Here are 100 books that Phosphorescence fans have personally recommended if you like
Phosphorescence.
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I know a book can change a person’s life because one of my early life-changing events was reading Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. From it, I took away the idea of how a fact is made, not discovered, and how facts, even those as “objective” as those in science, are different in different ages. It’s less a matter of one age being wrong about “Nature,” for example, than it is that a concept like “Nature” emerges out of a scrum of attitudes, technologies, conventions, etc.
I especially loved that this book has the ability to bring together elements as disparate as science, politics, and our common humanity. I repeatedly stopped reading to think about what was written: a depiction of our society and our place at the crossroads of possible futures that will depend on our attitudes to the plants and animals that make up the earth we share.
But the moral core at the center of this novel makes it more than just a good story. I kept thinking that it was easy to imagine Powers’s book as what many people believe is the “Great American Novel,” Moby-Dick, if we replace Melville’s whale with Powers’s trees and set it in the present instead of the 19th century.
The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of-and paean to-the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers's twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours-vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see…
I’m a travel writer, photographer, and lover of wilderness. I am the co-author of three travel guides about swimming: Places We Swim Australia, Places We Swim Sydney, and my new book, listed below. Together with my wife, we write about the connection between water, wilderness, and culture. I am fascinated with how people and nature interact and change one another. All of these books and authors on my list reveal how their experiences in nature have fuelled, anchored them, and inspired their craft.
This is the ultimate travel memoir. I read this on a surf trip to Indonesia with my wife and brother a few years ago. It’s got this Forest Gump-like quality of a person who managed to be in the right place at the right time through all these key progressions and periods of surfing.
To experience the world of surfing through his eyes, hearing about these world-famous waves before they were popular, is the ultimate surfer’s fantasy. His storytelling is so incredible that you do not have to be a surfer to enjoy this book. Like others on this list, William Finnigan’s passion for surfing has often been separated from his writing for most of his career.
In this book, he perfectly captures the obsessiveness, futility, enduring search, and inherent uselessness of pursuing something like surfing. It is probably my most recommended travel book to date.
**Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography**
Included in President Obama's 2016 Summer Reading List
"Without a doubt, the finest surf book I've ever read . . . " -The New York Times Magazine
Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates, it is something else: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South…
I’m a travel writer, photographer, and lover of wilderness. I am the co-author of three travel guides about swimming: Places We Swim Australia, Places We Swim Sydney, and my new book, listed below. Together with my wife, we write about the connection between water, wilderness, and culture. I am fascinated with how people and nature interact and change one another. All of these books and authors on my list reveal how their experiences in nature have fuelled, anchored them, and inspired their craft.
I heard an interview with Kim Stanley Robinson on an Ezra Klein podcast while we were traveling in California, and I immediately bought this book.
I devoured it while we were exploring and writing about the Sierra Nevada. As the title suggests, Kim has had a lifelong love affair with the Sierras, and this book is filled with his deep knowledge of geology, geography, and personal adventures.
The joy, respect, and wonder are contagious. I love how he talks about the Sierras as a place that has anchored his life through many phases.
Kim Stanley Robinson first ventured into the Sierra Nevada mountains during the summer of 1973. He returned from that encounter a changed man, awed by a landscape that made him feel as if he were simultaneously strolling through an art museum and scrambling on a jungle gym like an energized child. He has returned to the mountains throughout his life-more than a hundred trips-and has gathered a vast store of knowledge about them. The High Sierra is his lavish celebration of this exceptional place and an exploration of what makes this span of mountains one of the most compelling places…
I’m a travel writer, photographer, and lover of wilderness. I am the co-author of three travel guides about swimming: Places We Swim Australia, Places We Swim Sydney, and my new book, listed below. Together with my wife, we write about the connection between water, wilderness, and culture. I am fascinated with how people and nature interact and change one another. All of these books and authors on my list reveal how their experiences in nature have fuelled, anchored them, and inspired their craft.
My wife and I felt a kinship with Bonnie when we discovered her writing, or maybe she was just the person we wanted to be.
She is a New York Times journalist, a surfer, and a swimmer. Although she lives in San Francisco, she has spent some time living in Australia (Sydney, where we live), and she has experienced some of our local swimming spots, as well as many in California (her locals).
