melodictus's review
5.0
Now I simply want to wander through the British forests to do some owl-watching.
oceans_hannah's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
An informative and charming book on owls with pleasant narration.
cooeeaus's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.75
silverberry's review
4.0
Only short but beautifully written, fascinating facts, history and folklore. It has made me want to read more by this author.
bookwomble's review
informative
fast-paced
2.5
Meh.
Swathes of factoids that might be gleaned from Wikipedia, padded out with a chunk of the Middle English poem The Owl and the Nightingale, and with a couple of nods to "intelligent design" and creationism, I was underwhelmed and won't be bothering with anything else by this author.
Lovely owl sketches by Beci Kelly, though.
Swathes of factoids that might be gleaned from Wikipedia, padded out with a chunk of the Middle English poem The Owl and the Nightingale, and with a couple of nods to "intelligent design" and creationism, I was underwhelmed and won't be bothering with anything else by this author.
Lovely owl sketches by Beci Kelly, though.
thelastcolour's review
3.0
a cute little book that was a delight to read beneath the tree in our garden
baldingape's review
3.0
This book was disappointing.
I don't know that much about owls, but most of what I already know is pretty much here in this book.
This was my first John Lewis-Stempel book, and I plan on reading more of his books, but this book didn't live up to expectations fed from blurbs I've read stating that he is one of the best nature writers out there.
I'm sure it's true, but there isn't much of anything new to learn about owls from this book. Unless you don't already know that many owls are nocturnal, they have silent flight, and their hearing is magnificent.
Though I did learn a new way of saying it was 'dusk' owl-light! I like that. I will be using it in the future.
This is more of a book to have to dip into to remind yourself on some basic owl facts.
Having said that, you can see that he has an enthusiasm for the great outdoors and the animals in it. And I suppose that is what makes him a good nature writer.
I don't know that much about owls, but most of what I already know is pretty much here in this book.
This was my first John Lewis-Stempel book, and I plan on reading more of his books, but this book didn't live up to expectations fed from blurbs I've read stating that he is one of the best nature writers out there.
I'm sure it's true, but there isn't much of anything new to learn about owls from this book. Unless you don't already know that many owls are nocturnal, they have silent flight, and their hearing is magnificent.
Though I did learn a new way of saying it was 'dusk' owl-light! I like that. I will be using it in the future.
This is more of a book to have to dip into to remind yourself on some basic owl facts.
Having said that, you can see that he has an enthusiasm for the great outdoors and the animals in it. And I suppose that is what makes him a good nature writer.
arwenundomiel03's review
informative
fast-paced
5.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and was utterly enchanted. I have always adored owls - finding them wonderful, beautiful and graceful creatures - with charming, definitely wise looking features (although, of course, they aren’t actually particularly wise - their eyeballs taking up the majority of the space in their skulls, and as John Lewis-Stempel says in the book - being significantly less intelligent than crows and other corvids). I have come to learn through listening to this book however, that there is a great deal more to these wonderful birds than I previously knew: from their folk law status as bringers of death and doom (due to their nocturnal behaviour), to the fact that the eggs of owls have (largely, I believe) never evolved any pigmentation, due to their owl’s continual use of a variety of naturally occurring holes to ‘create’ their nests, which has meant that they have never needed camouflage, nor identification markers. (Lewis-Stempel, J. 2018)
If you have any interest in these magical birds at all - be it that you simply find them pretty, or you are in fact an ornithologist - this book is a must read! You will fall in love with them many times over, and lament the fact that so often human activities are at the detriment to these fabulous creatures.
If you have any interest in these magical birds at all - be it that you simply find them pretty, or you are in fact an ornithologist - this book is a must read! You will fall in love with them many times over, and lament the fact that so often human activities are at the detriment to these fabulous creatures.