The Book Nook | Get Inspired With These Staff Favorites

“Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law” Mary Roach

Located less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a space where human infrastructure and natural habitat combine to create an urban-wildlife interface. These fascinating, dynamic zones are a natural feature of our world, but the relationship between the two parties can become uneasy when conflicts of interest emerge. “Fuzz” describes some of the many ways that humans living in these boundary zones have tried to control the wildlife that encounter them. Alternately sobering and comical — and always interesting — popular science author Mary Roach asks readers to consider the needs of every resident in these zones.

Recommended by Cynthia Hannahs, Gardener

“Nature’s Best Hope (Young Readers’ Edition): How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard” Douglas W. Tallamy

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden staff have long admired Doug Tallamy’s original book “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard,” and this young readers’ edition beautifully extends those lessons to the next generation of conservation leaders. Doug distills big ideas — like planting native plants, supporting pollinators, and reimagining our yards — into clear, approachable language. With age-appropriate explanations, practical steps, and engaging illustrations, the book makes complex concepts accessible. Readers will come away feeling empowered to make a difference in their own backyards and inspired to take action for the planet.

Recommended by Jaime Eschette, The Gerry Rubin Director of Marketing and Communications

“How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” Jenny Odell

I was surprised at how often I caught myself thinking about the transformative power of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden while reading this book. Jenny Odell writes about how becoming a bird watcher at a public garden helped focus her attention away from all the beeping, blinking things trying to steal it away. Using examples from nature like Old Survivor (the grandfather coast redwood tree [Sequoia sempervirens] in Oakland) to performance art pieces, Jenny makes the case that “rerouting and deepening one’s attention to place” leads to an awareness and participation in the “more-than-human community.” This is an incredibly important idea as we restore our place in the web of biodiversity.

Recommended by Kevin Spracher, Interpretation and Exhibitions Curator

“The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate ― Discoveries From a Secret World” Peter Wohlleben

This book is an invitation for us to see forests in a completely new way. Throughout each chapter, Peter Wohlleben shows how trees communicate, share resources, and even protect one another, turning the forest into a living community. The writing is clear and often poetic, so even the science feels approachable. At times it’s more impressionistic than technical, but it pulls you into the mystery instead of bogging you down in data. It left me looking at every tree with more curiosity and respect.

Recommended by Lindsay Dill, Social Media Consultant