Indiana University Press blog

Michael Homoya to sign copies of book at Native Plant Sale

Author Michael Homoya will sign copies of his field guide Wildflowers and Ferns of Indiana Forests May 18 at the Native Plant Sale in Avon, IN. The booksigning takes place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Avon Outdoor Learning Center. For more information, visit the event website.

May events with Scott Russell Sanders

Scott Russell Sanders. Photo by Ruth Sanders.

Scott Russell Sanders, author of Earth Works and A Conservationist Manifesto, has the following events scheduled for this month: 

May 17-19

Sanders, along with IUP author Rebecca McClanahan, will be a featured guest speaker at the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference held at Ashland University in Ashand, OH. For more information, contact Sarah M. Wells at swells@ashland.edu or call 419-289-5957.

May 23

Sanders will speak at "Minnesota Made," sponsored by the Minnesota Land Trust. The talk takes place at 6:00 p.m. in New Century Theater in Minneapolis. Tickets are required and can be purchased online.

May 24

Sanders will give a talk at 7 p.m. at the Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, MN. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Minnesota Land Trust website.

See a complete list of upcoming events for Scott Russell Sanders on his website.

Author Jeffrey Belth to present Gardening for Butterflies workshop

The Area 10 Agency on Aging in Bloomington will host a workshop on Gardening for Butterflies with Sandy Belth and Jeffrey Belth, author of Butterflies of Indiana. The presentation will take place May 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Endwright Center.

The Belths will discuss how to make yards and gardens more inviting to butterflies, and will also cover butterfly biology, larval host plants, and butterfly identification in their talk.

A limited supply of Butterflies of Indiana will be available for purchase and signing by the author at the event.

For more information, contact Jaime Sweany, Endwright Center Director, at 812-876-3383 or jsweany@area10agency.org. More information is also available on the Area 10 Agency website.

Scott Russell Sanders to speak at Central College

Author Scott Russell Sanders is currently in residence at Central College and will speak at the Writers Reading series March 21. Sanders will read excerpts from his book Earth Works in the Cox-Snow Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit Central College's website.

Staff pick: Shrubs Large and Small by Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris

Reviewed by Kathryn Caras, Director of Electronic and Serials Publishing

I own a solace shut within my heart,
A garden full of many a quaint delight
And warm with drowsy, poppied sunshine; bright,
Flaming with lilies out of whose cups dart
Shining things
With powdered wings.

—Amy Lowell, "Behind a Wall"

There is no better time for a gardener than spring with its promise of regeneration and renewal. As Rachel Carson said, "There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—that assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." And what better herald for spring this year than the publication of Shrubs Large and Small: Natives and Ornamentals for Midwest Gardens, the latest offering from the team of Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris? 

Shrubs Large and Small is filled with practical advice on what shrubs to plant among your perennials and how to choose woody shrubs to help determine your garden’s architecture, to achieve blooming throughout the season, and to add interest to the winter garden. Also included are sections on selecting shrubs; shrubs that attract wildlife, especially birds; and bringing flowers indoors, focusing on, among other topics, forcing branches, the characteristics of American arrangements, and a monthly sequence of materials provided by the shrub garden for arrangements.

The volume showcases 20 of the authors' favorite shrubs and describes other garden-worthy varieties. Many, referred to as "natives," occur naturally east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio rivers and from Minnesota to Arkansas. Others are imports from temperate regions around the world. All are ideal for growing in the Midwest. Included are viburnum, syringa, paeonia, ilex, cornus, and witch-hazel, among others.

Shrubs Large and Small is beautifully illustrated by Gillian Harris, a natural science illustrator and an Indiana Master Naturalist. Her botanically correct, four-color drawings are scattered throughout the book, and illustrations of the 20 "favorite" native and native deciduous shrubs are included in a section entitled "Gallery." All are true works of art and make this not just a useful and essential book for the gardener, but a book that can be treasured for its beauty alone.

Shrubs Large and Small complements Andrews's and Harris's previous book Perennials Short and Tall: A Seasonal Progression of Plants for Your Garden, which offers advice on keeping your garden in bloom, chapters on each of the three growing seasons, and profiles of 25 varieties of flowers, together with color illustrations. As a set or individually, these books make a wonderful gift for you and the gardeners in your life.

