Well, I think Christmas came early for me this year. I occasionally browse the nine (nine!) charity shops in our local town in the hope of finding a forgotten treasure. If I’m lucky I’ll find a book to add to my collection. Last week however, I was delighted to discover all these for just a few pounds.
Matt Sewell’s adorable illustrations in Our Songbirds, an old copy of Nature’s Playground, Nature through the Seasons by Peter A. Gerrard, Bird Sense by Tim Birkhead, Caught by the River – a collection of words on water, and Jeffrey Sachs, The Price of Civilisation.
I’m especially looking forward to Bird Sense. My children are always asking me questions like ‘if you could be an animal, which one would you choose?’. I usually say some kind of bird – an eagle or an owl. Solitary creatures with immense freedom. I do wonder what it would be like to soar over land and sea as they do. In his book, animal behaviour scientist Tim Birkhead explores what it is like to be a bird…
‘Our affinity for birds is often said to be the result of shared senses – vision, and hearing – but how exactly do their senses compare with our own? And what about a bird’s sense of taste, or smell, or touch, or the ability to detect the earth’s magnetic field?’
Not sure when I’m going to find time to read all of these, along with the other books on my reading list, but I hope to eventually get around to doing a post about each of them. If you could be any animal, I wonder which you would choose to be and why?
A lovely post and what wonderful finds! I am really not certain what animal I would be, maybe a Blackbird…they are my favourite. Have a good weekend xx
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Thanks Jane! I love listening to the blackbirds when they sing in the summer, just as the sun is setting in the evening. x
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Oh this is indeed a good treasure day. The Verde Valley where I live boosts many fine thrift stores and I love going on a good book hunt. So much fun.
A lovely post Kim. Enjoy your finds. xox
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Thanks Johanna, browsing for books is one of my favourite pastimes. I just need more bookcases now!
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Oh, Kim…I adore our little townhouse, and am so glad we have returned to the high desert BUT….even though I gave away hundreds of books before we downsized, and recently got two new bookshelves, well the garage still has many boxes of books. I need more shelving inside and where to put them is unclear at this time. I am still pretending to be in denial that I am actually going to have to downsize my books one more time.
Oh, the wonderful little gem I found today. Our library has a space for donated books to resell to raise money. I got Two Old Women by Velma Wallis..an Alaskan Native American Legend of two old women who were left behind by their tribe…betrayal, courage, survival…
🙂
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🙂 the overflowing bookshelves and boxes of books sounds like my house. A couple of years ago I had a big decluttering session and gave away a lot of books, some of which I have regretted and even bought again!! Silly me. I’m a bit more wary of getting rid of them these days. That book you found sounds interesting, I hope you enjoy it.
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These are lucky finds, Christmas indeed! My kids often ask what animal I want to be. It is always a cat but thinking about it, I also quite like to be a little blue tit. Not so sure why. Happy reading
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I love cats, but I don’t think I’d like to be one. I’m not big on hunting. But a little blue tit, definitely. I love to watch the young ones playing on my washing line in the springtime, they are so funny to watch.
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Oh, what great treasures these are! I have so often meant to find the site which would teach me bird song, as there are so many voices around throughout the year. I can identify some, but there are many, and I often think that some calls might be from the same bird.
The first animal which came to mind when I read your question was an Orca. I love them, and it always catches my breath to see them breaching the water, and that’s just on film. It would amazing to watch them up close.
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I can understand why you would choose an Orca Fim… they are wonderful creatures. I don’t know very many bird songs either. I don’t think it’s an easy thing to learn unless you know an expert in person. And unfortunately, I don’t. There are some good websites though… I must look them up myself 🙂
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I would be a fish or a bird….love to swim and always wanted to fly!
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Lovely stack of books! I adore nature books, I already had quite a lot of bird books when a fellow bird-watching chap I knew through my job in sheltered housing died, and when I arrived that day his family had thrown his books into a skip. It was absolutely worth laddering my tights to get them out 🙂 And I would want to be a bird, too, I especially love corvids, I think I’d make a great crow or jay.
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I used to want to be a deer but then I’d get hunted for here in PA. So maybe a hawk, so I could be the hunter? Ducks are cool too. Lovely lovely stack of books!
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