Dear readers,
It’s simply too hot to think! Before I melt, quick—look at how lovely the tree looks in all its summer glory…
It’s been a surprisingly busy week here at the shop and I’ve met so many lovely readers! I especially admire everyone who has made it out in this weather we’ve been having. Summer has famously never been my favorite season, but I can’t help worry about climate change even more during this unbearable heat, as I’m sure we all do.
Still, I hope you’re finding ways to cool off this weekend (ice in a dishcloth on my forehead works wonders for me!). I’ll be here at the shop tomorrow in case you’d like to browse for a summer read to take your mind of the heat in the (relatively) cool shop.
Wishing you the most lovely weekend,
Hailey
After so many lovely people have asked, I’m finally hosting regular crafting events each month! The first one will be on July 24th, and we’ll be completing this sweet embroidery sampler. After going through all the practice stitches, we’ll complete the little floral design in the middle and that becomes it’s own finished 3” project. It couldn’t be cuter! This is a great event for beginners and all are welcome to join.
In this captivating narrative, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy.
Kids will be amazed by these incredible stories of people coming together to understand and protect a variety of animals who share our precious planet. From outstanding conservation efforts to wholesome community projects, this newest addition to the joyful Happy Stories series is a cheerful compendium of true animal stories from around the world.
In this new release, award-winning science journalist Amorina Kingdon synthesizes historical discoveries with the latest scientific research in a clear and compelling portrait of the sonic undersea world, crafting an exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive with a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes.
This week, if I could only recommend one book in my whole shop, I’d recommend Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
This book is always one of our top three bestsellers, which makes me so very happy. Braiding Sweetgrass is filled with Robin Wall Kimmerer’s reflections on botany, Indigenous history and culture, and her own life. Kimmerer seamlessly weaves the scientific with the long-held knowledge of the Potawatomi and other Indigenous peoples. It’s the perfect time to read or revisit this book, as Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book is being published in November—her first book in 11 years! Would anyone join a botanical midnight release party? (Please let me know, I do actually want to have one!) You can preorder The Serviceberry here.
Now is the perfect time to join our book clubs for July! There’s plenty of time before the meetings at the end of the month.
Climate Change Book Club - July 30th 2024
In 2014, Kate Schapira first set up a Peanuts style Climate Anxiety Counseling booth in her hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. Ten years and over 1200 conversations later, Schapira channels all she’s learned into an accessible, understandable, and aware guide for processing climate anxiety and connecting with others to carry out real change in your life and in your community.
Eco-fiction Book Club - July 31st 2024
Pearce Oysters is an evocative novel portraying the struggles and resilience of a Louisiana family's oyster farming business amid the 2010 oil spill crisis, highlighting the interplay of family, community, class, and industry in an overlooked region of the American South.
Nature Writing Book Club - July 25th 2024
In this blend of nature writing and memoir, artist and activist Brenda Peterson explores the wisdom humans can learn from wild animals. Filled with vivid, visionary stories of beluga whales, wolves, elk, herons, and more, Wild Chorus reveals a world filled with inspiring lessons of kinship, connection, and living in the present.
You can sign up for all of our book clubs here.
Join us virtually at 7pm on July 22nd for the summer meeting of Between The Leaves Book Club, the online book club we run with The Native Plant Society of NJ! I host with the wonderful Kim Correro, co-host of The Wild Story Podcast. This time we’ll be discussing Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy, a memoir that follows Dungy’s journey in diversifying her garden. Stop by to grab your copy, or order it here from our Bookshop.org storefront. The book club is free and open to all.
Last week was quite busy for us, so we weren’t able to make it to a local forest or park. But even just walking around Madison to accomplish some daily errands with a mind full of the normal mundane stresses, it’s hard to not appreciate the flowers in bloom or admire the way the late afternoon sunlight hits the trees. As Margaret Renkl writes in her passionate request to pay attention at the beginning of The Comfort of Crows, “The world lies before you, a lavish garden. However hobbled by waste, however fouled by graft and tainted by deception, it will always take your breath away.”