This was a completely new topic for me. For some reason I’ve heard a lot about bird watching recently – it seems that now that the number of species has declined people are interested in seeing what is left. Or maybe they just want to feel closer to nature.
Amy Tan has written fiction that has done quite well but I am not so interested in the themes she focuses on (identity, sisterhood, Chinese-American culture) so this was my first time to read anything of hers.
I liked her sense of humor throughout the book – she was writing this through the pandemic and clearly bird watching helped her cope. I was envious of all the free time that she had for this – a beautiful home with a big yard and nothing to do but monitor the birds all day. She also did some beautiful illustrations – after reading the foreword and preface I thought we’d get childish renditions but in fact they were really good. I guess it is a case of underselling in advance to manage expectations.
Having said that, the book didn’t really resonate with me. Probably because I’ve never done this activity, but also because bird watching is a localized activity – birds seen in her backyard will be completely different from my backyard. I was learning the incredibly detailed behavior patterns of birds that I will likely never see for myself. Maybe people living in the Bay Area will get more of this book.
Next I am reading Goodbye to Clocks Ticking by Joseph Monninger.
