The Book of Birds: On being a reader
As a passionate supporter of independent bookshops I am delighted that Hamish Hamilton are supporting sales through independents by offering an indies only edition, signed both myself and Robert, with a print of yellowhammers enclosed within the cover. So common in the hedgerows when I was a child, these birds are now in such decline, though I have been lucky enough to witness small flocks of late.
The publishers have put together an amazing map, and a ‘link tree’ to help you find a stockist for these signed copies with teh print enclosed. This is a growing list.
Bricks and mortar bookshops are real islands of peace for me. I’ve been to so many bookshops, and love their individuality. Booksellers who recommend reads based on really knowing their customers, or simply curate their stores to allow browsers to quietly stumble upon treasures. Some of the best books I have read have been put into my hands by booksellers who have a passion for helping books connect with readers, making books come alive.
I do write, I do illustrate, but above both of these things, I am a reader, and I love spending time in the pages of a good book ( currently reading Hamnet, which I bought so long ago it had faded on my shelf, and I cannot remember where it came from, but I wanted to read it before watching the film). Other good reads of late; What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, not only bought from Mr B’s in Bath, but published by them, The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower and The Witch in Winter all by Katherine Arden. And I loved The Will of the Many, by James Islington, which was recommended by one of Mr B’s booksellers. Indie booksellers help us navigate through he tides of literature more surely than the algorithms of digital booksellers.
Meanwhile I have been working hard on helping the Spellsongs crew create an object of desire in which to package the music that has grown from the Book of Birds. This is one of the pieces that will be nested inside the box that contains the cd and download code.
The Book of Birds has been years in the making. A seven year long praise song carrying in the wings of its pages love and loss, both human and avian- a song of hope against the tide.
When I was a child I watched my dad drawing. He was secretive, but I was intrigued. This is what he was drawing. This lapwing. In all my years of moving house I have kept it. The paper is foxed, the drawing is precious. I found it today whilst packing the work to take to the scanner and it quite floored me.
My dad died right at the beginning of working on this book. He taught me to look to the skies for the winged wonder of these creatures. I wonder now what he would have made of the book that Robert and I have created together.
Two things I also wonder.
Do you have a favourite bird? One that you will always look for, perhaps in a habitat, or as the seasons turn?
And do you have a favourite bookshop?
Hmmm… A favourite bird? Too many to count, from Bushtits to Golden Eagles. If I had to list one, it would be the Anna’s Hummingbirds who come to the feeder attached to our kitchen window. We have them all year round, but the birds we have in summer are not the same ones we have in winter. There’s a delight in standing at the counter and looking up to see a hummer sitting there – knowing they flew up, saw you and landed anyway.
A couple of years ago I was sitting half in the sink and cleaning the window when a female Anna’s showed up and started haranguing me about something. I very slowly started backing away and she kept advancing, still chewing me out until I thought, “I have a hummingbird in my kitchen.” When she finished with her tirade she flew off.
Favourite bookstore? Munro’s Books.
Hugs,
M&M
Hoping to go to Munro’s in the fall. Wouldn’t that be an amazing thing!
The little troglodytes, wren, a survivor.
I was hoping to pre-order one of your and Robert MacFarlane’s Bird Book copies. However now I know that you use Amazon, the highly nature destructive company, to distribute your books, I will refrain. Please think, as a writer of books about the conservation of nature, how this affects nature. We all want nature to thrive but we all need to consider the destructive impact of our behaviour on our fragile Earth. In support of my reasoning please read today’s The Guardian’s report on the UN’s chief, António Guterres, call for economies to ‘move beyond GDP’ as a measure of economic and societal success. kind regards Corrie
I cannot stop publishers using Amazon. I don’t like it. ( understatement) I have also tried to close my Amazon account but it is so hard. I don’t use it. BUT, as I say, the publishers are the ones who sell the books. The more that comes to light about the company and its planet destruction the more I do not like it. So, I am sorry that you have chosen not to buy the book. I do understand your reasoning and I share your frustration.
Publishers put all the info up on the Amazon site and ask us to link to it, but I won’t. And actually, having any digital presence, including this, contributes to the environmental destructiion.
Swifts have got to be a favourite bird and sadly in decline. They are the bird of summer. Two pairs nest on my house in Kent and each year I get more anxious waiting for their return from Africa at the start of May. They will not have landed since leaving in August. I have encouraged neighbours to put up nest boxes and we have 12 pairs nesting in the road now. With luck they will all return again and bring the Summer.
A group of us swift supporters have set up a charity to promote their conservation and we actively campaign for more nest boxes and saving these aerial wonders
Blackbirds are my favourite. I love bird watching in my garden and I enjoy the way these sleek little birds hop around. They gave a cheekiness about them somehow. I like their shape and the glossiness of their wings and the touches of orange in legs and beak. I was delighted to see one in my garden lately after some months of absence as a result of their numbers being affected by a virus carried by mosquitoes. I’m an artist and I often feature blackbirds in my paintings and mosaics. I’m looking forward to receiving your book from Mr B’s Emporium in Bath.