Thanks to Matthew L. Miller for this series of book reviews in honor of Earth Day (including the book to the left, which may make you wonder who would be interested in such a topic):

I have a confession: I have never celebrated Earth Day. That may sound almost sacrilegious for a conservation writer to admit, I know. And perhaps it’s more accurate to say I don’t celebrate it in the usual way: going to a festival or concert with some “green” theme. It’s never really been my scene.

Instead, I’ll go for a walk, look for the local birds and wildflowers, hopefully write something about nature and certainly read about it. But that’s pretty much how I spend every day.

“Biodiversity” is one of those terms that gets said a lot on Earth Day. As a concept, I’m not sure it connects to many people. For me, the diversity of life on Earth is not only why I’m a conservationist, it’s one of the main motivators of my life. I am endless fascinated with the endless array of life, all around us. For me, the best way to experience biodiversity is to be out there with the wild things, exploring and observing.

But my explorations have always been made richer through reading.  And for this book review, I offer a selection of books that celebrate different aspects of biodiversity and conservation, including species often overlooked and even reviled. I hope you enjoy them, and that they inspire you to get out and celebrate our planet’s diversity – not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year.

In Search of Mycoptopia

By Doug Bierend

As journalist Doug Bierend writes, “Whether we know it or not, our daily life is rife with fungal encounters.” Despite the fact that fungi are central to life on the planet, these organisms are often ignored – even among Earth Day-loving environmentalists and scientists. But Bierend’s book doesn’t present that as a crisis, but rather an opportunity. An opportunity for often-marginalized, radical and creative people to explore the seemingly endless possibilities presented by the fungal kingdom…

Read the whole series here.