The Sunday Salon and Getting Back to Nature

There's something about the beginning of a new year that gives me pause. I don't make resolutions anymore, although I do contemplate things that I'd like to accomplish. This new year, more so than most, has really made me stop and think about what is really important in life. I don't know if this is because of my aging years or because of the craziness happening that started with the pandemic, but things feel different. Of course my family and friends are important. Those relationships give me purpose and hope. But I have also found comfort in the natural world around me.

This year my husband and I planted 2 raised bed gardens. It was a thrilling rollercoaster of emotions as we watched and waited to see things grow. We planted mostly small tomato and pepper plants bought at a local farm, but I did manage to find some Clemson Okra seeds and planted one small row of those too. Every morning, coffee in hand, we would inspect the gardens and thrill at the micro inches that we noticed with our naked eyes. The Okra looked pathetic, but we persisted in babying them along and months later we had incredible strong and tall stalks filled to the brim. We woke up to our tomato plants being devastated by insect or animal and learned about Tomato Hornworms. Though they wiped out my tomatoes one summer day, I was fascinated by them. Once spotted, they didn't scurry away, they kept on their mission or at least they were enjoying themselves too much to be bothered with us. On a gardening site someone suggested I buy a blacklight flashlight and search for them at night. Sure enough any interloper feasting on our plants lit up light a Christmas tree and we were able to move them to a more suitable location.

We also have a huge pear tree in our front lawn and every year since we've been here, which would be almost 3 years now, the tree gets so heavy with fruit that the branches bow to the ground. Pears fall and make an incredible mess. But strangely as I walked out one day this summer I noticed there were no pears on the ground. I was amazed and wondered who might be feasting on those. Maybe the deer I spotted on our security camera munching on our fresh winter crops? I don't know, but I loved watching them, 3 baby deer and their mother, play near those gardens and nibble to see if they liked brocolli. 

Have you looked outside around you lately? There is a world outside that goes on without much bravado or fanfare. A world that will bend to our will if need be, but is content to "do its' own thing" unnoticed. Besides our own observations, have you read any books that coaxed you to "stop and smell the roses"? Of course there are the classics, such as Bill Bryson's A Walk in The Woods, or anything written by John Muir. I might even venture to mention Born Free by Joy Adamson, which I read as a teenager and remember crying my eyes out. But I've never really been a big "nature" reader. This year seems to be the year of change though and I have a few books on my nightstand waiting for me to crack the spine and find a nice comfy chair to slowly turn some pages...

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil... As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted―no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape―she was able to turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance. “What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world’s gifts.

This was my original pick for First Book of the Year this year, but I really wanted to read and finish "that first book" as a pleasant distraction and World of Wonders seemed more like a book I would enjoy reading a chapter a night. So I will start this book after I put down my "First" book and leisurely enjoy it. Published by Milkweed Editions in 2020, it is also Barnes and Nobles Book of the Year of 2020.

Braiding Sweetgrass:  Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer... As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert). 

When I first opened this book and read in the preface... 

"Hold out your hands and let me lay upon them a sheaf of freshly picked sweetgrass, loose and flowing, like newly washed hair… Hold the bundle up to your nose. Find the fragrance of honeyed vanilla over the scent of river water and black earth…” 

...it brought me back to my first visit to Charleston, SC and the Charleston City Market where the Gullah artists weave Sweetgrass Baskets that are beautiful as well as functional. I found one I could afford and brought it home with me, filling my livingroom with that wonderful smell. One of the ladies braided a few pieces together and handed it to me so I could enjoy putting it up to my face and breathing in that earthy clean smell. And if Robin Wall Kimmerer could capture that in the first few sentences of her book, I wanted to read more of her writing. She has gotten rave reviews for this book, and it is on my wishlist now. Probably soon to be on my nightstand!  Published by Milkweed Editions in 2013.

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World by Peter Wohllebeh... Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.

A small book that really had a lot of buzz back when it was published in 2016 by Greystone Books. Almost reminding me of the buzz around The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird in 1989. I had picked this book up and was fascinated with a section I read on the way the trees in a forest look out for one another. But as I said I'm not a big nature reader, so for some reason I never finished the book. Now I am determined to. As with some books, there is a right time to read them and this feeling of connection around me is motivating me. How about you? 

