughters in a story that draws parallels between mothering styles in humans and elephants. The story explores the roles of both nature and nurture in the mother/daughter relationship all through the eyes of a daughter who can't leave behind a baby elephant to die and becomes its mother figure even as she struggles to reconcile her relationship with her own mother in her heart and mind. Larger Than Life explores how expectations can damage not only a relationship but individuals.  Currently Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass   by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Bad Friend  by Carolline Kepne Harlem  by Eric Jerome Dickey When We Were Friends by Jane Green Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights   by Omar Barghouti Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment by Mazin B...
Read more

Heroes for My Daughter by Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer's Heroes for My Daughter is an excellent book for girls and boys alike! His short biographies of each person in the book spark the imagination, inspire confidence, and uplift spirits. He includes famous people and people from his own life giving all equal weight thereby demonstrating that everyone has the potential for greatness inside them. Heroes for My Daughter often made me want to know more about the people Meltzer included. His way of writing directly to his daughter makes the book feel intimate, sweet, and, perhaps, a tad like looking in on a private moment between father and daughter. About a third of the way through the book, I started making a mental list of all the girls I'd like to buy a copy of Heroes for My Daughter if I could afford it. I also realized there are a few boys I'd like to buy it for as well, so it's more a book of heroes whose life stories will benefit all children and even adults!
Read more