The Well-read Naturalist
@wellreadnaturalist.bsky.social
Mild mannered reviewer of #books on natural philosophy, #naturalhistory, #HistSci, & #HistMed. Gentleman naturalist. Tweedy. Beardy. Has been found out standing in many fields. Plays well with otters. (he/him; Gaian, polytheist) www.wellreadnaturalist.com
Pinned
From This Point
In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court decided the case Jacobellis v. Ohio, involving whether the state government of Ohio could ban the showing of the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Les Amants), which the state h...
www.wellreadnaturalist.com
If you have an interest in astrobiology, astronomy, biology, Earth science, or simply enjoy reading a book that will cause you to say “Wow!” with great regularity whilst reading it, I very much encourage you to read "The Pale Blue Data Point" (@uchicagopress.bsky.social). #Booksky
My wallet right now:
November 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
My wallet right now:
Both are excellent choices indeed!
Thrilled to see two PUP science titles on the @wsj.com Holiday Gift Books: Science guide! Find out why Intraterrestrials and Sharks would make great gifts for the natural history lovers in your life: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
November 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Both are excellent choices indeed!
While David Runciman's @ppfideas.bsky.social podcast isn't specifically about natural history, he does sometimes take it up as a topic, as in this new episode in which Henry Gee ("The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire" from @panmacmillan.bsky.social) is interviewed.
The Rise and Fall of Homo Sapiens
Podcast Episode · Past Present Future · 11/23/2025 · 54m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
While David Runciman's @ppfideas.bsky.social podcast isn't specifically about natural history, he does sometimes take it up as a topic, as in this new episode in which Henry Gee ("The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire" from @panmacmillan.bsky.social) is interviewed.
The number of holiday book sales announcements is increasing rapidly. I'm trying to amplify those with large natural history lists but there are just too many for me to keep up with them all. 😵💫 #Booksky
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
The number of holiday book sales announcements is increasing rapidly. I'm trying to amplify those with large natural history lists but there are just too many for me to keep up with them all. 😵💫 #Booksky
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
Nominations are open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026, recognising the best scholarly English-language book in the history of science.
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
November 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Nominations are open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026, recognising the best scholarly English-language book in the history of science.
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
As @soundmirrors.bsky.social asked but has replies disabled in the post containing the question, yes, the Loeb Classical Library edition of the Natural History, complete and unabridged to the best of my knowledge, is in ten volumes from @harvardpress.bsky.social. www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
November 24, 2025 at 10:08 PM
As @soundmirrors.bsky.social asked but has replies disabled in the post containing the question, yes, the Loeb Classical Library edition of the Natural History, complete and unabridged to the best of my knowledge, is in ten volumes from @harvardpress.bsky.social. www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
On this date in 1859, the first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was published by John Murray. All 1,250 copies sold immediately.
There are many options today for reading its eventual six editions. I prefer this one published by the @nhm-london.bsky.social. #Booksky
There are many options today for reading its eventual six editions. I prefer this one published by the @nhm-london.bsky.social. #Booksky
On the Origin of Species (Natural History Museum Facsimile Edition)
If you're like me, you may very well have more than one copy of some of your favorite books. Perhaps they are different editions, perhaps one is a loaner and the other your prized copy. In the case of...
www.wellreadnaturalist.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM
On this date in 1859, the first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was published by John Murray. All 1,250 copies sold immediately.
There are many options today for reading its eventual six editions. I prefer this one published by the @nhm-london.bsky.social. #Booksky
There are many options today for reading its eventual six editions. I prefer this one published by the @nhm-london.bsky.social. #Booksky
"The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America" (@liveright.bsky.social / @wwnorton.com) by @dhbaron.bsky.social is the subject of the new @planetarysociety.bsky.social Book Club Edition podcast. #Booksky #astronomy
www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
Book Club Edition: The Martians by David Baron
Author David Baron has written the definitive, true story of a time when nearly everyone in America was utterly convinced there was a supremely…
www.planetary.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
"The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America" (@liveright.bsky.social / @wwnorton.com) by @dhbaron.bsky.social is the subject of the new @planetarysociety.bsky.social Book Club Edition podcast. #Booksky #astronomy
www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
'All who read him will learn much on Britain's landscapes and those that once inhabited them'.
An excellent review of Stephen Knight's 'Nature and Medieval Literature' in Mediaevistik!
Read the full review here: www.peterlang.com/document/167...
An excellent review of Stephen Knight's 'Nature and Medieval Literature' in Mediaevistik!
Read the full review here: www.peterlang.com/document/167...
November 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
'All who read him will learn much on Britain's landscapes and those that once inhabited them'.
An excellent review of Stephen Knight's 'Nature and Medieval Literature' in Mediaevistik!
Read the full review here: www.peterlang.com/document/167...
An excellent review of Stephen Knight's 'Nature and Medieval Literature' in Mediaevistik!
Read the full review here: www.peterlang.com/document/167...
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
It's officially gift buying season!
