The conversation between literature, publishing, booksellers, editors, writers and readers is going in all directions. People love taking photos of the books they are buying offline and posting about the texts on social media, so publishers are designing book covers that will appeal to them. Likewise, some bookstores, like the labyrinthine Last Bookstore in LA, are shops that readers want to be seen in and make for great #bookstagram.

It’s only natural then—as social media influences which authors are published, what books people buy and read, and how they’re discussed—for technology to also affect how texts are conceived of, created, and designed, like Fereshteh’s work. She embraced the Instagram approach to print publication because ”this format would give [me] the flexibility to cover a range of topics,” she says.

Yet the naturalist hopes her work will inspire readers to take a much-needed respite from technology, disconnect, and spend time in the company of trees. ”The ancient cultural traditions and practices around trees emerged during a time when humans lived much closer to the Earth and more in tune with natural rhythms and cycles,” Fereshteh says. “I think now, more than ever, people are feeling a call to return to that closeness with nature and are seeking ways to balance our hyper-connected daily routines with something more simple, that returns us to our roots, so to speak.”

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