Monday, March 17, 2025

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan is a stunning book. It’s not one you’d read through very quickly but one you would want to pick up over time. It’s filled with delightful stories about birds, nature and personal observations.

Naturally I needed to use my favorite bird mug for sipping while reading.  (That mug made it through many years with me at work and brought me happiness in a Dilbert world)


I like the forward of the book written by David Sibley where he’s talking about early birding memories and starting a life list of birds he has seen.

When I was reading the forward I noticed she mentioned not driving and I wondered why.  Turns out she has Lyme Disease and I read about that on her website HERE.  It's a very interesting article.


Besides the commentary about the birds and observations, she also sketches the birds and does the artwork.  This labor of love is a result of our author needing escape from the state of our country and racism she encountered.  What a lovely way to channel distress into something positive.


In the back of the book, there is a selected reading list, sharing many authors and resources during the writing of this book.

If you have a bird lover in your family this would make a wonderful gift.

This book is shared with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Category: Garden


16 comments:

  1. This sounds lovely! Thanks for sharing Tina.

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    1. It's a nice book to peruse slowly. Great drawings.

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  2. Those sketches are gorgeous. I am definitely going to read this book when it's published.

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    1. Laura, I recently grabbed it from the library so it may be available to you now.

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  3. Thanks, I'll put this on my (ever growing) list.

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    1. Stacy, my book to-read list is incredibly long!

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  4. I agree, this is a beautiful book! Amy Tan is a talented artist as well as writer. I was reading it slowly, maybe an entry every day or two, and left the book up in CT. Will pick it up again this summer.

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    1. JoAnn, won't be long before you are in CT. I got my copy from the library. She's an amazing writer and I had no idea she was so talented sketching.

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  5. I remember reading The Joy Luck Club years ago, but didn't know she was an artist and bird enthusiast. This is definitely going on my TBR pile.

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    1. Kelly, I didn;t know she was an amazing artist either. The book is good and so is the linked article about her diagnosis. Thanks for visiting!

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  6. I started reading this one right around the beginning of the year. I'm only about a third of the way in, but I'm enjoying it. Definitely not something to read all at once. Her sketches are amazing, aren't they?

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    1. Les, I was reading in bits on this book. It;s surely one to take your time with reading her thoughts. A birder would probably enjoy this one.

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  7. I received a copy of the book as a gift from Christmas and I'm still looking forward to getting to it. My husband & I have become more into birding since moving two years ago to this more rural place. We have multiple bird feeders around the house and I like to watch the birds. So I'm thinking this will great to read. I'm glad you liked it. I already like the art work.

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    1. Susan, it's so nice to take your time with this book. Especially if you like birds. We have an outing planned to St Marks Lighthouse, only about 40 minutes from us and it's a mecca for folks who like birds. Alkigators and other wildlife too but the birding is good. Doug plans to take a pair of his binoculars.

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  8. I got this from the library but had to return it before I could really read it. I think I'm going to have to buy a copy because I think I want to slow read this one. My husband is fascinated by the idea of bird watching but we haven't made it happen yet. I think this would be a good book to read together.

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    1. This would be a cool book to look over together. One day this week we are going to St Marks Lighthouse so we can look at birds through binoculars. Loki needs to get his leg healed a bit more first because it's quite a bit of walking.

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