The Fields Pond Book Group meets monthly on Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m., in-person at the Orono Public Library and online via Zoom. If you would like to participate, please contact Joyce directly at ru****@ma***.edu to sign up for the Zoom link, which she will send out shortly before the meeting.
Here is the title and a brief synopsis for February’s selection. The group will take a hiatus during December and January.
February 13, 2025
Charney, Noah. These Trees Tell a Story: The Art of Reading Landscapes. 2023. 416 pp.
Charney’s stories and lessons will provide anyone with the necessary investigative skills to look at a landscape, interpret it, and tell its story—from its start as rock or soil to the plants and animals that live on it. Ultimately, Charney argues, by critically engaging with the landscape we will become better at connecting with nature and ourselves. Structured as a series of interactive field walks through ten New England ecosystems, this book challenges readers to see the world through the eyes of a trained naturalist. With guided questions, immersive photography, and a narrative approach, each chapter adds layers of complexity to a single scene, revealing the millions of years of forces at play. Tying together geology, forest ecology, wildlife biology, soil processes, evolution, conservation, and more, Charney shows how and why landscapes appear in their current forms.