We've updated our top picks for beautiful little nature #books, ideal as stocking fillers or an extra delight for hard-to-buy-for friends.
Check out our full list here & solve your gifting woes early this year:
uk.bookshop.org/lists/stocki...
#NatureWriting
📚💙
We've updated our top picks for beautiful little nature #books, ideal as stocking fillers or an extra delight for hard-to-buy-for friends.
Check out our full list here & solve your gifting woes early this year:
uk.bookshop.org/lists/stocki...
#NatureWriting
📚💙
November 24, 2025 at 11:20 AM
It's officially gift buying season!
We've updated our top picks for beautiful little nature #books, ideal as stocking fillers or an extra delight for hard-to-buy-for friends.
Check out our full list here & solve your gifting woes early this year:
uk.bookshop.org/lists/stocki...
#NatureWriting
📚💙
We've updated our top picks for beautiful little nature #books, ideal as stocking fillers or an extra delight for hard-to-buy-for friends.
Check out our full list here & solve your gifting woes early this year:
uk.bookshop.org/lists/stocki...
#NatureWriting
📚💙
Happy Fibonacci Day to all those celebrating. (November 23 = 11/23).
The date November 23, 5813 will be particularly auspicious, if any numerate humans are still around then, of course.
The date November 23, 5813 will be particularly auspicious, if any numerate humans are still around then, of course.
November 24, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Happy Fibonacci Day to all those celebrating. (November 23 = 11/23).
The date November 23, 5813 will be particularly auspicious, if any numerate humans are still around then, of course.
The date November 23, 5813 will be particularly auspicious, if any numerate humans are still around then, of course.
After what I see as a rather long hiatus since the last major updates of two of the cornerstone field guides to the birds of North America, Peterson and Sibley, the third, National Geographic, has recently published a new, fully revised, significantly expanded, and extensively updated 8th Edition.
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th Edition
After what I see as a rather long hiatus since the last major updates of two of the cornerstone field guides to the birds of North America, Peterson and Sibley, I was particularly pleased to learn tha...
www.wellreadnaturalist.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:33 PM
After what I see as a rather long hiatus since the last major updates of two of the cornerstone field guides to the birds of North America, Peterson and Sibley, the third, National Geographic, has recently published a new, fully revised, significantly expanded, and extensively updated 8th Edition.
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
Lookie lookie! What’s this? Only the fantastic LNHS journal, The London Naturalist!
‘How can I get one?’ I hear you ask.
Join our lovely society - only £20/year. Then you get this, The London Bird Review and our quarterly newsletter! Join now! www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/jo...
#NaturalHistory
‘How can I get one?’ I hear you ask.
Join our lovely society - only £20/year. Then you get this, The London Bird Review and our quarterly newsletter! Join now! www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/jo...
#NaturalHistory
November 20, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Lookie lookie! What’s this? Only the fantastic LNHS journal, The London Naturalist!
‘How can I get one?’ I hear you ask.
Join our lovely society - only £20/year. Then you get this, The London Bird Review and our quarterly newsletter! Join now! www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/jo...
#NaturalHistory
‘How can I get one?’ I hear you ask.
Join our lovely society - only £20/year. Then you get this, The London Bird Review and our quarterly newsletter! Join now! www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/jo...
#NaturalHistory
Have I already mentioned that @cornellupress.bsky.social is presently holding a 44% off holiday book sale? I probably did, but just in case I didn't... #Booksky
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/subjects/nat...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/subjects/nat...
Nature and Science – Cornell University Press
Cornell University Press fosters a culture of broad and sustained inquiry through the publication of scholarship that is engaged, influential, and of lasting significance.
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
November 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Have I already mentioned that @cornellupress.bsky.social is presently holding a 44% off holiday book sale? I probably did, but just in case I didn't... #Booksky
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/subjects/nat...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/subjects/nat...
Is it just me or did Christmas attack earlier than usual this year? 😉
November 21, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Is it just me or did Christmas attack earlier than usual this year? 😉
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
Great to see two PUP titles in @audubon.org Magazine's 2025 holiday gift guide! Check out the list to see why The Gull Guide and Bugwatching make perfect presents this year:
Perfect Gifts for the Bird and Nature Lovers in Your Life
Whether novice or expert, backyard birder or a globetrotting adventurer, we’ve got something for everyone on your list. Better yet: For many of these products, their purchase also benefits bird...
www.audubon.org
November 21, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Great to see two PUP titles in @audubon.org Magazine's 2025 holiday gift guide! Check out the list to see why The Gull Guide and Bugwatching make perfect presents this year:
@oupress.bsky.social has now joined the holiday book sale festivities.
They have quite a nice selection of natural history titles in their catalog. www.oupress.com/search-resul...
#Booksky
They have quite a nice selection of natural history titles in their catalog. www.oupress.com/search-resul...
#Booksky
November 21, 2025 at 8:28 PM
@oupress.bsky.social has now joined the holiday book sale festivities.
They have quite a nice selection of natural history titles in their catalog. www.oupress.com/search-resul...
