Not My Favorite Reading, Recently

 

In response to my post about the beavers in my childhood imagination (Beaver Dreams), blogger David Gascoigne at Travels with Birds recommended the book Beaver Land by Leila Philip. I’ve read about half of it, but I’m pausing or maybe giving up on it because it’s too full of people without enough beavers. In fact, up to the point where I stopped reading, the author rarely sees a live wild beaver — if ever. Her experiences are mostly with dead beavers caught in traps or being skinned and turned into meat. Beavers are elusive, no doubt about it. 

I’d like to read some natural history, but at the moment I’m not in the mood to read about a lot of fur trappers, conservationists, quirky animal lovers, and historic voyagers. My negativity about this perfectly good book is about me, not about the book. I’m finding it to be a pretty typical story of a person’s search for information about an unfamiliar topic — quite similar to the works of Sy Mongomery, who similarly relates her interactions with animals and the people who work with them. At least Montgomery usually has some vivid encounters with the animals she writes about.

I’m disappointed in this book, and I guess I’ll save the second half for another time. Now I need a new idea of what to read.

Elizabeth Strout

My Name is Lucy Barton is ok but predictable. I liked Elizabeth Stout’s other books better, I think, especially Olive Kitteridge. Lucy is supposed to be very self-aware (I think) but I find her a bit whiny. I thought I would read this book first, then the author’s newer ones. However, now I’m not inclined to read any of the sequels including the one that was published this week.

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