Callum Robinson has made a career working with wood and lives in a wooden (of course!) cabin with his wife. He has chosen five books about trees, forests and the allure of nature.
The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
Scrupulously researched and masterfully written, this riveting environmental true-crime story – set on the rugged western edge of the world – explores the complex and often tragic relationship between man and nature, spirituality and greed.
Little and Often by Trent Preszler
Tender and moving, Preszler’s starkly honest memoir explores the healing, life-altering power of working with your hands. Join him as he tries (and tries) to make his way back into the light and find yourself forever changed.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
This odd-couple tale of hiking the Appalachian Trail – shot through with countless spit-take, don’t-read-this-on-the-train moments – is warm and engaging and immeasurably comforting. But you’ll learn a lot too.
- Top 5 books for young nature lovers, chosen by Dr Jess French
- Top 5 books about nature photography
- Amazonian activist Nemonte Nenquimo on a life under threat and people’s ignorance to the rainforest
Bad Debts by Peter Temple
It would be easy to relegate the grain of cabinetmaking rippling through Temple’s absurdly enjoyable Jack Irish thriller series (of which Bad Debts is the first) to the footnotes. Except that nothing I’ve ever read so sincerely captures the allure and experience of woodwork as these books do.
Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin
A joyfully eccentric autobiography entwined with vivid natural history. As enchanting, rich and beguilingly magical as wandering through a forest at dawn, watching sunbeams slash through the trees.
