In his extraordinary book Old Growth Trees, Peter McConchie has put together a breathtaking collection of photographs and thoughts, showcasing the stunning natural beauty of our ancient (and threatened) old growth forests. The photos are superb and highlight the species most under threat in all their magical and almost meditative calm and dignity. The limbs tower and shelter. The roots plunge gracefully into the earth as they have done for thousands of years.

McConchie's book is a quiet call to action because while old growth forests are a thing of beauty, they are also crucial to the ongoing bio-diversity of our, and the planet's, life and they continue to be destroyed every day. The image above is one from Masaki Hirano's exhibition Stumps of Silence: Tasmania in 2006. It is a collage or mosaic of many photos of the stumps of old growth trees cut down for greed.

If you need a louder call to action, the Wilderness Society's campaign to ensure Gunns Pulp Mills only use plantation trees has been successful with the Swedish company Södra announcing it will only fund Gunns pulp mill if 100% Forest Stewardship Council certified, plantation timber is used, and if the pulp mill uses best practice totally chlorine-free technology. Now though, they are encouraging Södra to further the restrictions of their involvement, by making it clear they won’t build a pulp mill threatening the local environment and community in the Tamar Valley.

Whatever your beliefs or ideas on the subject, McConchie's photos reveal the majesty of the ancient forests. It is an absolute must for all who love our Australian trees.

I don't know about you but sometimes I just can't keep up. There seems to be too many books some weeks and it takes a little while to get around to peeking into all of them. And yes, of course, some really good books are just missed. Completely. Gone before any of us managed to turn around...

So, in an attempt to bring myself up to date here are some of the books I really want to read, they have been out for a couple of months, Seth Godin's for much much longer, and they have all made me think as I've been shelving them but have I, will I ever get the chance to sit down and read them? Sigh.

Irfan Yusuf is a lawyer and writer and his first book Once Were Radicals sounds like a revealing read through the motions of becoming politicised and radicalised and then not...or something like that. I read his blogs and they are often funny, insightful but always interesting.

Factory Girls is a book we should all read. Interviews and writings about the women who work in the factories in China where most of our stuff comes from. It reveals the internal migration that has already changed the face of China. After the Tiananmen anniversary last week and reading all the op-ed articles about the 'modern' China, this one has gone back to near the top of my list.

Ann Michael's new novel, quite a few years after her beautiful work Fugitive Pieces is th recent release The Winter Vault. Can't wait. Not sure when I will get to it but still can't wait. It sounds like poetry or an immersion into a warm luxurious bath.

Lush Life by Richard price is still sitting on the bedside table mocking me. Oh dear. Mike says its a fantastic read. I loved Clockers and he is a great writer. Crime and New York City. Perfect. But when?

Jane Allison's The Sisters Antipodes sounds like a remarkable biography of growing up, parental betrayal and the fall-out of selfishness. It also sounds almost unbelievable but it is all true.

And last but not least on my list is Seth Godin's Purple Cow. It has been around since 2003 and it still sells like hotcakes. How to make your business (or just you) remarkable. I'm sure I need to read it. I'm going to read it. Soon. Along with his other books, especially Tribes and then there is...

Professor Chris O'Brien died last night in Sydney's RPA hospital. As a cancer clinician and then as a patient with brain cancer he changed policy, attitudes and lives within and without the health system. His book Never Say Die is worth a read even if you have never, or imagine you never will, come up against cancer in your life.

Dr Charlie Teo, the extraordinary neurosurgeon who not only was friends with O'Brien but operated on him a number of times, is also worth reading about. Susan Wyndham has written a book, Life In His Hands: The True Story of a Neurosurgeon and a Pianist, detailing one of Teo's most incredible patient's, Aaron MacMillan, a 24 year old classical pianist, and his road through a tragic diagnosis and onto Teo's operating table.

And while we are on the surgical side of things, Gabriel Westons' Direct Red is from a female surgeons point of view detailing what it takes to become a surgeon (and a female one) and is full of beautiful writing, insights and empathy for all the players from patients through to harassed, over-tired and arrogant specialists. And Mohamed Khadra's book Making The Cut: A Surgeon's Stories of Life on the Edge is a revelation of how it feels to stand in the operating theatre every day amid the swirl of health politics and difficult choices regarding patients treatments.

And for a related read, try Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight. She wasn't a surgeon but she was, at 37 years old, a renowned brain scientist when a blood vessel burst in her brain. My Stroke of Insight is her memoir of reconstructing herself - from walking and talking to her identity - the long road back to a new self. It is a compelling and fascinating read.