#Booksky
They have quite a nice selection of natural history titles in their catalog. www.oupress.com/search-resul...
#Booksky
OSU Press holiday savings starts today! 🎉🎉🎉
Save 25% with free shipping using promo code 25HOLIDAY at osupress.oregonstate.edu now through December 19, 2025.
Find the perfect book for everyone on your list and one for yourself too! And order early to ensure delivery before the Christmas holiday. 🎁
Save 25% with free shipping using promo code 25HOLIDAY at osupress.oregonstate.edu now through December 19, 2025.
Find the perfect book for everyone on your list and one for yourself too! And order early to ensure delivery before the Christmas holiday. 🎁
November 21, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
In The Wake of HMS Challenger, Gillen D’Arcy Wood looks afresh at this legendary scientific odyssey and shows why, 150 years later, its legacy looms larger than ever.
Now available.
You can read a free preview of this lyrical and elegiac book here: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Now available.
You can read a free preview of this lyrical and elegiac book here: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
November 21, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In The Wake of HMS Challenger, Gillen D’Arcy Wood looks afresh at this legendary scientific odyssey and shows why, 150 years later, its legacy looms larger than ever.
Now available.
You can read a free preview of this lyrical and elegiac book here: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Now available.
You can read a free preview of this lyrical and elegiac book here: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Fellow naturalists: the Rachel Carson set is included in this @libraryofamerica.bsky.social sale.
I'm not seeing the Loren Eiseley set on their website, so perhaps it is now out of print as a boxed set.
#Booksky
I'm not seeing the Loren Eiseley set on their website, so perhaps it is now out of print as a boxed set.
#Booksky
Explore giants of American literature during our annual holiday boxed set sale. Collected works, complete editions, sagas, trilogies, compendiums, and more. See all boxed sets at loa.org/boxedsets. Sale ends Tuesday, 11/25
November 21, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Fellow naturalists: the Rachel Carson set is included in this @libraryofamerica.bsky.social sale.
I'm not seeing the Loren Eiseley set on their website, so perhaps it is now out of print as a boxed set.
#Booksky
I'm not seeing the Loren Eiseley set on their website, so perhaps it is now out of print as a boxed set.
#Booksky
A new section has been added to The Well-read Naturalist: The Well-equipped Naturalist. I hope you will find what will be published in it to be interesting and perhaps even useful in furthering your naturalist and reading pursuits. www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2025/11/the-...
The Well-equipped Naturalist
I've decided to add a section to The Well-read Naturalist named The Well-equipped Naturalist. In this new section will be published the occasional piece of news of, reviews about, and advice pertainin...
www.wellreadnaturalist.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:48 AM
A new section has been added to The Well-read Naturalist: The Well-equipped Naturalist. I hope you will find what will be published in it to be interesting and perhaps even useful in furthering your naturalist and reading pursuits. www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2025/11/the-...
Wow! Reading through my timeline, it looks as though many of the cool publishing kids are at #ASA2025.
I hope everyone has a splendid time!
I hope everyone has a splendid time!
At #ASA2025? Find Christina Gerhardt’s SEA CHANGE in our booth—an atlas of not only maps but art and poetry that explore the impact of climate change on islands around the world.
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Wow! Reading through my timeline, it looks as though many of the cool publishing kids are at #ASA2025.
I hope everyone has a splendid time!
I hope everyone has a splendid time!
😎 Psst... Hey, friend. Want some free knowledge?
Free teaching worksheets on the Fibonacci sequence, golden number, & the golden ratio for @mathsweekengland24.bsky.social
Get them + a free chapter on Fibonacci from @snezanalawrence.bsky.social's A Little History of Mathematics here yalebooks.co.uk/a-little-his...
#MWE25 #MathsWeek 🧮 #UKMathsChat
Get them + a free chapter on Fibonacci from @snezanalawrence.bsky.social's A Little History of Mathematics here yalebooks.co.uk/a-little-his...
#MWE25 #MathsWeek 🧮 #UKMathsChat
A Little History of Mathematics Teaching Resources
For Maths Week England, we’ve created a collection of engaging teaching worksheets exploring the Fibonacci sequence, the golden number, and the golden
yalebooks.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
😎 Psst... Hey, friend. Want some free knowledge?
Reposted by The Well-read Naturalist
Birds in Medieval English Poetry, by Michael J. Warren, is a study of birds and their metamorphoses as treated in a wide range of medieval poetry, from the Anglo-Saxons to Chaucer and Gower. Use BB050 at the checkout to save 50%. Ends 30 Nov 2025. buff.ly/sxiRZDM #medievalsky @drmjwarren.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Birds in Medieval English Poetry, by Michael J. Warren, is a study of birds and their metamorphoses as treated in a wide range of medieval poetry, from the Anglo-Saxons to Chaucer and Gower. Use BB050 at the checkout to save 50%. Ends 30 Nov 2025. buff.ly/sxiRZDM #medievalsky @drmjwarren.bsky.social