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I can see why BETTER LIVING THROUGH BIRDING is so popular! Christian Cooper‘s enthusiasm really shines through. I‘m enjoying it a lot and I want to prioritize his comics the next time I have a Marvel Unlimited subscription.

That said, either the print book has teeny, tiny typeface or I find his prose style very slow. It‘s taking me forever to get through these 296 pages and my progress-to-effort ratio has made me a bit grumpy. #AuldLangSpine2025

Read in 2024. Definitely one of my favorites from last year. I listened to the audio read by the author, which was wonderful & got to hear various birds. Cooper highlighted the incident in Central Park but this book is about so much more. He discussed what led him to birding, his experiences of growing up gay in the 1980‘s, traveling the world to see birds. He interweaved his social justice with the various events throughout his life.

Final Nonfiction #ReadingBracket2024
Many great, informative, moving reads this year but this one I read back in January and I still think about it 🐦

Foreman is known for her heavy YA stories and this is no exception. I really liked the title and how it tied into the 3 YA characters
The good - she has created 3 very distinct and diverse characters with 3 unique dramas and in the end they fold nicely together
The bad - this is a bit slow to get going with a bit too much focus on each character's backstory right out the gate - lots of flashbacks inside of flashbacks.

#SummerSouls #park Every time I have gone to New York, I try to visit some part of Central Park. A treasure! When it was first built, the common complaint was it was too far north, the city would develop that far out.😂 New York wouldn‘t be the same without this amazing space.

April #ReadingBracket2024 nonfiction update
Of the two I read this month, my favorite was Leg. But Better Living Through Birding is beating everyone for the whole quarter still 🐦

Like many (most? all?) other Litsy members, I have more lists and stacks of books than time for them all. This one was a Christmas present, though, and made its way to the top of my bedside stack. I am glad. Just finished it, and found it informative, thought provoking, and entertaining.

I'll be filling out both book bracket designs throughout the year to see if they yield different results, but probably just gonna post one each month here on Litsy.

Here's my nonfiction choice for January. This was no contest the winner. I love a good memoir any day but this one had that extra something to make it great. Maybe it was the bird songs sprinkled throughout 🐦😉
#ReadingBracket2024

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/YJpgEI4IAoA

Enjoy!

This was such a beautiful memoir exploring race, sexuality, and societal pressures, all through the lens of nature, specifically birds. You might know Cooper from his viral racial experience in Central Park with a dog walker in 2020. In this book he chronicles his life leading up to that experience and how being a nerdy, gay, Black man obsessed with birds prepared him in ways he didn't expect.
His story is inspiring and lovely to listen to 🐦 5🌟