Do you read books about the Natural World? Nature essays?

Maybe you've found yourself at home more than usual these last 6 months or so and had the opportunity to spend more time outdoors. Being retired I'm able to sit around more, but usually find myself busier than I was when I was working. But this, this nature thing, I think I'm going to read more about it. I know I've enjoyed paying attention this past summer and this winter. I hope you get a chance to too...

Weekly Update...

Monday, January 4th... Memoir Monday! Learn about cute Matthew McConaughey and his new memoir Greenlights. Follow the link to read about this interesting and fresh outlook on life.

Friday, January 8th... First Lines Friday! Follow the link to read the first lines of a great book to see if it's your cup of tea!

Hope you find something here that piques your interest! And if you've found a great book, please share it here! I love hearing about great and interesting books!

In the meantime, stop by this week to enjoy more of Memoir Monday and First Lines Friday and maybe some other interesting bookish talk.

Happy reading... Suzanne

First Book of The Year 2021

Happy New Year! And Happy New Books Year! Every year for the past 8 years, Sheila over at  Book Journey has hosted the First Book of the Year. I'm going to look back, but I think I have picked out a first book every year for all those years.

This year I had originally picked out World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. But I was having a hard time finding a copy anywhere! Even the big box store online was out of stock. Barnes and Noble had chosen it as its Book of the Year 2020 and IT was out of stock online, BUT it said that one of the Barnes and Nobles in "the big city" about a 45 minute drive from here DID have a copy... so off I went.

Of course I couldn't just walk in and pick that book up and leave! No, I had to wander around. A bookstore is like a candy store to us readers, so I was in happy land. After a few hours I was back in the car driving home with a small bag of books... (I'll share those books here Sunday for my Sunday Salon post) One of which was my original choice for First Book of the Year, and another book that will be the first book I am also going to read for my first book. Let me explain...

World of Wonders is this beautiful little book of natures essays, 28 to be exact, that quietly bring you back to what matters. Aimee is an award winning poet, but here she uses her skills with the pen and her subtle observations to write about such subjects as the Catalpa Tree, the Narwhal, and even the flamingo. But these aren't long drawn out essays, these are like little poems, love notes of a page or two that let us relax in a world we may have temporarily forgotten. And it's because of that that I want to linger among the pages and have decided to read World of Wonder over time. Enjoying an essay or two every night until I turn the last page. So it will be "technically" my First Book of the Year, but I won't finish it first...

So what book will I finish first? That would be... Good Dogs Don't Make It to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold. I had briefly read something about this book. Basically it's a story told thru the eyes of a dog. I like dog books. I've read quite a few books where the dog is telling the story... The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, Finding Mr. Right by Emily Carmichael being two I loved... so I was interested. Then I read the inside jacket flap, about "A funny and touching tale...told thru the eyes of a grumpy yet lovable mutt" which made me want to read it more. And finally the author is Norwegian, which made it a slam dunk because I have enjoyed other Norwegian writers, such as Jo Nesbo and Karin Fossum. Of course the later two authors write crime fiction, but there is a certain style to their writing I like. 

My First "Books" of the Year 2021 will be one to relax by and regain focus for what is important, something that I think we all need to do after all the craziness of 2020, and one to make me smile, which is something we all need once in a while too. 

What will your First Book of the Year be?

Will it be funny, sad, advice? Will it be a book to set the mood for 2021? Will it be funny, sad, advice? Let me know in the comments below what you're pick will be! and in the meantime, come back on Sunday to see what other books I brought home with me!

Happy Reading.... Suzanne

The Sunday Salon and Dirty Books...

 Welcome to The Sunday Salon and The Sunday Post! It's that day of the week bloggers from all over the internet get together virtually in a large gathering place called The Sunday Salon and talk books!  And at The Sunday Post, which is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, in which more bloggers share their bookish news!

