A Field Guide to Little-Known & Seldom Seen Birds of North America

This is my kind of book: birding and satire, for ornithological observers who can take a joke. Like most birders, I have not seen too many of these species, but this authoritative, reliable guide offers practical tips for where and how to find them, or not. Maybe you have even heard or seen one of these birds, but didn’t know what it was. Some of the species might evolve millions of years from now, given the effects of climate change, etc. Or they may have evolved already, faster than we might have guessed. Some are well-adapted, others are not. Many have onomatopoetic, often eponymous calls that, if heard, would be useful and easy to learn. This guide is organized by color-ish.

The Late Starters Orchestra

If you have never played an instrument, or used to and have been away from it, wanting to go back, “The Late Starters Orchestra” is worth considering. The orchestra from this book’s title is the New York City version of a Late Starters Orchestra, just for that kind of person. The author of course is a member, in the cello section (it’s strings only). However, the book is not just about this music group but more a memoir of the author’s personal life, music and otherwise. The big goal in sight is to play the cello at his sixtieth birthday party. He was lucky to have had a great teacher, whose voice he remembers throughout the book, encouraging him when few others will. His wife, eleven years younger than him, must be very patient as it seems they clash in many ways; yet, they manage to work things out. And, in case the cello never worked out for him, he has his youngest son begin with the “Suzuki method,” the workings of which are big in this book. From there his son opens up to other kinds of music, and the two of them grow musically in their own ways.

All Fishermen Are Liars

Anything fish-related catches my eye, even though I am not really a fisherman. That is why I am interested in books like this, to better learn why people like to fish. If you were to read only one book to do the same, this is a good choice. I am fascinated with the beauty of ichthyofauna, trout in particular, but wouldn’t know where to begin if handed a fly rod. I had to kind of pass over some of the technical terms, like the numbers assigned to pieces of equipment. However, after reading enough of this I feel I have a better sense of the tools. This is not textbook-like information but rather the author’s personal experience and how he uses the gear in the field.

Untamed

Carol Ruckdeschel is awesome. So is Will Harlan, for doing his research and telling Carol’s story so well. Her last name only appears a few times in the book, so I want to state it up front to help remember this remarkable person. Before I started the book, my first thought was “what a badass!” – in the good way. She chose a lifestyle that isn’t exactly in line with the American Dream, but is, I think, commendable and worthy of consideration, given our place in the greater ecosystem of this planet. Worth considering that while it’s not for everyone, those that choose it shouldn’t be neglected or denied support simply because they’re different. What made Carol different? Everything. Where to begin?

The 53rd Parallel - full review

I only got to read about half of this book before I ran out of time, but I was enjoying it. The style provided a clear setting and feel for the characters’ inner emotions. What I think drew my interest to this book was the fishing, and, though I didn’t see the whole picture, a story of the fight for natural resource conservation. I study fish, despite not being a fisherman myself. Given that the author has been a fishing guide, I figured there would be some good inside views on that, and there are.

The story goes back and forth between Ireland and Canada, and the two meet up. Brian is the Irish fishing guide who has a dream of leading his own guide services in northern Canada. He has a painful struggle with alcoholism, but meets Maureen, who offers to help him realize his dream. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, we read about an Ojibway tribe, their way of life, and the positive and negative interactions they have had with foreigners in their home land.

At first I was reluctant to read about a character involved with IRA, but thought it would be good to become better informed about that group. And though I haven’t been there yet, I feel some form of nostalgia for Ireland, maybe through ancestry? The Canadian setting is more familiar to me, as I imagine it to be much like northern New England. I didn’t finish this one, but I can say that it is a vivid style with very realistic people trying to overcome their conflicts, both internal and communal.
* * *

The Bees

I was very lucky to win this in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. As in other cases, I may not have read this book otherwise, and I feel really fortunate to have come across such a cool book! I received an advance reading copy, so it had its share of typos and errors, and I didn't realize at first that the author is English, so some words are different, but not by much. That out of the way, this is a really cool book, and, I think, a great accomplishment.

Seedtime

I couldn’t finish this, so I hope that what I have to say isn’t too biased. Think of this post as a sort of open letter. I hate to write a bad review, but if I’m going to keep up with this, there’s always the chance that not everything I read will be good. Right from the prologue, it seemed to me like the author was a bit impressed with himself as a writer, but I tried to give the book a chance, and made it through the first four chapters. I hoped his experience as a ‘sower’ would support it all, and I was expecting more natural history, but it’s more like random poetry, which was disappointing. I had a hard time thinking of just seeds, and not the plants they grow into, and it was never really clear to me what they mean by “seedtime”. The author’s own experience as a farmer would have been more interesting – I’m sorry if I missed that in the other chapters, but what I did read felt like it wasn’t saying much, and couldn’t hold my interest or patience. I do read a lot of this kind of writing; maybe I was getting tired of seeing some patterns (or even clichés) emerge again and again. I might have enjoyed it more at another time; or, someone who doesn’t read as much nature writing as I do might prefer it. 

The Science of Shakespeare

A hypothetical conversation between a young (“almost nine”) William and his father opens this book. The two comment on what may or may not be a new star in the sky, with the father asking his son to speak in Latin. This helps set the tone with regards to the science and the language of the day. Shakespeare lived in interesting times; surely the breakthroughs in scientific thought interested him? Dan Falk addresses this question to great effect, drawing from the work of other researchers but synthesizing it all under a new light.

The Word Exchange

The last fiction I reviewed was a short story collection; this time it’s a novel. This allows the reader to get a better sense of the characters’ personalities, though a strength of the book is that you are never quite sure what their role is in all of this. I will try to avoid spoilers! This book, especially towards the end when the pieces may be coming into place, even shows the power of love in desperate times and what (some) people may do under extreme circumstances. Some of the chapters are from one character’s diaries, and really are like a journal – trying to jot down ideas for the sake of memory, and the sidetracked conversation one often has with pen and paper – or whatever technology was used in that world. The vocabulary and wide reading (references to obscure authors or philosophers) are sometimes a bit much, but keep in mind that they work for a Dictionary. Presenting things as a definition has almost become a cliché, but the chapter titles here are clever. The use of newspaper clippings, letters, pamphlets and other printed(?) forms are well-done. Footnotes play an especially interesting role, and are handy on an e-reader. Beyond the diary entries, the author did seem to put in perhaps too many details of her own life. It is important for a writer to do so – what else do we write about? – but it threatened to distract from the main plot, which is exciting enough on its own. Please remember, too, that the copy I read was an advance reading proof.

The Homing Instinct

Finally! It took me a while to get through this, but I was distracted, between big life events and many of the other books I want to read, have started to read, or finished reading since my last post. This is the first Bernd Heinrich book for me to read; I had been wanting to read something by him for a while. At first I wasn’t sure, but I think this was a good one to start with. It is a collection of loosely related pieces. About half of the book is about the science of migration, and the other approximate half is personal memoir, pertaining to the author’s own homing instinct. The timing proved to be appropriate for me, in a symbolic way: the day I began reading, and the day I finished, I was away from home, but in between, and for over a year now I have been at home and wanting to move on. However, I love my home, and understand Heinrich’s feelings about the Maine woods he grew up in.