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mimsickle's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
adawada's review
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
A short recollection of the author’s relationship with the weather across his lifetime as well as some of his favourite writers. If anything, it has really inspired me to keep my own weather/nature diary. Great little read with a hopeful ending.
keepreadingbooks's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.25
I think this tiny book might be the definition of a “ramble”. Mabey touches on climate change, weather memory, and British attitudes towards weather, but it’s more a small volume of nature-inspired, personal anecdotes than anything else. I can relate to the Britishness because the weather is often similar in Denmark, and not least because I’ve spent a lot of time in Britain over the years.
However, I’m not quite sure what his intention with this teeny volume is; he seems to want to say something serious about climate change, yet it’s not a call to action in any way. Combined with his thoughts on our weather memory, it feels like he’s simultaneously trying to say “our climate is changing for the worse” and “we have always thought that the olden days were better, but they were just as bad”, muddying the message a bit. Anyway, I did enjoy the little anecdotes of weird weather phenomena and the more general nature writing, and in that sense, it was an enjoyable and cosy (and short!!) read.
cpoole's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
stewart_monckton's review
4.0
This is a slight – about 80 small pages – but nonetheless worthwhile consideration of weather, our relationship with it and eventually our impact on it.
If you are already a fan of the writing of Richard Mabey this will be a very familiar read. It contains sections of introspection, mainly about depression and mental illness, beautifully observed sections about the fine detail of the countryside and (in my opinion) a slightly too reverential approach to a small group of authors – in this case Gilbert White is singled out.
If you are not a fan – or if you are coming fresh to his work – this is about as good an introduction as you could get.
It could be read in a single sitting of less than an hour and leave you asking for more.
My only concern is that on two occasions Mabey seems to conflate meteorological and geological phenomenon. He identifies the climate of the UK to be generally benign – citing a lack of volcanoes or tsunamis. And he identifies a “halcyon day” as being caused (at least partly) but the incoming tide flowing over a bottle of wine. None of these is in any way a weather (or even climate) related event. This struck me as unfortunate.
With the exception of the point in the last paragraph I would highly recommend this book – just don’t take on a train journey that last more that 40 minutes!
If you are already a fan of the writing of Richard Mabey this will be a very familiar read. It contains sections of introspection, mainly about depression and mental illness, beautifully observed sections about the fine detail of the countryside and (in my opinion) a slightly too reverential approach to a small group of authors – in this case Gilbert White is singled out.
If you are not a fan – or if you are coming fresh to his work – this is about as good an introduction as you could get.
It could be read in a single sitting of less than an hour and leave you asking for more.
My only concern is that on two occasions Mabey seems to conflate meteorological and geological phenomenon. He identifies the climate of the UK to be generally benign – citing a lack of volcanoes or tsunamis. And he identifies a “halcyon day” as being caused (at least partly) but the incoming tide flowing over a bottle of wine. None of these is in any way a weather (or even climate) related event. This struck me as unfortunate.
With the exception of the point in the last paragraph I would highly recommend this book – just don’t take on a train journey that last more that 40 minutes!
mitchk's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
A series of short essays that explore our relationship with weather. Climate change features as the looming backdrop to each essay - but Mabey focuses on our personal, intimate relationships and experiences of weather. I love his range of references - across disciplines and centuries. Mabeys writing is engaging and informative - I love the snippets and wisdom he makes so accessible and human.
bluepigeon's review
5.0
A little gem of a book. On a day like any, I imagine, in Inverness, where the morning was hot and sunny (except for when it lightly rained), mid-day was increasingly cloudy (except for when it was sunny) and the afternoon and evening were gloomy with rain (except for a few patches of blue sky), on the last day of a two-week vacation (I mean, holiday) in Scotland (including Isle of Skye) in August, what better to do but to read this little book and contemplate how we relate to our weather, the daily, hourly, minute-by-minute of the climate happening to us? Richard Mabey argues that the whimsical weather (or any unsteadiness in the weather) is there, yes, but is also in our heads just a wee bit. From rogue bottles of wine lost in lochs to the local's landlord diving for more drink during storms, Mabey takes a meandering journey that explores our relationship to the weather.
Recommended for those who like walks in nature, swimming in cold waters, and camping in the damp.
Recommended for those who like walks in nature, swimming in cold waters, and camping in the damp.