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pmoreside's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know if I “got” creative non fiction before, but I think I do after reading this book.
floatingcoward's review against another edition
Finished as physical book instead of audio
njones97's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
3.75
a really touching collection of essays about birding and life’s big and small worries
especially loved the formatting of the book and the way maclear takes us through a year in her sketchbook
especially loved the formatting of the book and the way maclear takes us through a year in her sketchbook
ladylizardxvii's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book I will have to revisit! I listened to it on audiobook this time through and loved the way Maclear writes in such an easy, conversational way. This book inspired me to get creative, both in writing and art again, and I will always hold it in high esteem for that!
apar's review against another edition
5.0
I worry that there might be a cost to living a defended life and moving through the world as an unstoppable self. The cost of joy.
Birds, Art, Life, Death is a slow, careful, beautiful meditation on…well, birds, art, life and death. The entire book reads like a long, slow breath, a quiet absorption in life.
Kyo Maclear has a quiet, steady voice, a *strong* voice, to air out her thoughts, fears and vulnerabilities. She does an excellent job of describing her relationship with birds and birding, with creating and fearing, with childhood and adulthood. She captures smallness—in birds, life, and moments, and gives it a sense of infinitude through connections.
“[w]orry is a constriction. A mind narrows when it has too much to bear. Art is not borne of unwanted constriction. Art wants formless and spacious quiet, anti-social daydreaming, time away from the consumptive volume ng of everyday life.
Like so many works of nature writing and memoir, the narrative occasionally dips and rises and dashes off in unexpected directions. And like the best of nature writing and memoir, she maintains control of her material, taking you in a direction; not necessarily toward answers, but toward a re-contextualising questions.
When I ran away as a teenager I was running from ideas about my character and my future and my purpose in life. I was running away from a story about dutiful daughters. I returned because I did not know where I would go or who I would be without these ideas.
Birds, Art, Life, Death is a wonderful piece of writing and storytelling that is going to stay with me for a while.
The birds tell me not to worry, that the worries that sometimes overwhelm me are little in the grand scheme of things. They tell me it’s alright to be belittled by the bigness of the world. There are some belittlements and diminishments that make you stronger, kinder.
samanthamenzo's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
dcliz's review against another edition
3.0
A gem of a book that I read because my workplace book club selected it (I work for the Audubon Society). I enjoyed it, but did not find it engrossing, hence the three stars. It generated a good discussion. If you read it, come armed with post-it notes or another way to record some of the written treasures. There were many times I missed being able to "highlight" a profound sentence because I was not reading it on my eBook reader. I read much of it in an afternoon at a city pool. It's the type of book that is pleasant to read on a lounge chair outside.