2021 – A Reading Year in Review

The first days of the New Year are a time for reflection. We look back on the year that has been and look towards the year that has opened. We might take stock of the state of our health, family life and working prospects. We might identify some new life or career goals. Or perhaps …

Gaia Reading Challenge – Diary of a Young Naturalist

“I have the heart of a naturalist, the head of a would-be scientist, and bones of someone who is already wearied by the apathy and destruction wielded against the natural world.” Dara McAnulty,2020 From Goodreads... Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty’s world. From spring and through a year in …

World Wildlife Day

It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth. David Attenborough World Wildlife Day is a celebration of the incredible diversity evident in our world’s plant and animal life and the theme for this year is …

Gaia 2021: Kakadu by Peter Jarver

Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu by pen_ash - pixabay My first Gaia read for 2021 is another great Lifeline find, Kakadu: A Guide for All Seasons by Peter Jarver and Quentin Chester. I had never heard of Peter Jarver (1953-2003), but his photography in this book is absolutely stunning. Originating from South Australia, Jarver developed an …

#Book Snap Sunday: Optimism by Bob Brown

It's not easy being Green. (Brown, 2014) Warm as a hot cuppa on a cold day, and bracing as a dip in the Franklin, Bob Brown’s candid, often humourous memoir unfolds the improbable life story of the policeman’s son from Trunkey Creek who grew up to confront presidents and prejudice on behalf of our beleaguered …

#BookSnapSunday – The Weather Makers

What does climate change mean? How will global warming affect our lives? Is it the cause of wilder storms and more frequent drought? Are these events inevitable? Tim Flannery makes these urgent issues completely accessible. He tells the fascinating story of climate change spanning millions of years to help us understand the predicament we face. …

#BookSnapSunday/Gaia 2020 – The Man from Snowy River

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around That the colt from old Regret had got away... Jim Craig is eighteen years old, and cannot return to his mountain home until he has proved himself a man. Jessica Harrison is the beautiful, impetuous daughter of the wealthy cattleman whose £1000 colt …

#Gaia Reading Challenge 2020 – Unlikely Friendships

  The current Corona Virus pandemic has dominated the headlines recently, as it should, so the spotlight on climate change and the environment has dimmed somewhat. The rush for a vaccine or at least, viable treatment options, highlights the importance of scientific research in understanding the relationships that exist between our natural environment and us. …

#BookSnapSunday & Gaia 2020 – The Birdman’s Wife

Melissa Ashley’s book The Birdman’s Wife has been on my mind for quite a while as a candidate for both Book Snap Sunday and the Gaia Reading challenge. The novel is a fictionalised account of the life of Elizabeth Gould, the wife of taxidermist and naturalist John Gould. While John garnered most of the attention …

Gaia Reading Challenge 2020 – Watership Down

Sharon from Gum Trees and Galaxies is hosting a reading challenge this year that is most appropriate for these times. The Gaia Reading Challenge draws our attention to books, both fiction and non-fiction, that focus on an environmental theme. The environment is high on the agenda these days, as it should be. From the catastrophic …