I really enjoyed this book! Will probably enjoy it even more in physical form I find the digital version of these types of books don't flow as well. The art work was so pretty! I really enjoyed the authors personality it was fun and informative. If you are a lover of mushrooms I highly recommend this. More of a light fun read than something I would say is truly informative material.

A great starter guide with such gorgeous pictures and introductory knowledge. This would make a great present for someone starting off with mushrooming or picking up a new hobby.

I'm never much of an "illustrated guide". But wow with a stunning cover like this how could I resist? The cover was so beautiful and the topic mushrooms I couldn't resist. I saw this book after watching the documentary 'Fantastic Fungi'. If you get a chance don't miss that documentary. Anywho I digress. 'Mushrooming' by Diane Borsato from the moment you see the cover to the last page feels like a labor of love.

It is one of the most well-done illustrated guides I've seen. Where my hesitance came in was if one is going to forage for mushrooms they need to be beyond careful. There are mushrooms that can be fatal and if it's a foraging guide and illustrated is was leery. There is a lot talked about the Edibility of each mushroom featured. I want a photograph guide for foraging for eating but the drawings are so well-detailed that even though I wouldn't use this for foraging mushrooms per se I am using it for teaching about identifying mushrooms. This is a beautiful field guide, well-research with so many beautiful add-ons that I highly recommend its purchase. It is loaded with valuable information about mushrooms far more than just for foraging and learning more about mushrooms is a very good thing. :)

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher
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I love nature books; any chance I can to learn about plant life of the Earth is a win for me. This time, I had the chance to divulge into the realm of funghi. I enjoyed the historical and random facts that were dispersed throughout the book. It kept it super interesting and fun and allowed a distraction. The book was well organized - my biggest struggle and also one of the best features of the book- were the illustrations. They were beautifully drawn. However, I struggled with being able to use them as an ID. That being said, I don't know if I would have changed them for photographs because I think it would have taken away from the character of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this book. I enjoyed learning about the mushrooms found in this book, and was really interested to learn that there is a crazy amount of mushrooms that look safe but aren't.

A lighthearted illustrated guide to the wonderful world of mushrooming! While I initially picked this title up out of pure boredom and curiosity, I found myself thoroughly fascinated and engaged by the topics discussed. This book, alongside it's adorable illustrations, views mushrooming from an artistic, intersectional-feminist perspective, sporadically providing small essays about how contemporary artists today are using the art of mushrooming to shed light on real-life issues such as generational trauma, societal fear of death and the unknown as well as systemic racism, sexism and capitalism. I was captivated by these connections as well as enthralled by the lighthearted anecdotes sprinkled throughout the many mushroom bios. I'll definitely try to pick up a copy of this guide when it comes out in March of 2023 as it is something I see myself picking up again and again!

I highly recommend this book! I enjoyed it so much!! The illustrations were captivating and the descriptions were beautiful!

Oh my goodness, this is the most gorgeous mushroom guide. The artwork is vivid and visually pleasing! The author created this version of a mushroom guide because they were frustrated with the sometimes hard to understand language and small photos in most guides. I love that the author's own experiences with each mushroom is listed within the notes. It is well organized as well. I would highly reccomend this if you love art or mushrooms, or nature in general. Lots of interesting information within!

Mushrooming is an incredibly thorough and beautiful look into the world of fungi. While not a field guide in the strictest sense, this book seeks to inform the reader about the complexity of mushrooms through anecdotes, history, descriptions, and even sections on the edibility of each type of mushroom. The illustrations are gorgeous and eye-catching. This book also features a distinct decolonial lens throughout, which is greatly appreciated.

Mushrooming by Diane Borsato was an excellent read!
Perfect for fungi fans, and appreciators of nature illustrations and art! While not a hard-core scientific fieldbook, her insights, tips, recipes and stories about her foraging adventures accompany her gorgeous illustrations, and they had me laughing and learning the whole way through.
Several stories of her out-of-woods mushrooming ventures are slotted between her entries, which were fascinating and intriguing. Though I do know a little more about alternative yogurt than I ever wish I did. That's.... never leaving my brain.
A fantastic coffee-table piece, and great representation of our favorite fungi and the mysteries of such magnificent mycelium. Excellent work!

The illustrations where gorgeous, the love of mushrooms was apparent in the author’s writing. This book was fascinating and absolutely delightful to read. As an amateur mushroomer, this book feels both useful, and also much like encouragement to continue mushrooming along.

I absolutely adored the pictures in this educational book on mushrooms. I'm not an expert in foraging for mushrooms, but have a passing interest so I found this to be very education. However, from the very beginning it doesn't recommend using it as a field guide. If you're not careful, you'll get sick at best and die at worst. It's great to learn about the identifying features, if it is edible (generally speaking), and some interesting tidbits about all of the mushrooms. Also, did I mention the pictures were gorgeous? Highly recommend for anyone with a passing interest in mushrooms.

Our family is comprised of avid foragers and we run some large foraging Facebook groups and websites. I am not recommending this book since it’s not a favorite for me for actual foraging. It doesn’t include information like where to find the mushrooms geographically and the illustrations are gorgeous but no great for identifying them. It also doesn’t include enough identification information (good books contain detailed information like spore prints, gills and pores, seasons, etc.). That said, I’ll probably buy a copy for my mushroom loving daughter if the price is affordable.

Great for art and interest factors, just not for actual foraging.

Fascinating information and wonderful illustrations.
I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about mushrooms and I learned a lot!
While, not aimed at children, I think they would find it interesting. Just look up the dog vomit slime mold entry lol.
I plan on adding this to my personal collection

tl;dr
Great illustrations and a lot of personal touches make this a compelling read. Should not be considered a field guide.

Thoughts
This is not a field guide. The opening paragraphs make this clear, but I feel like I should also open with this, because on the surface it looks like a field guide. There are detailed illustrations, scientific names, and descriptions of several fungi (along with other non-fungus things of interest). But this book reads more like a foraging journal than a field guide. The author includes stories of personal experiences and anecdotes shared by other mycology enthusiasts. Several scattered sections step out of the guidebook format to discuss things like organizing a mushroom hunt in the international district, mushroom events, and cultural relevance. It's a much more personal read than I expected, akin to listening to an enthusiast share their thoughts over coffee. This is not the kind of book you'd take out with you while foraging, but it's definitely the kind you'd read on a comfortable afternoon just for fun. The illustrations are absolutely stunning in their color and detail, and might be worth the price of admission alone. Would make a great read for any mushroom fan.

Yes, this is a fungus identification guide, but it’s so much more than that. Beautiful, quirky illustrations with fun, informative text will introduce readers to a world they only thought they knew. And the names of some of these fungi, Dog vomit slime mold has to be my favorite. A delight to read

Wow, this is the most beautiful mushroom book I have ever read. I recently have gotten more into learning about mushroom hunting, identifying, and learning all there is to know about different species of mushrooms. I LOVED the background at the beginning of the book, and how the author pulled her art history/work into the making of this book. It was very evident that her love of art, and her love of mushrooms collided into this stunning collection. The artwork was breathtaking, and the information was interesting and not super dry/textbookish. I would love to add this one to my shelves!

I LOVED reading this and discovering so many things. I've never picked up a book about mushrooms even though they're one of my favorite things. The illustrations were gorgeous and kept your attention on every page where you learned something new. I think everyone should have a book like this in their home and the knowledge held within it.