Blandy Experimental Farm
Blandy Experimental Farm
Book Club

Book Club

The Blandy Book Club meets from 1-2 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month, and is open to all. Join us to discuss books about the natural world. Participants should obtain their own copy of the book and read prior to the meeting. Please contact Ariel Firebaugh, the Director of Scientific Engagement, for information about how to participate in the meetings. 

2025 Reading Schedule:

January- The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

February- Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

March- The Ghosts of Evolution by Connie Barlow

April- The Insect Epiphany by Barrett Klein

May- The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

June- The Hummingbird’s Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings by Sy Montgomery

July- Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks by Marcia Bjornerud

August- Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson 

September- The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature by David Suzuki

October- The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger

Books Previously Read: 

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2024

  • January- Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
  • February- Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn
  • March- Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Shaped America's Environment by Bob Musil
  • April- The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
  • May- The Milkweed Lands: An Epic Story of One Plant: Its Nature and Ecology by Eric Lee-Mäder
  • June- Wildscape - Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature by Nancy Lawson
  • July- Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx
  • August- Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire
  • September- The Overstory by Richard Powers
  • October- Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South by Diane Flynt (100th meeting!)
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2023

  • January- If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal, by Justin Gregg
  • February- An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realm Around Us, by Ed Yong
  • March- Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land, by N. Scott Momaday
  • April- Finding the Mother Tree, by Suzanne Simard
  • May- The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird, by Jack E. Davis
  • June- The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, by Robert Macfarlane
  • July- Ecology for Gardeners, by Steven B. Carroll and Steven D. Salt
  • August- The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees, by Meg Lowman
  • September- Of Wolves and Men, by Barry Holstun Lopez
  • October- I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, by Ed Yong
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2022

  • January- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, Merlin Sheldrake
  • February- The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievement of Earthworms, Amy Stewart
  • March - Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey, James Rebanks
  • April- The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees, Douglas W. Tallamy
  • May- Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration, Sara Dykman
  • June- Bees and Their Keepers: From Waggle-Dancing to Killer Bees, from Aristotle to Winnie-the-Pooh, Lotte Möller
  • July- Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food and Saving the Family Farm, Forrest Pritchard
  • August -Wilding, Isabella Tree
  • September- The Soul of an Octopus: The Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, Sy Montgomery
  • October- The Plant Hunter, A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicine, Cassandra Leah Quave   
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2021

  • American Wasteland by Jonathan Bloom (January)
  • Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast by Mike Tidwell (February)
  • Listening to a Continent Sing by Donald Kroodsma (March)
  • Yellowstone Has Teeth: A Memoir of Living in Yellowstone by Marjane Ambler (April)
  • Nature's Best Hope by Doug Tallamy (May)
  • The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature by Drew Lanham (June)
  • American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores (July)
  • Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer (August)
  • The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (September)
  • The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen (October)
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2020

  • 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, Charles Mann (January)
  • The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-trotting Botanist Who Transformed What Americans Eat, Daniel Stone (February)
  • Founding Gardeners, Andrea Wulf (September)
  • Cry of the Kalahari, Mark & Delia Owens (October)
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2019

  • Animals Make Us Human, Temple Grandin (January)
  • The Genius of Birds, Jennifer Ackerman (February)
  • The Great Brain Debate: Nature vs. Nurture, John Dowling (March)
  • The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, Robert Hazen (April)
  • Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers, Ben Goldfarb (May)
  • Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, David Quammen (June)
  • Who We Are and How We Got Here, David Reich (July)
  • The Meaning of Human Existence, E. O. Wilson (August)
  • The Periodic Table, Primo Levi (September)
  • Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island, Earl Swift (October)
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2018

  • The Invention of Nature, Andrea Wulf (January)
  • The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin (February)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Wisdom of Plants, Robin Kimmerer (March)
  • Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson, Linda Lear (editor) (April)
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson (May)
  • The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, Florence Williams (June)
  • Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies that will Improve and/or Ruin Everything, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (July)
  • The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet, Henry Fountain (August)
  • Nature’s Compass: The Mystery of Animal Migration, James and Carol Grant Gould (September)
  • Coyote America: Natural and Supernatural History, Dan Flores
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2017

  • Book of your choice by E.O. Wilson (January)
  • Walden, Henry David Thoreau (February)
  • The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring, Richard Preston (March)
  • Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver (April)
  • The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohllenben (May)
  • The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, Jerry Dennis (June)
  • Life’s Engines: How Microbes Made Earth Habitable, Paul Falkowski (July)
  • The Beekeeper’s Lament, Hannah Nordhaus (August)
  • Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit, Andrew Moore (September)
  • The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel (October) 
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2016

  • The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes (January)
  • Wesley the Owl, Stacey O’Brien (February)
  • Hollows, Peepers and Highlanders, George Constanz (March)
  • The End of Night, Paul Bogard (April)
  • Buzz in the Meadow, Dave Goulson (May)
  • Diary of a Citizen Scientist, Sharman Apt Russell (June)
  • Silent Spring, Rachel Carson (July)
  • Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert (August)
  • The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, Kathryn Aalto (September)
  • The Immense Journey, Loren Eiseley (October)
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2015

  • Anthill, E. O. Wilson (January)
  • Rosalie Edge: Hawk of Mercy, Dyana Furmansky (February)
  • The Golden Spruce, John Valliant (March)
  • Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey (April)
  • Moonbird, Phillip Hoose (May)
  • The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, Timothy Egan (June)
  • Moby Duck, Donovan Hohn (July)
  • Noah’s Garden, Sara Stein (August)
  • The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert (September)
  • The Moon by Whale Light, Diane Ackerman (October)
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2014

  • Animal Vegetable Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver (May)
  • A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold (June)
  • Eaarth, Bill McKibben (July)
  • The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan (August)
  • The Outermost House, Henry Beston (September)
  • The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan (October)