It's a sunny day in Connecticut this Sunday, and I am confident that Spring is coming! I say that as a dare more than a statement as we actually did have SNOW yesterday. But no matter the weather, my soul is stirring and I'm ready to awaken from my 4 month hybernation to enjoy the outdoors once again. Getting back to nature, that's what it's all about this week as we look at "dirty books" or books about nature. What are some of the things that you enjoy when the weather turns a little warmer and getting outside isn't a major ordeal? I enjoy getting back to nature... Look in the trees and bushes for our feathered friends, looking into the sky and night and seeing the stars, and watching the seeds I plant grow into what nature promised (and the seed pack packaging promised too!).  Here are some new books to help welcome the spring with and aim your reading in a different direction...

One Wild Bird at a Time by Bernd Heinrich... The acclaimed scientist/writer's captivating encounters with individual wild birds, yielding "marvelous, mind-altering" insights and discoveries.

Heinrich returns to his great love: close, day-to-day observations of individual wild birds. There are countless books on bird behavior, but, writes Heinrich, “some of the most amazing bird behaviors fall below the radar of what most birds do in aggregate.” Heinrich's “passionate observations [that] superbly mix memoir and science” (New York Times) lead to fascinating questions — and sometimes startling discoveries. A great crested flycatcher bringing food to the young acts surreptitiously and is attacked by the mate. Why? A pair of Northern flickers hammering their nest-hole into the side of Heinrich's cabin deliver the opportunity to observe the feeding competition between siblings, and to make a related discovery about nest-cleaning. One of a clutch of redstart warbler babies fledges out of the nest from twenty feet above the ground, and lands on the grass below. It can't fly. What will happen next?   Heinrich “looks closely, with his trademark ‘hands-and-knees science' at its most engaging, [delivering] what can only be called psychological marvels of knowing” (Boston Globe). 

Bernd Heinrich is a wonderful writer. I have enjoyed other books he has written about birds and nature and am so looking forward to reading One Wild Bird at a Time. Even if you're not a "birder", I am confident that Bernd Heinrich's writing will draw you in! This is on my wishlist! Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it will be available April 12th at your local bookstore!

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Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery... Emma Gatewood was the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person—man or woman—to walk it twice and three times and she did it all after the age of 65. This is the first and only biography of Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, who became a hiking celebrity in the 1950s and ’60s.

 She appeared on TV with Groucho Marx and Art Linkletter, and on the pages of Sports Illustrated. The public attention she brought to the little-known footpath was unprecedented. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction. Author Ben Montgomery was given unprecedented access to Gatewood’s own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence. He also unearthed historic newspaper and magazine articles and interviewed surviving family members and hikers Gatewood met along the trail. The inspiring story of Emma Gatewood illustrates the full power of human spirit and determination.

Who can resist a story about a 65 year old grandmother hiking the entire Appalachian Trail! After reading other "walk" books (Wild by Cheryl Strayed!) I'm thinking this will be interesting in its own right. Not directly written by Grandma Gatewood. On my TBR list! Published April 1st by Chicago Review Press, Inc.

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In recognition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s long and lauded career as a master essayist, a landmark collection, including her most beloved pieces and some rarely seen work, rigorously curated by the author herself. “A writer who never seems tired, who has never plodded her way through a page or sentence, Dillard can only be enjoyed by a wide-awake reader,” warns Geoff Dyer in his introduction to this stellar collection. Carefully culled from her past work, The Abundance is quintessential Annie Dillard, delivered in her fierce and undeniably singular voice, filled with fascinating detail and metaphysical fact. The pieces within will exhilarate both admiring fans and a new generation of readers, having been “re-framed and re-hung,” with fresh editing and reordering by the author, to situate these now seminal works within her larger canon.


The Abundance reminds us that Dillard’s brand of “novelized nonfiction” pioneered the form long before it came to be widely appreciated. Intense, vivid, and fearless, her work endows the true and seemingly ordinary aspects of life—a commuter chases snowball-throwing children through neighborhood streets, a teenager memorizes Rimbaud’s poetry—with beauty and irony, inviting readers onto sweeping landscapes, to join her in exploring the complexities of time and death, with a sense of humor: on one page, an eagle falls from the sky with a weasel attached to its throat; on another, a man walks into a bar.

