Beaks, Bones, and Bird Songs

Birds are amazing, and not just because of Roger Lederer’s (or my) bias. His new “Beaks, Bones, and Bird Songs” is a comprehensive book about birds, not limited to the elements mentioned in its title. In particular, he explains the evolved physical and behavioral characteristics of these animals and why they’re important in the face of threats ranging from the immediate to long-term. There is always a trade-off, a disadvantage for every advantage. However, it’s not a totally bleak picture: how adaptable birds can be comes up many times in many ways. Plus, there are many unknowns, meaning more areas for future research, which can help inform conservation.

Genesis

In jazz, the Real Book is the standard book of standards, where each song takes up one page, sometimes two. Here in “Genesis” Eduardo Galeano follows a similar layout, but rather than sheet music for popular songs, it is condensed history of the Americas. This is the first of three volumes in his Memory of Fire trilogy. The first part of this volume is only about a fifth of the whole. It begins with pre-Columbian myths, and with the history that follows, is neither fiction nor nonfiction. 1492-1700 are the years, up to the near-present by the end of the trilogy. Not everything happens in South America nor is even limited to the Western hemisphere: certain momentous occasions in Europe fit in the timeline as well. I found that if you only read one or two of these one-page stories at a time, it is not easy to follow, and perhaps a little too disconnected for one book. However, this is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and for a serious student of Latin American history, Galeano’s work is classic. Keep an eye out for these e-books, as they are sometimes on sale for significant discounts.

The Drawing Lesson

This is just what I needed. I read “The Drawing Lesson” in pretty much one sitting and will be reading it again and again. I draw birds and stuff – mostly birds. Like everyone else, I want to develop my own style, but I also needed more info on some of the basics in visual art. For example, what author Mark Crilley calls “negative space” (this is probably the common term in professional art), which is like the pieces of the picture that don’t really have interesting details yet hold the whole drawing together. One thing that makes this such a helpful book is how it summarizes each lesson and builds upon all previous lessons.