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Turned Out Nice Again
Turned Out Nice Again: On Living With the Weather | Richard Mabey
13 posts | 3 read | 10 to read
In his trademark style, Richard Mabey weaves together science, art and memoirs (including his own) to show the weather's impact on our culture and national psyche. He rambles through the myths of Golden Summers and our persistent state of denial about the winter; the Impressionists' love affair with London smog, seasonal affective disorder (SAD - do we all get it?) and the mysteries of storm migraines; herrings falling like hail in Norfolk and Saharan dust reddening south-coast cars; moonbows, dog-suns, fog-mirages and Constable's clouds; the fact that English has more words for rain than Inuit has for snow; the curious eccentricity of country clothing and the mathematical behaviour of umbrella sales. We should never apologise for our obsession with the weather. It is one of the most profound influences on the way we live, and something we all experience in common. No wonder it's the natural subject for a greeting between total strangers: 'Turned out nice again.'
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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

Does a snowy landscape qualify as “nice”? @Mitch I loved this slim, charming little collection! Very British, which totally enhanced the read for me. I adore nature writing and this is the perfect entry into the genre as it‘s short and sweet without heavy science-y descriptions bogging the reader down. Never heard of the author but now he‘s on my list. @monalyisha I‘m so grateful to you for this #NYWD match. I have even more to look forward to!

Chelsea.Poole @monalyisha #NewYearWhoDis is a life-enhancer! My first time participating and I‘m going to be so so sad if I don‘t pay enough attention to sign up every year! 😆 ♥️ 2y
monalyisha What a compliment! Thank you! 🥰 I‘ve added this one to my list, as well, and am also looking out at a snowy landscape today. ❄️ 2y
Mitch So glad you liked it. It was a mellow, quirky read and whilst undemanding - left me reflecting lots on my own relationship with weather! 2y
94 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
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My #NYWD stack from @Mitch 📚
I‘m going to commit to the tagged, top book of the stack for January and hopefully start one of the others soon after. I also have Braiding Sweetgrass and The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective on hold at the library and should come soon. #NewYearWhoDis

monalyisha I still just so love this list/stack. 💛 Enjoy! 2y
Mitch A nice quirky short one to start - a perfect choice! 2y
92 likes2 comments
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Mitch
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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.

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Mitch
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Just starting another one of those books that I originally bought for a Christmas present for a friend - but it‘s now on my shelf and I need to buy another one! That‘s the problem with the buy early approach! 😊

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TheEllieMo
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#JuneStats 10 books, mostly serial killers!!

#JamminJune @Eggs

Eggs Yayy good month !! 👏🏻📚👍🏼 4y
37 likes1 comment
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TheEllieMo
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Why Brits always talk about the weather

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TheEllieMo
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I have to say, Wilde is at odds with the tagged book, which I am reading at the moment.

#Refuge #QuotsyJun20 @TK-421

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Bookwomble
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Quality of my decision to walk to the shops "while there's a break in the rain" = Poor! ?☔?

Weaponxgirl Oh no! 😆 4y
Bookwomble @Weaponxgirl It was a good excuse to get back in my pyjamas 😊 4y
Weaponxgirl Do you ever really need a excuse 4y
Bookwomble @Weaponxgirl It can be a struggle at times, to be honest, but, no 😄 4y
23 likes4 comments
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TheEllieMo
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This book is an exploration of the British preoccupation with the weather.

#Nice #HollyJollyReading @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

marleed Your pic made me smile. Yesterday I received an umbrella as part of a goodie package I won in a charity bid. I said to my kids as I opened, ‘Oh and an umbrella. I never buy them because I break them on day one.‘ I opened it up and sure enough one of the metal parts was already broke! ...And I‘m intrigued to read this book. 4y
OriginalCyn620 😂😂😂 4y
23 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Bookwomble
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Pickpick

Mabey has a conversational style ideally suited to the topic of the British weather, a style he blends with a thoughtful lyricism. Thankfully, he isn't overblown and his prose feels grounded, earthy and real. Some interesting and sobering reflections on climate change.
The original edition was published in 2014, the edition I read was published in 2019, with two additional essays.

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Bookwomble
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“Weather is a kind of Rorschach test. We see in it what we need to see, or what we feel is missing from our lives.”

Cathythoughts I love this quote 👍🏻♥️ 5y
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Bookwomble
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"Every winter forty million tonnes of desert sand is sucked up from Chad by the wind and whisked 5,000 kilometres across the Atlantic to gently descend on the Amazon basin. It is the main source of new minerals in Amazonia, a fertilisation on a global, Gaian scale without which the rainforest couldn't survive."

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dus...

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Bookwomble
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What could be more British than a book about the British weather? I started a lovely conversation today with a total stranger just by commenting on the sunshine we've had the last few days. Of course, we both agreed it couldn't be relied upon to last! ☀️🌤🌥🌦🌧⛈☔😊