I'm not really a reader of essays, but when I pick up a book of essays or read something that is considered an essay in a journal or newspaper, by a good writer, I enjoy them. Why don't I read more essays?! Maybe for the same reason people shy away from poetry-- the unfamiliar territory. But in any case, Annie Dillard is a wonderful writer and she writes essays. I checked her book, The Abundance, out from the library this weekend and have enjoyed her writing. Not really a "nature" book per say, but her observations of the world around us. Among her body of work is Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which won her a Pulitzer Prize and has been reissued...

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is the story of a dramatic year in Virginia's Roanoke Valley. Annie Dillard sets out to see what she can see. What she sees are astonishing incidents of "beauty tangled in a rapture with violence." 

Both of these Annie Dillard books published by Harper Collins and are available now.

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The Cabaret of Plants by Richard Mabey... A prolific and talented British nature writer explores 40 plant species and how they have influenced the human imagination over the centuries.


From Kirkus Review: Comprised of equal portions of knowledge, delight, and surprise, Mabey’s botanical history advocates for elevating the status of plants within the natural world. Rather than being taken for granted as passive vegetation and viewed as merely “the furniture of the planet,” the author recounts “a story about plants as authors of their own lives and an argument that ignoring their vitality impoverishes our imaginations and our well-being.” Each section opens with a brief essay presenting a theme—e.g., “How To See A Plant,” “The Shock of The Real: Scientists and Romantics,” “The Victorian Plant Theatre”—followed by an exploration of specific plants. For those unschooled in botany, these preliminary excursions are nifty gateways into the unknown. Mabey artfully combines historical and contemporary scientific writings, literary musings, and his personal recollections concerning his plant subjects. The author ranges across time from the interest showed by Paleolithic cave artists and the vegetation in their environment to how both Neolithic farmers and 18th-century scientists attempted to understand the mysteries of agriculture and plant cultivation. Though many of the individuals and a handful of the plants Mabey discusses may be unfamiliar to some American readers, the author skillfully melds together this bounty of insights, opinions, and scientific facts into a coherent and intelligent narrative, overcoming any initial unfamiliarity readers may experience. Numerous drawings and photographs enhance the book. What Mabey does best is invite readers to think about plants in a radical new way, even posing the question as to whether a plant’s sensory abilities—electrostatic charges, chemical communication through pheromones and bio-acoustic sound waves—actually constitute intelligence.

Richard Mabey is a well known British nature writer that I was not familiar with, but while at the library this weekend I happened to pick his book (this book) up and found it so interesting. This book got a star review from Kirkus, and I checked it out to read it more in depth. Published by W.W. Norton & Co., it is available now.


Weekly Wrap-up... 
*Wednesday I reviewed Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift, you can find my review HERE if you missed it. Loved the book!

*It's still National Poetry Month! Read all about it HERE!

*Friday I posted a video of poet Rachel Zucker reading her poem "Please Alice Notley..." Click on the poem to hear Rachel read it.

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Question... Do you read "Nature Books" or "Essay" Books?

So, that wraps up our "dirty books" for this week! I'm looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the sun and the abundance of nature! Reading about nature is not my main type of reading, but when the urge strikes I do enjoy it. Hope you find something to spark your inner "nature girl" or boy. And if you do read these types of books, please share your favorites! I'd love to have more books to explore!

Happy reading... Suzanne

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey... A Review

Is it a memoir or a beautiful piece of nature writing? It is both, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about a Neohelix albolabris, the common woodland snail, and encourage you to pick this book up and escape into a world you may never have known to exist...

Elisabeth Tova Bailey found herself suffering from a debilitating unknown illness that left her with severe neurological symptoms and virtually bedridden all the time. As her illness progressed, and as she had to move out of her farmhouse and to a place where she could receive the care she needed, she felt herself more and more isolated from the outside world. One day a friend brought her a small pot of flowers and while walking through the woods spotted the perfect accessory to her gift- a small snail.

"I found a snail in the woods. I brought it back and it's right here beneath the violets."

"You did? Why did you bring it it?"

"I don't know. I thought you might enjoy it."

"Is it alive?"

She picked up the brown acorn-sized shell and looked at it.

