Title - Better Living Through Birding Author: Christian Cooper Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: I absolutely loved this book! I’m a casual birder and I love books about getting outside and exploring nature. Initially, I thought the book would be mostly about birding but it’s so much more. Christian Cooper has lived a very adventurous life and is an awesome writer. I highly recommend his book.
Description (Audible): In Better Living Through Birding, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today. From sharpened senses that work just as well at a protest as in a park to what a bird like the Common Grackle can teach us about self-acceptance, Better Living Through Birding exults in the pleasures of a life lived in pursuit of the natural world and invites you to discover them yourself. Equal parts memoir, travelogue, and primer on the art of birding, this is Cooper’s story of learning to claim and defend space for himself and others like him, from his days at Marvel Comics introducing the first gay storylines to vivid and life-changing birding expeditions through Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Himalayas. Better Living Through Birding recounts Cooper’s journey through the wonderful world of birds and what they can teach us about life, if only we would look and listen.
Description (ChatGPT): Better Living Through Birding is the kind of book that makes you want to trade in your daily grind for binoculars and a field guide. This charming memoir by Christian Cooper (yes, the Central Park birdwatcher) is part personal journey, part avian adventure, and all heart. Cooper’s wit is as sharp as the beak of a red-tailed hawk, and his passion for birds is infectious—whether he's describing a rare sighting or unraveling the complexities of human nature. In a world that sometimes feels a little too noisy, Better Living Through Birding offers the perfect reminder that nature’s quiet beauty can still teach us a lot about patience, observation, and the joy of simply being present. It’s a feel-good read that might just inspire you to start your own birdwatching habit—or at least, to look up from your phone every now and then.
I swore to go back again soon but only just recently returned to hike the Lewis River Falls Trail from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls. The awesome Lower, Middle and Upper waterfalls and amazing old-growth Douglas-fir / Western Red Cedar / Hemlock forest make this one of the most spectacular hikes and rides in the PNW region!
