Natural History

By Andrea Barrett,

Book cover of Natural History: Stories

Book description

In Natural History, Andrea Barrett completes the beautiful arc of intertwined lives of a family of scientists, teachers, and innovators that she has been weaving through multiple books since her National Book Award-winning collection, Ship Fever. The six exquisite stories in Natural History are set largely in a small community…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Natural History as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

These are thoughtfully observed, multi-generational stories about people obsessed with science while negotiating relationships and their place in the world. I’ve met some of them in Barrett’s previous books.

Much of the action happens in upstate New York, by the lake where my grandparents had a cottage. One major character, Henrietta Atkins, is first seen as a ten-year-old during the Civil War. She becomes a science teacher who studies moths, helps her sister’s family, and tries to find her place among the natural historians of her day. 

A family tree helps keep track of the characters over a century and…

The Last Whaler

By Cynthia Reeves,

Book cover of The Last Whaler

Cynthia Reeves Author Of The Last Whaler

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Arctic adventurer Eternal optimist Unrealistic realist Foodie Teacher

Cynthia's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

This book is an elegiac meditation on the will to survive. Tor, a beluga whaler, and his wife, Astrid, a botanist specializing in Arctic flora, are stranded during the dark season of 1937-38 at his remote whaling station in the Svalbard archipelago when they misjudge ice conditions and fail to rendezvous with the ship meant to carry them back to their home in southern Norway. 

Beyond enduring the Arctic winter’s twenty-four-hour night, the couple must cope with the dangers of polar bears, violent storms, and bitter cold, as well as Astrid’s unexpected pregnancy.

The Last Whaler concerns the impact of…

The Last Whaler

By Cynthia Reeves,

What is this book about?

The Last Whaler is an elegiac meditation on the will to survive under extreme conditions. Tor, a beluga whaler, and his wife, Astrid, a botanist specializing in Arctic flora, are stranded during the dark season of 1937-38 at his remote whaling station when they misjudge ice conditions and fail to rendezvous with the ship meant to carry them back to their home in southern Norway. Beyond enduring the Arctic winter's twenty-four-hour night, the couple must cope with the dangers of polar bears, violent storms, and bitter cold as well as Astrid's unexpected pregnancy. The Last Whaler concerns the impact of…


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