Take a photo of a barcode or cover
181 reviews for:
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Sara Dykman
3.73 AVERAGE
181 reviews for:
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Sara Dykman
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I would give this 3.5. I'm not big on memoirs, but Sara is a pretty good writer and I enjoyed her descriptions of her bicycle journey and the folks she met along the way. She did a good job advocating for the monarch butterfly and explaining the reasons for their decline in a non-technical way. (She's already a bit outdated on the science, but that's not her fault, updates come all the time). Having done some long-distance hiking, I could relate to some of her experiences with that lifestyle and the comments you get from others who don't understand. I enjoyed those parts of the book a lot - her descriptions of how she found food, places to sleep, etc.
That being said, the writing dragged on in the middle and got repetitive, it took me a long time to finish. It felt at times a chore. You could tell that the author was often (understandably) angry about environmental concerns, but it took the form of her alternating between condescension toward say, car drivers, and a forced effort at optimism that didn't always ring true.
I'm impressed with her journey, and I'm glad I read the book. But I'm also glad that I'm finished.
That being said, the writing dragged on in the middle and got repetitive, it took me a long time to finish. It felt at times a chore. You could tell that the author was often (understandably) angry about environmental concerns, but it took the form of her alternating between condescension toward say, car drivers, and a forced effort at optimism that didn't always ring true.
I'm impressed with her journey, and I'm glad I read the book. But I'm also glad that I'm finished.
I was looking for more of an adventure book, and this is definitely more of a natural history book. So mismatch of expectations. Also, the audiobook narrator was one I'd listened to previously on a book that was so-so for me and that was hard to shake off.
While reading "Bicycling with Butterflies," it is difficult to decide whether to admire author Sara Dykman more for her cycling abilities (cycling over 10,000 miles in just over 8 months) or her passion for educating people about the perils facing the amazing monarch butterfly. Dykman manages that delicate balance of educating people without accusing them, which I feel is an effective approach. Many of the challenges that the monarchs face are because of ignorance, and in raising people's awareness of these concerns, she finds many people who are willing to make the small changes that add up to big differences in the sustainability of monarch populations. Dykman succeeds in sharing her message while taking readers on an amazing adventure. Well worth reading!
Wow. As I sit here listening to the singing of the 17-year cicadas and contemplate this book, I can't help but wish I could meet the author and just spend a little time with her. This was one of the best nonfiction, travel, environmental, adventure, nature books I've read in recent memory. I made my way slowly through this book because I wanted to savor my time with it. Sara has a passion for all of God's creatures, not just the monarch butterflies, but here she shares many of the lessons she learned from them on her journey following their migration path. She is a trained biologist whose specialty is amphibians, and as she says, she didn't even really know much about the monarchs when she made the decision to follow their migratory pathway. She had done a few hardcore bike trips before, including one where she visited 49 of the states by bike (actually it may have been 48, but I think 49 sounded better). But she is an adventurer and a nomad by nature, I think, and she felt called by the butterflies. She began her 10,201 mile trip in Mexico at one of the overwintering sanctuaries for Monarchs and followed the general migration path of the monarchs into the US, up through the center of the country into Canada and back around, but in a more eastern pathway. One thing I did not realize was that the migration was a multi-generation migration where the ones who left the overwintering grounds were not the ones that returned, but rather their progeny. Although she scheduled talks throughout her ride (mostly with schools), her schedule was pretty open so that she could take detours if she wanted or arrange other stops at people's homes, people she met earlier in her trip. She shares many of her frustrations, her challenges, her sadness, her triumphs, and all along the way, she shares the lessons she's learned and her desperation to get the word out so that we as a collective can change things for the better in our environment before it is too late, not just for the monarchs, but for all of us. My garden is currently a huge mess of wildflowers, but most of them were just pretty much planted and left and I know that grapevines are choking a lot of the flowers. We get visitors, but I don't think we have any milkweed. I have been inspired that this fall would perhaps be a good time to clear out some of those grapevines and figure out a way to plant milkweed (native, and untreated with poisons). I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a good non-fiction read if you care about the environment, if you like travel books, or you're just curious about a woman who spent the better part of a year biking the migratory route of the Monarch butterflies in an effort to learn and to get the word out about protecting these beautiful creatures as well as our environment. I loved this book so much that I ordered a signed copy from a nature center that hosted one of her talks.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The ultimate feel good book for me that also weaves in inspiration to build as many butterfly gardens as possible! I will be revisiting this book.
I loved this book! It was an inspiring tale of a monarch lover trying to spread the word of the amazing monarch migration and the threatened state of the monarch. I am inspired to do even more to spread the word myself and help the amazing monarch!
3.5 ⭐ loved learning about the monarchs, even enjoyed learning about the milkweed. it was heartening to learn about all of the different folks out there caring about the monarchs - made me think that there are probably quiet communities like this supporting more things than we know. even the descriptions of the different cultures and landscape she traveled through were very well done.
but i found the perspective at times to be so self-righteous that i wanted to put the book down. and i say this as someone who deeply agrees with the need for us all to contribute to change things.
but i found the perspective at times to be so self-righteous that i wanted to put the book down. and i say this as someone who deeply agrees with the need for us all to contribute to change things.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced