Books written with love

25 Jul, 2023

I love books that were made out of a labor of love, books written by some dedicated soul who just had so much love for their subject that they wrote a book about it to share it with the world. Books written with care, books that feel like they are written by someone who just wants to show you something, someone who wants to hold your hand and show you what they’re passionate about. These are books from my life that were written in just that way.

Around the World in 80 Trees

I recently stumbled across one of these books on a family member’s shelf, and had to read it. The rich illustrations of this book speak for themselves. Every page has both a detailed, hand-drawn image of the tree and its uses or associations, as well as a little story about that particular tree. One of my favorites is how a type of tall conifer became popular in English hedges because of laws in England prohibiting people from building fences past a certain height. Privacy-conscious Brits (with a penchant for gardening) immediately sought workarounds, and started planting these fast-growing, tall, bushy trees which essentially become a living fence around a house. This became a matter of neighbo(u)rly disputes, as anyone living on the lower levels of an apartment had their view (and sunlight) blocked by rows of tall trees planted by those on the upper ~~floors~~ storeys. A perfect way to passive-aggressively assert dominance over the neighbours...

Clan Apis

A story about a young bee named Nyuki, tracing the course of her life through starting out as a spunky larva filled with questions for her big sister, Dvorah, to a young bee with a dorky sense of humor exploring the world and getting lost along the way. I loved this book as a kid because it was genuinely fun to read, and rereading it recently I was struck by the deeper messages it has. Nyuki is scared of how big and dangerous the world is, and decides to never leave the hive, but Dvorah shows her that this is what life is, and the thing that’s up to you is what you want to do with it.

Letters to a Young Scientist

I’m still reading this one, but so far it’s lovely. It feels like having a conversation with your grandfather, sitting on the porch as he tells you about the most important lessons he learned through his career. Reading this, there’s a genuine bond between the author and the reader, like the author really cares about the reader’s success. Part mentorship, part memoir.

I discovered it at the gift shop at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. If you can, spend a day at your local museum! I was lucky enough to have a friend of mine passionate about both zoology and archaeology with me, and we had a lovely time.

#books #memories