In this book, Bonnie artfully expresses the intangible feelings many of us feel about swimming and water and how we engage with it as humans. The best writers can articulate feelings and experiences in a way that makes you feel seen. This is one of those books for me.
“A fascinating and beautifully written love letter to water. I was enchanted by this book." —Rebecca Skloot, bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
We swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits. We swim for pleasure, for exercise, for healing. But humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not naturalborn swimmers. We must be taught. Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; today, swimming is one of the most popular activities in the world. Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in…
As a writer, I’m especially fascinated by plants and animals that no one loves. My books are intended to get kids excited about science and help them appreciate the wonders of the natural world. Many years of fieldwork, leading children on nature walks, have given me firsthand experience in introducing students to the terrors and joys of nature. I especially enjoy the beauties of the night, from fireflies to coyote howls to star-gazing!
I admit it, I’m a sucker for glow-in-the-dark books. I still have the glow-in-the-dark stars on the bedroom ceiling from when my own kids were small. This book has gorgeous glow-in-the-dark illustrations (it works best if you happen to have a blacklight bulb) but also has a lot of great information, facts, and thought-provoking questions about the lifestyles of nocturnal wildlife of all shapes and sizes. A fun reading experience for parents as well as kids!
What creatures hide in the darkness under the starry sky? Easy: they are nocturnal animals, and now you can spot them too! Once the lights go out, the fun begins as glow-in-the-dark images appear on highly-illustrated, fact-filled pages. Travel between different habitats, from fields to deserts to mountains and more, as you learn all about different animals and what makes them nocturnal in this beautiful nonfiction picture book.
I was introduced to meditation through a hatha yoga course I took as a college student. That’s when I first became enthralled with eastern philosophy. I studied and later taught these subjects becoming a College Professor in them. I’m also a musician and massage therapist. I consider music, meditation, yoga, massage to be beautiful healing modalities with endless transformative possibilities. My various books have been translated into French, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Bulgarian, and more. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meditation (co-written with Eve Adamson) has recently become available as an audiobook on Audible.com. This book has turned thousands of people onto the meditative path and I hope it will you too.
The power of the mind – simply and profoundly stated. A dictionary of illnesses with their mental causes along with affirmations to overcome them. From blisters on feet, cancer in body, to stuttering from lips. So many degrees and kinds of ailments are listed, and so many inspirations in ways to heal. Bravo to Louise for clearly and simply exemplifying the profound power of the mind!
Unlock the connection between your physical ailments and your mind, and discover powerful affirmations and practical techniques to help you reclaim your health.
World-renowned teacher, Louise L. Hay has helped to heal and inspire millions of people worldwide. She was diagnosed with cancer more than 20 years ago and used the methods she describes in Heal Your Body to cure herself. Louise L. Hay simply explains how our attitude to life and the language we use cause our ailments.
Using her simple and practical techniques, you will be surprised to discover patterns in your own ailments that reveal a lot…
As an author for both adults (Eli) and children (McGee and Me), I’ve sold over 8 million books and videos. My passion is to strip away the religious varnish we’ve coated God in and reveal him as the loving friend and father he longs to be. My first agenda is to entertain, and I never want to get caught preaching. Instead, I use humor and page-turning stories to present his love in ways without ever getting caught.
I love this book because it discusses how we can experience God more deeply in everyday language. It’s not preachy and not “religious.” In fact, one of my favorite quotes from it is: “Religion as a dull habit is not what Christ lived and died for.” The essays are simple, profound and life changing.
Since its first publication in 1941, A Testament of Devotion, by the renowned Quaker teacher Thomas Kelly, has been universally embraced as a truly enduring spiritual classic. Plainspoken and deeply inspirational, it gathers together five compelling essays that urge us to center our lives on God's presence, to find quiet and stillness within modern life, and to discover the deeply satisfying and lasting peace of the inner spiritual journey. As relevant today as it was a half-century ago, A Testament of Devotion is the ideal companion to that highest of all human arts-the lifelong conversation between God and his creatures.…
I’m the author of 10 books published in the historical genre, and 7 more in other genres (which also feature women who have been tested and hardened in various fires). I have spent years reading first-hand accounts of wartime ambulance drivers, nurses, farm labourers, pilots, and others, and I have uncovered the startling true lives of some remarkable women – it’s furnished me with a desire to showcase women like this in fictional settings, and give them the satisfactory stories they deserve but too often never had. My characters are all fictional, but they couldn’t exist without those powerful examples of strength and courage.
