Introducing our pick of the month for July

Have you ever put a drop of ocean water under a microscope to see what's there? Or wondered what makes a cloud into a cloud? Or stood on the street and thought about what was there a hundred, a thousand, or even a million years before? If you're interested in how our world got to be the way it is—and what it could be like in the future—then I think you'll be very excited by Curious Reading Club's pick of the month for July, Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came To Life by Ferris Jabr.

It's a tremendous piece of work that I can't wait to share with you all.

The book's argument takes the famous Gaia hypothesis first laid out in the 1970s by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis—that is, the idea that the Earth is a single, self-regulating system—and pulls it forward into the 21st century. It doesn't just restate the argument for a world facing climate change, it pushes it into fresh, invigorating territory.

I adored the way this book artfully juggled so many difficult things at once. It doesn't just cope with dramatic shifts in perspective, going from the grand scale to the microscopic level: it actually makes that zooming in and out a fundamental part of its structure. It's a plaintive and sometimes saddening cry for us to look at our home in a different way, yet it's hopeful and optimistic and grand, too. Ferris combines poetic portraits of the ordinary and approachable—a lyrical description of his backyard garden, say—with a thrilling look at some of the most awe-inspiring sights in the natural world.

And I'm not alone. Kirkus Reviews called Becoming Earth "a masterwork of journalism—exhaustively researched, wide-ranging, simultaneously intricate in detail and accessible to general readers." Booklist, meanwhile, said it is "beautifully written, exquisitely detailed, and finely researched".

Just a few pages in I could feel myself already changing my view on the interconnectedness of all things. It turns a feeling into a manifesto, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

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Now, because I'm away on vacation at the moment, we won't ship books to members until a few days into July—but you should have your copy very soon. That also means it's a great time to sign up if you aren't already part of the club: Join today and you'll get this incredible book at a discount, as well as exclusive access to all of our Q&A sessions and other goodies.

Talking of Q&A sessions… We're lucky that Ferris will be joining us at the very end of the month to talk with Club members. It’s the latest installment of our regular Q&A session. I'll be sending out links and reminders ahead of time, but you are invited to join our live conversation with Ferris Jabr on Tuesday July 30 at 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific.

In the meantime, brace your mailboxes and get ready for a great read.

Until next time

Bobbie