Welcome to Litsy!

Random book from our home library:

📖 The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks

“This is my life. I want for no other.”

I have to agree with Helen Macdonald, this book really is bloody marvelous. Beautifully written. Rebanks has such love for shepherding and the Lake District that has been home to his family for generations. Look forward to reading his follow-up, Pastoral Song.

This would work for several #NaturaLitsyBingo2023 prompts (memoir, mammals, landscapes), but given the structure, I‘ll use it for Seasons.

This was absolutely gorgeous! A thoughtful, personal reflection on being rooted in, and shaped by, place and tradition, this felt slow to start for me, but then all at once became completely riveting. I loved this window into Rebanks' life and community, and it was made all the more present by the fantastic audiobook narrator Bryan Dick. I want to start Rebanks' 2021 book, Pastoral Song, but it has a different narrator so I'm torn! 😂

I‘m a few weeks behind with reviews, so let‘s start here!

I loved this. The memoir of a Lake District sheep farmer on a family farm, what that means, and the unexpected directions his life has taken him. (Books feature highly!) Warm and personable, even if, on audio, the stories sometimes jump a little.

On a personal note, this one really surprised me. From the moment he started describing his school, I

This one has me taken aback a little. Awesome stuff, but so familiar in places I‘m weirded out. And (not for the first time) forever grateful I wound up in the comprehensive school system.

Also, Audible, I‘m sure if you‘d looked REALLY hard, you could‘ve found somewhere to put the yellow flag that didn‘t cover the author‘s name. Just rude!

#randomramblingsthatonlymakesensetome

Pure pleasure. Gobbled it up in a day. Possibly made me a little homesick.

Apparently the only thing I can read right now is a quietly calm book about being a shepherd in the Lake District, and I‘m 100% ok with that.

Loved this. Worked really well as an audiobook. The stories were fascinating. The writing did jump quite a bit from one story to another, mostly without warning. However you could almost feel you were there on the farm.

This was such a fantastic read. It has stayed with me, the idea of being anchored in one place for generations. The connection and depth that can add to your life. I find myself checking in on Mr Rebanks's twitter feed and it always makes me smile.

Beautiful memoir about family, agriculture, and the old world's integration with modern industry. Memoirs can be slow but I found myself getting lost in Rebanks' portrait of the Lake District in England. Great read.

Listening to something a bit different 🐑🚜

Loved it. Well written. Unassuming. Passionate.

Came across this as part of Audible sale and HAD to have it. So went on a little online journey to find out more about it, and watched a great clip of the author at the Sydney Writers Festival. This week‘s audiobook is going to take me herding Herdwick sheep in the Lake District in England, with the help of some sheepdogs, to learn more about connection to land.

Loved this! It gave me an idea of what life is on the Lake District and not just the idyllic tourist viewpoint. Rebanks has a love of his life as a farmer and the lifestyle that he has inherited from the people who have come before him.

#LIBERTHDAY 🎈🎈🎈Happy Birthday @Liberty

I picked this book because of the blue sky, rolling hills, and sheep herd, but I didn't get very far. I'm not giving up on it though because that's a fantasy of mine - to be a sheep herder. 🐑🐑🐑 #MrBlueSky #junetunz

Am only 50 pages in and have already teared up twice. PMS-y? Yes. But a great book? YES. YES. YES.

Such a profound and poetic look at what it is like to be a modern shepherd in the Lake District. "This landscape is our home and we rarely stray long from it, or endure anywhere else for long before returning...I love this place; for me it is the beginning and the end of everything l."

A meditative yet lively look at shepherding communities in N. England.Rebanks mixes passages on the seemingly timeless traditions and practices of his inherited and chosen vocation w/ scenes of immediate toil & reward amongst his family & flock.His life as a UN adviser on sustainable landscapes & farming is linked to these but without preachy finger-wagging. Highly recommended if you are curious about lambs,the Lake District,or living in 2 worlds.

Finally cracking into my boxes (packed away these last 2 months) it's like meeting old friends 💕

#ReadJanuary Day 7 - Books About Nature

Just about the only animals out there to herd are squirrels!

Got to the restaurant early so I could chow down before book club discussion of The Shepherd's Life. #bookclub #midnightbookgirl

Writing up notes and discussion questions for tonight's @FountainBookstore Book Club meeting. Not my normal read, but I enjoyed this true account of shepherding in the modern world. It totally solidified my belief that I could not handle life in the past or on a working farm- past or present. #fountainbookstore #bookclub #midnightbookgirl

Look what this city girl got for Christmas! Gonna get my shepherd on! #seasonsreadings2016 #bookishgifts

Made it through Summer, Fall, and Winter, now I'm going to see a shepherd's life in Springfield! #midnightbookgirl #bookclub

Last night the Hubs and I went on a Tacky Lights tour with our family, and this house on the lake was just breathtaking. Another house we saw had thousands of lights, and most of them were made by the owner. There's just something #magical about Christmas lights! #midnightbookgirl #thispicturehasnothingtodowiththebookbutisntitpretty

Just a heads up for book club on December 28th.

Starting this for @FountainBookstore Book Club, although I also have it in paperback. Good so far! #midnightbookgirl #CurrentlyReading #bookclub

great read!

It took a while to charm me, but charm me it did. #Cumbria

Later I would understand that modern industrial communities are obsessed with the importance of ‘going somewhere‘ and ‘doing something with your life‘. The implication is an idea I have come to hate, that staying local and doing physical work doesn‘t count for much.

#booktober Day11 - #memorablememoirs this is what I'm currently reading. #sheepwrecked #Cumbria #Monbiot #farming #sheep

So having read 'Feral' and being persuaded by Monbiot's stance on sheep farming, I thought now would be a good time to read this.

A good read and an important book: we should all know more about farming. James Rebanks bridges the gap between rural and 'city folk'. Schools should be alive to this too, esp in rural areas.

An ode to farming; and the fulfilment of doing a job well.
"Our sense of belonging is all about participation."
Meanwhile the kids want me to participate in their life instead, so it's readus interruptis as usual ... ?

Reflecting on our relationship with animals and nature after The Vegetarian so this is my next read. #bookisholympics #book4

What to read next? Here are some from my TBR grouped into themes. Should I bring some method to the madness and which book to start with? Help! 📚

I'm still thinking about everything this book had to say on the relationship between people and the land. In addition to being a shepherd, Rebanks is an expert advisor on sustainable tourism with UNESCO. There is a thread of thoughts on tourists and locals woven through the book

A shepherd in England's Lake District writes about his life on the farm with its family history, close knit community, and ancient traditions. I have a new level of respect for shepherds after reading this. Also, the author offers interesting thoughts on the history and culture tied to a place. 🐑⛰

This book was an interesting look into a different way of life. Beautiful writing.

A year as seen by a shepherd in the Lake District, but so much more. A meditation on home, place, belonging, and connection. An uncompromising view of farm life and the realities of living in such a popular area. A must read, plus the author has a great Instagram with lots of sheep pictures!

I'd never thought much about sheep beyond lamb chops or knitwear but this memoir of a life with the woolly wanderers changed all that. This is a book about family and the natural world and having a vocation that's buried deep in your bones.