The Woodward Library is pleased to share this book list to celebrate the 2025 edition of Science Literacy Week (October 6 – 12, 2025). The theme for this year Science Literacy Week is “From Sea to Space” reaffirming the interconnectedness of life on Earth and encouraging a shared vision of a sustainable, curiosity-driven future. Listed below are selected books centered around the theme of “Seas and Oceans”.
The High Seas by Olive Heffernan
The book uncovers the truth behind deeply exploitative fishing practices, investigates the potentially devastating impact of deep-sea mining. The author, Olive Heffernan, is a journalist with over 20 years of experience writing about ocean science and climate change.
Mapping the Deep by Dawn J. Wright
Mapping the Deep highlights the importance of mapping the ocean and its profound impact on our planet’s future. The author, Dawn J. Wright, became the first Black person to visit Challenger Deep in 2022, the deepest place on Earth’s seabed, more than 10,000 metres below the sea surface.
Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey
The author narrates the history of dolphin research and introduces readers to the leading marine scientists and activists who have made it their life’s work to increase humans’ understanding and appreciation of the wonder of dolphins. The book discusses how humans have felt a kinship with the sleek and beautiful dolphin, an animal whose playfulness, sociability, and intelligence seem like an aquatic mirror of mankind.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The novel tells the story of a grieving widow who forms an unexpected and deeply moving bond with a giant Pacific octopus. Blending themes of human-animal connection, the healing power of companionship, and the complexities of loss, it offers a heartwarming and poignant exploration of how unlikely friendships can help us navigate grief and rediscover meaning in life. Perfect for readers who are drawn to stories about animals, human-animal friendships, and emotional resilience.
Women and Water: Stories of Adventure, Self-Discovery, and Connection in and on the Water by Gale Straub,Noel Russell, and Hailey Hirst.
An inspiring collection combines breathtaking photography with powerful narratives from women who swim, surf, kayak, study glaciers, and advocate for water conservation. The book gives helpful how-tos on everything from cold water swimming to taking underwater photos, making it easy for readers to get outside and get their feet wet.
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer and New York Times contributor, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea. With a blend of personal experience, cultural history, and scientific insight, she explores the timeless allure of water—unraveling what draws us to it, why it captivates the human spirit, and how it continues to call us back, time and again.
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
A marine biologist left for a routine expedition months earlier, only this time her submarine sank to the sea floor. When she finally surfaces and returns home, her wife Miri knows that something is wrong. Our Wives Under the Sea is a genre-bending exploration of the depths of love and grief at the heart of a marriage.
Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession, and the Future of Our Seas by Karen Pinchin
Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession, and the Future of Our Seas” is a book by Karen Pinchin that explores the human obsession with tuna, particularly bluefin, and the resulting impact on the ocean.
Spirits of the Coast : Orcas in Science, Art and History by by Severn Cullis-Suzuki et al.
A literary and visual journey through past and possibility, Spirits of the Coast illustrates how enigmatic animals have shaped us as much as our actions have impacted them and provokes the reader to imagine the shape of our shared future. The collection brings together diverse voices, young and old, to explore the magic, myths, and ecology of orcas.
The Conversation on Water, edited by Andrea K. Gerlak.
This is a collection of essays from top scholars on various threats facing our water systems today – covering insufficient infrastructure, climate change, and pollution. The collection also feature essays on technologies for harvesting water and Indigenous knowledge in governing the oceans. The book proposes solutions that present opportunities for hope and reform.
Salmon: Swimming for Survival by Rowena Rae
This book looks at the unique biology of salmon, their importance to many Indigenous communities, their cultural and economic impact and the vital role they play in ecosystems. With profiles from scientists, educators, fishers and more, learn about the people who are working hard to change the uncertain future of salmon and improve the chance that these iconic fish can survive for generations to come.
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
The book narrates the climate troubles that await humans–food shortages, climate change. rising sea levels, refugee emergencies, and other crises that will reshape the globe. But the world will be remade by warming in more profound ways as well, transforming our politics, our culture, our relationship to technology, and our sense of history. It will be all-encompassing, shaping and distorting nearly every aspect of human life as it is lived today.
Oceans in Decline by Sergio Rossi
The author, a marine biologist with extensive research experience, offers a holistic view of our oceans. Focusing on fishing, pollution and the effects of climate change, he identifies and describes the changes occurring in all marine ecosystems, and discusses the long-passed state of equilibrium.
River Meets the Sea by Racheal Moorthy
This novel traces the seemingly separate lives of young men and their everlasting connections to water. Racheal Moorthy traces the dual timelines of a white-passing Indigenous foster child in 1940s Vancouver and a teenage immigrant in the suburbs of Nanaimo in the 1970s.
Seaside Walks on Vancouver Island, Revised Edition by Theo Dombrowski
Seaside Walks on Vancouver Island is the perfect book for those who love to explore the seashore but also love walking through forests and seaside meadows. Whether discovering inviting stretches of sandy beach, hiking along rugged cliffs, or strolling through quiet estuaries, visitors to these trails will usually be far away from the crowds that choose to drive directly to the more popular, touristy beaches.