2026 Summer Reading List

The forest is currently in full bloom, marking the seasonal transition into summer. To prepare ourselves for the warmer months ahead, we have compiled our 2026 summer reading list. In the ethos of Thinking Forest, these selections focus on ecological philosophy, environmental history, and the intersection of human perception and the natural world:

Think Like a Forest by Ben Rawlence (Penguin/Jonathan Cape, 2026)

A series of letters written by Rawlence to his daughters over twelve years, exploring the "central contradiction of our age": raising children within a system that threatens life while seeking a future rooted in interdependence.


More Than Human edited by Justin McGuirk (The Design Museum, 2025)

The official catalogue for the major exhibition at the Design Museum (July–October 2025). It features essays from prominent thinkers like Tim Ingold and Anna Tsing, examining how design can shift from human-centeredness to supporting all living beings.


The Artist as Ecologist by Filipa Ramos (Lund Humphries, 2025)

Part of the New Directions in Contemporary Art series, this book analyzes how artists are responding to the climate crisis by shifting from "ecology as a theme" to "ecology as a practice."


David Abram - “Out of the Map, into the Territory: The Earthy Topology of Time”

The essay was first published in Wild Ideas edited by David Rothenberg (University of Minnesota Press, 1995/1996), it’s a critique of how modern humans perceive time as a linear, abstract "corridor" rather than a physical, cyclical presence rooted in the land.


Forest Encounters edited by Urška Jurman and Mateja Kurir (Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory, Ljubljana, 2025)

Forest Encounter's book invites you into the forest and its many meanings. It brings together voices from different disciplines, geographies, and cultures. Artists, foresters, art historians, philosophers, anthropologists, wildlife researchers, landscape architects, and writers all participate in this collective reflection on the diverse meanings, challenges, and perspectives related to the forest. The book is available for free on Forest Encounter’s site.


The Wood Age: How One Material Shaped the Whole of Human History by Roland Ennos (William Collins, 2020)

A deep history of our relationship with wood, arguing that our evolutionary success and the rise of civilization were driven by our mastery of this organic material rather than stone or metal.