Hooked On Books: Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
(Nonfiction)

Description: Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.

Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada―imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.

Publisher:‎ W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date:‎ May 20, 2025
Print length:‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10:‎ 0393242137

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About Hooked on Books

Each month, ORK members read a book and then meet (virtually) to discuss it. With guided questions and occasional special guests, participants will find new titles, consider themes, and be inspired by writing.

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To participate in the reading club, please register for Hooked on Books. You will receive an email with a link to the virtual meeting each month. Meetings are held Tuesday evenings, 6:30 p.m., via Zoom.

You do NOT have to join each month. Simply read the books and attend the sessions that are of interest, though we hope you will expand your reading horizons by trying new books.