There are affiliate links included on this post where I would gain a small profit if you choose to purchase by clicking on a book (so I can buy more books).
Best About Food
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver is wildly acclaimed for her literary masterpieces such as The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna, but Animal, Vegetable, Miracle should not be overlooked. It is a masterful piece of nonfiction that brings Kingsolver’s engaging and lyrical style along with troves of useful information about the food industry, gardening, and cooking through facts, instructions, and anecdotes. It tells the story of Kingsolver’s family moving from the arid landscape of Arizona to the lush, fertile Appalachian region in order to feed her family with only food grown and processed within a 100 miles. They begin farming their land, canning and dehydrating, and purchasing from local farmers almost entirely. Kingsolver compellingly argues that the carbon and nutritional impacts of food being transported around the world is not worth the convenience, all while giving fun tips and stories about her experience going local.
Best About Forests
The Overstory
by Richard Powers
This was one of those novels that somehow manages to hit every reason why someone would love a book. Powers beautifully wove together disparate stories across generations and backgrounds into one unifying message honoring the importance of trees. It may not sound that exciting to read a whole book about trees, but it is really about how forests have impacted our past, present, and future through the lens of a group of people from all walks of life. The Overstory is a book I think everyone should read, and I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t enjoy. It speaks to the old and young, tech experts and farmers, skeptics and radicals, in an emotionally and brilliantly driven story.
Best About Climate Change
Drawdown
Edited by Paul Hawken
This nonfiction powerhouse varies from the other two in that it could possibly be a textbook on all the top solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change. The book is organized by subject matter: energy, food, transportation, etc. and then filled with the best possible solutions, evaluated and ranked by its projected reduction of carbon, relative to cost. It is not exactly a page-turning thriller, but it is filled with invaluable information, presented with beautiful images and the utmost clarity. This is the book to deepen your knowledge on how all the systems of the world are interdependent, but can feasibly change to create a better future.