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A review by tashillia
Good Birders Don't Wear White: 50 Tips from North America's Top Birders by Lisa White
funny
3.0
I expected this essay collection to be more universally applicable that it turned out to be. But here is the warning: if you don't drive, own a backyard, are not from North America, and do not subscribe to the idea of being "good" at a hobby, you may find some of the essays not quite relatable.
Most essays are accompanied by nice and funny illustrations which I liked. Some chapters did accomplish what I expected from the book: the comfort of "discussing" my hobby with like-minded authors. Unfortunately, birding does not equal birdwatching by some definitions and is soooo exhausting to read about if you are not a lister and are in general non-competitive. So, some sport-memoiry parts did distract me from tips and fun moments to some extent. The fact that the last section is all about becoming a "good" birder did not help (final pages often make a book, for me at least)- really, if someone is on track to become the next David Sibley, don't they already have an action plan?
One huge positive thing I want to point out is that this collection did not have any of the self-deprecation that is often present in hobby writing - probably due to the fact that for many of the authors birding is also life's work.
Tl;dr: fun, but mostly not for me. I did learn a little about serious birding, though, and got some ideas I might want to try out. I also see how it must be fun for its actual target audience.
Most essays are accompanied by nice and funny illustrations which I liked. Some chapters did accomplish what I expected from the book: the comfort of "discussing" my hobby with like-minded authors. Unfortunately, birding does not equal birdwatching by some definitions and is soooo exhausting to read about if you are not a lister and are in general non-competitive. So, some sport-memoiry parts did distract me from tips and fun moments to some extent. The fact that the last section is all about becoming a "good" birder did not help (final pages often make a book, for me at least)- really, if someone is on track to become the next David Sibley, don't they already have an action plan?
One huge positive thing I want to point out is that this collection did not have any of the self-deprecation that is often present in hobby writing - probably due to the fact that for many of the authors birding is also life's work.
Tl;dr: fun, but mostly not for me. I did learn a little about serious birding, though, and got some ideas I might want to try out. I also see how it must be fun for its actual target audience.