Dec 9, 2022·edited Dec 9, 2022Liked by Gracy Olmstead
Big "East of Eden" fan here, Gracy; of all the novels that I received while growing up as an "important" book ("Moby Dick," etc.), it is my favorite. And good call on the "Why Place Matters" collection! I wrote some reflections on a few of its essays a few years back, as part of a blog post on my home of Wichita (https://mittelpolitan.blogspot.com/2018/12/mid-sized-meditations-16-local-identity.html). It's a solid book.
I’m so appreciative of this thorough list for my own reference, but also because it helped me find a Christmas gift I think my dad will love. Purchased him a copy of “The Shepherd’s Life,” which seems right up his alley. Thanks for your commitment to share the good and the beautiful and the true with us, Gracey!
Such good recommendations (of ones I've read and have yet to read)! In the process of merging libraries in marriage 4 years ago, I noticed a hardback copy of "Why Place Matters" my husband had. It's been on our shelf ever since, and I see it every day but have never picked it up. Maybe I should now. :)
I'd like to recommend Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" as one of the best anthologies of ecological essays I've ever read. His writing is *beautiful* - not overdone, but perfectly descriptive, quiet, and informative. I'm reading it aloud to my grade 8 daughter as we study Trees, Ecology, and Biomimicry this year in science, and she loves the essays, too.
There are many parts to this book, but some of his best pieces are short, and follow his restoration (or abstaining, and letting the forest take over) his family farm in Wisconsin, and he documents what he has learned through the birds, the animals, the trees, etc. through the months of a calendar year.
Big "East of Eden" fan here, Gracy; of all the novels that I received while growing up as an "important" book ("Moby Dick," etc.), it is my favorite. And good call on the "Why Place Matters" collection! I wrote some reflections on a few of its essays a few years back, as part of a blog post on my home of Wichita (https://mittelpolitan.blogspot.com/2018/12/mid-sized-meditations-16-local-identity.html). It's a solid book.
I’m so appreciative of this thorough list for my own reference, but also because it helped me find a Christmas gift I think my dad will love. Purchased him a copy of “The Shepherd’s Life,” which seems right up his alley. Thanks for your commitment to share the good and the beautiful and the true with us, Gracey!
Such good recommendations (of ones I've read and have yet to read)! In the process of merging libraries in marriage 4 years ago, I noticed a hardback copy of "Why Place Matters" my husband had. It's been on our shelf ever since, and I see it every day but have never picked it up. Maybe I should now. :)
I'd like to recommend Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" as one of the best anthologies of ecological essays I've ever read. His writing is *beautiful* - not overdone, but perfectly descriptive, quiet, and informative. I'm reading it aloud to my grade 8 daughter as we study Trees, Ecology, and Biomimicry this year in science, and she loves the essays, too.
There are many parts to this book, but some of his best pieces are short, and follow his restoration (or abstaining, and letting the forest take over) his family farm in Wisconsin, and he documents what he has learned through the birds, the animals, the trees, etc. through the months of a calendar year.
You can read more about this book (originally published in 1949) here: https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/sand-county-almanac/