Here are 2 books that The Art of Language Invention fans have personally recommended if you like The Art of Language Invention. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth

Andrea B. Rugh Author Of In Search of Worldviews

From my list on deep dive into hot button topics you need to know more about.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, when my grandmother needed quiet, she sat me down with a stack of National Geographics. The pictures stimulated my interest in foreign cultures. Similarly, spending time in a scientific community awakened a curiosity in the natural world. Completing a PhD in anthropology gave me the tools to realize these goals—immersion in foreign cultures being a main one. When immersion was not possible, books provided a happy substitute.  The anthropologist Clifford Geertz once said, “Anthropologists hope to find in the little what eludes them in the large, to stumble upon general truths while sorting through special cases” (1968:4). This has largely been my approach.

Andrea's book list on deep dive into hot button topics you need to know more about

Andrea B. Rugh Why Andrea loves this book

I love this book because it gives me a plant version of human cultures.

The important point is that each species develops its own special capacities to survive in its own environment. Call it intelligence, culture, or something else; this “shared wisdom” gets passed down from one generation to the next and changes mainly when a new feature becomes more adaptive. I admire the fairness with which the author describes scientific debates such as those over whether concepts like human intelligence can be correctly applied to plants.

If there is agreement at all, it is that evolutionary differences in “intelligence” adapt to the contexts in which different species must survive. No single continuum suffices for all species. Nor is there any single way to compare them along the way.

By Zoë Schlanger ,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The Light Eaters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"teeming with fascinating and enlightening insights" Observer

A narrative investigation into the new science of plant intelligence and sentience, from National Association of Science Writers Award winner and Livingston Award finalist Zoe Schlanger.

Look at the green organism across the room or through the window: the potted plant, or the grass or a tree. Think how a life spent constantly growing yet rooted in a single spot comes with tremendous challenges. To meet them, plants have come up with some of the most creative methods for surviving of any living thing - us included. Many are so ingenious…


If you love The Art of Language Invention...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of Punk Ikebana

Harold Davis Author Of Composition & Photography

From Harold's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Harold's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Harold Davis Why Harold loves this book

Ikebana is the traditional art of Japanese floral design, which originated in Kyoto, Japan over 1,000 years ago. While ikebana "constructions" can be wonderful, they are also often static and tradition-bound. In this book, the tradition of ikebana is used with a creative twist that delighted me. I look forward to using some of these concepts in my own work!

By Louesa Roebuck ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Punk Ikebana as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Transcendent eco-luxe arrangements and installations created by famed floral designer Louesa Roebuck from seasonal flora foraged from the West Coast From acclaimed artist, author, and floral designer Louesa Roebuck, Punk Ikebana presents breathtaking installations and arrangements that unite the beauty of restraint with the exuberance of nature. Working with seasonal, locally available foraged flora and crafts from various regions of the West Coast, Roebuck aligns her deep commitment to the environment with her love of creating in harmony with her surroundings. Each chapter embodies her unique aesthetic, which is inspired by both the beauty of the region and the poetry…


Book cover of The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
Book cover of Punk Ikebana

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