This is book one of a wonderful series: The Spindrift Trilogy. Because it’s set in Cornwall, where I grew up and where I set most of my books, it naturally drew me in quickly. The series features a rich cast of characters, mainly female at the start, although as male children are born, and grow up, the balance shifts a little. It follows the fortunes of an artistic community that springs from a personal crisis, and the rich mixture of characters keeps the story lively and optimistic while still dealing with the darker side of human nature, and the uncertainty in any new venture where so many almost strangers are brought together. This sense of community is something I myself try to convey in my work, and here it’s done beautifully.
'A delightful historical saga which is so beautifully woven together that from the very start I was enchanted' Jaffa Reads Too
From the award-winning author of The Apothecary's Daughter comes a beautifully evocative, family drama, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles.
1891. Spindrift House, Cornwall.
Talented painter Edith Fairchild is poised to begin a life of newlywed bliss and artistic creation in the inspiring setting of Spindrift House, freshly inherited by her charming husband, Benedict, and overlooking the stunning harbour of Port Isaac. But when her honeymoon turns sour, her dreams are…
I am a writer and lecturer who is irresistibly drawn to the spiritual and paranormal, but whose academic qualifications are in maths and science. So, I have struggled to find my niche in life: a belief in God and Spirit, a passion for the ‘paranormal,’ and an attraction to the scientific – subjects whose advocates attack one another without compunction. Then, I watched the film What the Bleep Do We Know? and found the communion of spirit and science that had eluded me for so long. Thus, I have a new passion: quantum physics, consciousness, and the creation of reality – which means, for me, the Universe is truly full of magic.
Not everyone has the time, patience, or ability
to read a complete book – so enter this enchanting volume! Mark Bajerski’s book
is a treasury of uplifting quotes. Each day, you arbitrarily ‘choose’ a page,
then read its spiritual message. Spirit guides your choice, so the message you
receive is the most appropriate for you at that moment in time. Then, you
simply Hold that Thought.
I have found that these uplifting spiritual
truths reinforce my spirit no matter what circumstances I face, and so touched
and delighted was I when a friend gifted a copy to me that I, in turn, gifted copies
to my friends.
A gem of a book and a daily reminder that the Universe
abounds with magic.
Are you open to receiving all the love that the Universe so freely intends for you? Do you limit yourself by a belief that you are powerless to change your life? Are you ready to rediscover your inner beauty and to share that beauty with the world?
Hold that Thought is an incredible collection of divine messages and truths that guides us to the greatest source of our inner light, healing and strength. Mark Bajerski, author and international spiritual healer, beautifully shares these ‘whispers’ from Spirit, whispers that are intended for each one of us. Mark spent years of his…
I found the tarot at the age of fourteen. Like many teenagers exploring the spirit world, I was curious about witchcraft, prophecies, numerology, astrology – it was a matter of time until I found the Tarot and fell in love with the cards. From studying Tarot, I branched out into Gnosticism, Kabbalah, and finally coming home to my culture’s Hellenic Tradition (Hellenism). I went on to college to receive a B.A. in Religion and later a M.A. in Ancient History. I give the Tarot large credit to all my later achievements in life. Those 78 cards opened my eyes to a whole world of mysteries to be unlocked.
What I love about this book is that it proves the old saying that there is nothing new under the sun to be wrong. Mark Horn’s Tarot and the Gates of Light blends together two traditions already closely linked; Tarot and Kabbalah. While it is Hermetic Qabalah that is mostly applied to Tarot, Mark Horn introduces a unique way to use the Tarot to practice Counting the Omer. This will be the most unique tarot book to have on the shelf as it offers you a rare transformative practice.
An innovative, spiritual workbook that integrates the Tarot and the Kabbalistic tradition of Counting the Omer
* Explores the origins and meaning of the 49-day Kabbalistic meditative practice of Counting the Omer and how it can lead to spiritual revelation, personal insight, and connection with the Divine
* Reveals the correspondence of the Tarot's minor arcana with the Sephirot of the Tree of Life and explains how both relate to the Omer meditation
* Provides a daily practice workbook that explores the related Sephirot and Tarot cards for each day, examines their Kabbalistic and spiritual meanings, and provides questions for…
