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1.09k reviews for:
The Comfort of Crows (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Backyard Year
Margaret Renkl, Billy Renkl
4.2 AVERAGE
1.09k reviews for:
The Comfort of Crows (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Backyard Year
Margaret Renkl, Billy Renkl
4.2 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I love how Margret loves the world and writes about it so beautifully. I may have love Late Migrations a bit more because of her love for her people but I was totally inspired by this offering. I also loved the art! It is a special book. I wish the copy I read was mine instead of belonging to the library.
What a lovely book and for the first time in a long time, I'm sorry I read the library copy. Having my own copy would have allowed me to enjoy reading one week at a time and compare Renkl's observations with those of my home on a lake in central KY. It is a wake-up call to how humans and their manicured lawns and organized flower beds are doing irreparable harm to wildlife, birds, and insects.
"In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons—from a crow spied on New Year’s Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring—what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer. Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author—and from us. For, as Renkl writes, “radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world.”
"In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons—from a crow spied on New Year’s Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring—what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer. Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author—and from us. For, as Renkl writes, “radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world.”
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I loved this book. It felt like talking to a valued elder, as a mom in her 30’s, I am in my 2nd third of life, as she calls it. And I feel all kinds of ways about raising my kids during climate chaos.
I see her grief, her sadness, and her hope as she enters the last third of her life. And I feel like it is a glimpse into my future as someone with many of the same opinions and proclivities.
I connected with this piece in a way that felt poignant to me, and if you are someone who loves animals, and has experienced the pain and grief of waiting their habitat whittle away, I highly recommend this book.
I also love her husband, Hayward. I swear, my husband has looked at me as I made food for snails and said “yep” and kept moving. I know hers was for tadpoles, but same premise. Everyone needs a Hayward in their life.
Thank you for this memoir. I read it cover to cover, and I am so glad I did. I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I see her grief, her sadness, and her hope as she enters the last third of her life. And I feel like it is a glimpse into my future as someone with many of the same opinions and proclivities.
I connected with this piece in a way that felt poignant to me, and if you are someone who loves animals, and has experienced the pain and grief of waiting their habitat whittle away, I highly recommend this book.
I also love her husband, Hayward. I swear, my husband has looked at me as I made food for snails and said “yep” and kept moving. I know hers was for tadpoles, but same premise. Everyone needs a Hayward in their life.
Thank you for this memoir. I read it cover to cover, and I am so glad I did. I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Finished this one but just not the type of book I enjoy reading. Needed something lighter when reading this one.