Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Discover a hidden world weaving through the soil, made of fungi. Read Merlin Sheldrake’s ode to mushrooms with SciFri this July.
Welcome to the SciFri Book Club page about Entangled Life. There’s lots of ways to participate: Read the book, join our community space, attend an event, sign up for our email newsletter, or send a message on the SciFri VoxPop app.
This July, the SciFri Book Club will submerge into the soil with Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures. Published in 2020, Entangled Life upends the typical story of fungi. Through his fresh and precise perspective, biologist Merlin Sheldrake introduces us to how invisible fungal forces shape our world in unexpected ways. This vivid exploration of fungi—from yeast to underground fungal networks to mind-controlling parasites—leads readers through new research about these key players in life’s processes.
Entangled Life brings together a range of topics, including botany, mycology, ecology, neurology, human and non-human communication, and more—and we’ll touch on these ideas throughout this Book Club season. You can get your copy from your local bookstore or on Bookshop.org.
This Book Club season kicks off Saturday, July 1, and you can read along with us! We’ll be (loosely) following this schedule, but all our readers are welcome to join us at their own pace:
- July 1-2: Introduction
- July 3-9: Chapters 1-2
- July 10-16: Chapters 3-4
- July 17-23: Chapters 5-6
- July 24-31: Chapter 7–8
Plus, we’ll be hosting events throughout the month! Keep an eye out on our website or join our Events newsletter to be the first to know.
There are so many ways to dive in and participate! You can grab a copy of the book (and support the author and SciFri), read an excerpt from Entangled Life, join the discussion in our online Book Club community, sign up for our email newsletter, or RSVP for our upcoming Book Club events. Check out all the details below.
Grab Your Own Copy
If you’d like to purchase a physical copy, we encourage you to start local! Check out the SciFri Book Club partner bookstores and libraries—if you’re in the area, consider supporting your local bookseller or public library (plus, mention our Book Club for a percentage off your purchase at participating shops!).
If they don’t have the book in stock or you’d rather purchase online, you can support Science Friday by buying your copy on our Bookshop.org page.
Save The Date(s): SciFri Book Club Events
Entangled Life: Author Livestream and Q&A
There’s a wide world of mycelium hidden in the soil—and unless we dig deeper, we may never know them as more than their fruiting aboveground bodies: mushrooms. Author Merlin Sheldrake joins us for a contemplative afternoon on the mushrooms we should make room for.
Join us online for a conversation with the author on the science featured in the SciFri Book Club pick for July 2023. Come with your queries and wonderings—we’ll be taking your questions in the livestream comments!
SciFri Book Club July community meeting: Entangled Life
Want to meet other SciFri Book Club members, talk about the book selection, and find more resources for deeper learning—all without leaving your home? Our community meeting is the place for you!
This discussion meeting will focus on themes and topics featured in Entangled Life. You’re welcome to join us no matter your reading progress—come chat with other science-interested folks about botany, mycology, ecology, neurology, human and non-human communication, and more.
Join Our Community Space
And as you start reading, join us on our online community space: the SciFri Book Club is on Mighty Networks, a platform where we can gather, read and discuss science books together. We’ve built this community space to create a better way for readers to stay connected with other Book Clubbers, and we hope you’ll join us there!
Read An Excerpt
Not sure this is the book for you? Want to read an excerpt before you commit? We’ve got you covered.
Random House, the publisher of Entangled Life, has offered SciFri Book Clubbers an excerpt of the book! You can read this sample on our website.