"I think it is."

Why, I wondered, would I enjoy a snail? What on earth would I do with it? I couldn't get out of bed to return it to the woods. It was not much of interest, and if it was alive, the responsibility-- especially for a snail, something so uncalled for-- was overwhelming.

My friend hugged me, said goodbye, and drove off.

As the snail quietly came to life, and the hours of Elisabeth's isolation grew, a certain curiosity took over Elisabeth and she began to research the genealogy & life of her snail... The snail became the perfect companion to the hours Elisabeth spent in her own flowerpot, and she found an amazing similarity to her own life and that of the snail...

"The life of a snail is as full of tasty food, comfortable beds of sorts, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant adventures as that of anyone I know."

The story itself is sprinkled with snail lore, poetry and ancient & current studies. It is a fascinating glimpse into nature that is simply & beautifully written. It is a quiet story, filled with wonder. The story is a slim 170 pages from start to epilogue, with beautiful soft pencil drawings by Kathy Bray, and could be easily finished in one sitting. But to really enjoy it, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating should be slowly sipped like a delicious elixir...

Beautiful prose with a wonderful dash of nature writing that challenges us to slow down and observe the smaller world around us. In this wonderful observation of nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey weaves her story with that of the common woodland snail, to teach us that life is worthwhile no matter how large, or small, your shell is... this would make a wonderful gift for any nature lover, or for someone recovering from an illness.

Memoir Monday... To See Every Bird On Earth by Dan Koeppel

"Throughout my childhood, as well as now, our time together was focused on birds: Dad watching them, and me watching Dad watch them.".... Dan Koeppel

Still being in my "back to nature" frame of mind since yesterday's hike, I thought a memoir connected to nature somehow would be appropriate. To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, A Son, and A Lifelong Obsession by Dan Koeppel came to mind. I read this a few years back when I first started birding. According to the National Audubon Society, birding, or bird watching, is the number one sport in America. According to US Fish and Wildlife Service, there are currently 51.3 million birders in the United States alone. There are the casual birders who enjoy watching the birds from their back porch, or bring a pair of binoculars along with them when going out for a walk. And then there are the more serious birders... people who go on bird walks, and migration adventures, take notes and keep lists. Then there are the very serious birders... The people who have Life Lists and goals and travel all over the world seeking out birds to check off on their lists, and those lists are BIG. Dan Koeppel's father is the latter kind of birder, a man who wanted to devote his life to ornithology, but followed the path his parents set out for him of becoming a doctor, and this is his story as told by his son.

From Publisher's Weekly... For some people, bird watching is a compulsion that can become more important than friends, family or career. Richard Koeppel is one of those obsessive birders, and in this candid book, his son shares his story, painting his father as a tragic figure who passionately wanted to become an ornithologist but became the doctor his parents wanted him to be instead. Not surprisingly, Richard's medical career never satisfied him, and he gave it up to become a "Big Lister," one of a group of highly competitive birders who travel the world making lists of their sightings. Over the years he spotted more than 7,000 different species, a number achieved by fewer than a dozen others. Nature writer Koeppel fleshes out his account of Richard's 50-year bird-watching odyssey with facts about this ritualized, expensive sport, including its history, the rules and technicalities of listing, the people and organizations devoted to making the lists, and questions of taxonomy. His hope, he writes, was to forge a closer relationship with his father and understand the "nearly unquenchable" drive that ruled Richard's life, ruined his marriage and made it impossible for him to be close to his children. But in the end, despite trekking alongside his father on birding expeditions, he still can't quite understand it. His book, then, is more poignant than revelatory.

There are approximately 9600 species of birds found on the earth, and only 900 species are found in the United States. It takes a certain kind of obsession and determination to try and see every bird on the earth. Only a handful of people have checked off 8000 birds, but there are many who seek that goal. To See Every Bird on Earth is a book about birds, obsession, father & sons and nature. If you don't get what the big deal is about birding, you will after you read this book. It is well written, with an honesty and tenderness only a son can show his father. It's an interesting read and I really enjoyed it! (Even before I knew what a Passerine was. What's a Passerine? They are what perching birds are classified under!)

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!