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notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted most of these to be a bit longer, but the ones that were really good were great.
meaglovesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Animal death
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't think I would even like this book, but actually I loved it.
I didn't know what I was getting into. It's non-fiction, and I wouldn't call it a collection of essays so much as vignettes, tiny meditations on themes. Interspersed with personal meditations about her family history are observations and poignant meditation on nature. They weave together like a nest and cradle a nascent unstated belief that learning to accept the constant change of nature can help you accept the uncontrollable and constant change of life. In observing the good and the "bad" in nature, the inevitability of things humans could frame as dark or tragic next to the myriad of beautiful things looking closely at nature can bring a sense of balance, and peace.
Renkle doesn't harp on balance or try too hard to teach lessons, and also her prose is gorgeous. I'm sending a few copies to people I think would love this, and recommending it to a few friends.
PS I listened to this on audiobook, and as usual, I listened at 1.5 speed. But I have read that the physical book has nature illustrations from the author's brother, and people in my book group who read the physical book had a harder time getting into it than those of us who listened. I'm ordering a copy of the book which I think I'll flip back through or re-read.
I didn't know what I was getting into. It's non-fiction, and I wouldn't call it a collection of essays so much as vignettes, tiny meditations on themes. Interspersed with personal meditations about her family history are observations and poignant meditation on nature. They weave together like a nest and cradle a nascent unstated belief that learning to accept the constant change of nature can help you accept the uncontrollable and constant change of life. In observing the good and the "bad" in nature, the inevitability of things humans could frame as dark or tragic next to the myriad of beautiful things looking closely at nature can bring a sense of balance, and peace.
Renkle doesn't harp on balance or try too hard to teach lessons, and also her prose is gorgeous. I'm sending a few copies to people I think would love this, and recommending it to a few friends.
PS I listened to this on audiobook, and as usual, I listened at 1.5 speed. But I have read that the physical book has nature illustrations from the author's brother, and people in my book group who read the physical book had a harder time getting into it than those of us who listened. I'm ordering a copy of the book which I think I'll flip back through or re-read.
teachingkids1982's review against another edition
4.0
First book of essays I’ve ever read they were fantastic…
alexandra_dillard's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
allisonrb's review against another edition
Didn’t finish it before it was due back at the library.
hannahbrette's review against another edition
5.0
I first heard of Margaret Renkl when I listened to her read “Be A Weed” on the radio in March. That essay changed my perspective - continues to change my perspective months later - about what to make of the hard news days, how to find a way when it feels like there is none. This perspective has come in handy during a year where hard news days come, it seems, more often than not here in Nashville.
Naturally, I became a Margaret Renkl mega-fan after listening to that interview without having read a single other piece of her work. I’m glad I finally got around to changing that this October. And while “Be A Weed” is always going to mean a little bit more to me, resonate a little bit deeper, than the other essays in this book, those essays are every bit as special.
Plus, let’s be honest: as a child that lived in Alabama and an adult that now lives in Nashville myself, anyone who writes about the “GO TO CHURCH OR THE DEVIL WILL GET YOU” sign on the interstate just past Prattville and the lake where a bald eagle occasionally fishes (which I can only assume is the same Nashville lake I also sometimes visit to try and catch a glimpse of the bald eagle fishing) will have a special place in my heart.
Naturally, I became a Margaret Renkl mega-fan after listening to that interview without having read a single other piece of her work. I’m glad I finally got around to changing that this October. And while “Be A Weed” is always going to mean a little bit more to me, resonate a little bit deeper, than the other essays in this book, those essays are every bit as special.
Plus, let’s be honest: as a child that lived in Alabama and an adult that now lives in Nashville myself, anyone who writes about the “GO TO CHURCH OR THE DEVIL WILL GET YOU” sign on the interstate just past Prattville and the lake where a bald eagle occasionally fishes (which I can only assume is the same Nashville lake I also sometimes visit to try and catch a glimpse of the bald eagle fishing) will have a special place in my heart.