Book review: Life Traces of the Georgia Coast

"Augmented by numerous illustrations of traces made by both ancient and modern organisms, the book shows how ancient trace fossils directly relate to modern traces and tracemakers, among them, insects, grasses, crabs, shorebirds, alligators, and sea turtles. The result is an aesthetically appealing and scientifically accurate book that will serve as both a source book for scientists and for anyone interested in the natural history of the Georgia coast." —Birdbooker Report

Book review: Queer Ecologies

"[V]ibrant texts, brimming with possibilities for rethinking, rereading, and reinflecting the links between perception, ontology, epistemology, politics, and ethics. ... [A]llow[s] for the possibility of further reflections on the material conditions of intellectual inquiry, and for what materialities our 'immaterial labors' might creatively enact, change, transform." —Women's Studies Quarterly

Staff pick: Butterflies of Indiana by Jeffrey E. Belth

Reviewed by Laura Baich, electronic marketing manager

Every spring I anxiously wait to see if my daughter will outgrow her fear of flying insects. Will 2013 be the year? I certainly hope so because this spring I really want to enjoy the warm days outside instead of (futilely) attempting to convince a shrieking child that a butterfly is silent, so no, it can’t possibly “buzz” in your ear!

Even though she’s still not sold on the fact that butterflies can’t buzz, the one thing we both agree on is that butterflies are beautiful. As long as they don’t move, she enjoys looking at the butterflies that flock to the lavender in our backyard (unfortunately, the bees like the lavender too, and they really do buzz, which cuts short the butterfly observation time). Her favorite question to ask is, “What kind of butterfly is that?” If it’s not a monarch, then I’m stuck. Luckily, I have Jeffery E. Belth to help me out this year. His new field guide, Butterflies of Indiana, covers all 149 species of butterflies and their close relatives, the skippers (which, as NUVO points out, is “not a friend of Barbie”).

The guide includes more than 500 color photos and a handy key for telling the difference between a butterfly, skipper, or moth (another creature feared by my daughter, so we won’t go looking for those). In addition to providing a detailed identification guide for each butterfly and skipper, the book also includes useful information on where to look for butterflies, the best times of day to see them, and how to look for them (silently, without sudden movements, which will be hard for a 5-year-old). There are also good sections on the life cycle of a butterfly and butterfly behavior, and the best way to photograph butterflies. As a butterfly novice, I found the information in the book very easy to interpret, but it’s also very thorough, which more experienced lepidopterophiles will appreciate.

Everything you ever wanted to know about butterflies (and more!) is included in this compact guide. Get your copy today before the butterflies start “buzzing” around!

Anthony Martin to give talk about Georgia Barrier Islands January 26

On Saturday, January 26, Emory professor Anthony Martin will give a talk about the Georgia Barrier Islands and his new book, Life Traces of the Georgia Coast. The event takes place at Manuel's Tavern at 7 p.m. Suggested donation for non-students is $3. Books will be available for purchase at the event. More information about Dr. Martin's talk is available here.

Learn more about the book in this trailer:

Five IU Press nature books reviewed in The Guardian

British newspaper The Guardian featured five IU Press books its Birdbooker Report 252:

Butterflies of Indiana: A Field Guide

"For beginners and experts, Butterflies of Indiana ... offers an introduction to the natural history of butterflies. The simple and intuitive design of this guide and its wealth of features make it a faithful companion for butterfly watchers, collectors, gardeners, birders, and naturalists."

Dragonflies of Indiana

"Dragonflies of Indiana includes sections on key identification features, anatomy, life history, habitats, behavior, and flight seasons of dragonflies; the history of dragonfly study in Indiana; and the conservation value of dragonflies. It will be appreciated by all who take wonder in the shimmer of dragonfly wings on a summer day." 

The Sunflower Family in the Upper Midwest

"This beautiful book features 544 photos as well as range maps for each of the 150 treated species. ... This is an eye-catching book suitable for display or reference."

Orchids of Indiana

"All 43 of the orchids now growing in Indiana are represented in this handsome volume of detailed descriptions, range maps, and color photographs, appealing to naturalists and orchid lovers everywhere."

Sedges of Indiana and the Adjacent States: The Non-Carex Species

"This attractive publication is as relevant to gardeners as it is to natural areas biologists and plant taxonomists. The states covered by this guide include: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin."

Read the complete article on The Guardian's website.