News first before I get to the book review. First and foremost on a personal level. I spent a good chunk of time this evening finishing my first hat. It's not perfect, it's not even good, (it's a little big) but I'll wear it with pride. My plan is to do a hat and scarf combination and have them ready to go for next winter. Hat down, scarf should take me a couple of months with how slow I knit. The hat cost me a skein of yarn and a couple hours of work, but I've never been prouder. Well anyway, here is my new hat.
In different news, some of my readers have found this blog through BigRedKitty's excellent blog. I am gladdened and saddened to hear that he is throwing in the towel. Saddened because I won't have his incredibly entertaining writing to cheer me each morning. Even not being a hunter I enjoyed his in game and out of game stories. His self-depreciating humor and witty turn of phrase made him one of the most popular WoW blogs out there. But I'm gladdened because he made the decision for the right reason. He has figured out that he's spending too much time playing WoW, and writing about WoW, and has been neglecting his family. As much as I enjoy the game, real life takes precedence. So I salute him for making the tough choice but for making it for the right reasons.
And now to the book review. As I mentioned I've been interested in birding lately. That extends to my reading as well. So when I was in the library and spotted "A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All" by Luke Dempsey I had to pick it up. I'm glad I did. This is an entertaining read partially for the journeys and the birds seen. This book sent me to the Cornell University Lab for Ornithology multiple times. After reading about the rare birds they were searching for I would go to the website to see pictures and learn more about the species.
The three mad birders in the title are just that. The book followed the author along with two rather unique friends as they travel across the country birding. There are trips to Texas, Michigan, Florida, Washington, and Arizona, to name a few. Dempsey mixes a good conservation message with sheer love of birds. As he mentions, they are not listers, but they want to see as many species as they can. But, like me, he is not willing to leave a beautiful bird just to make another checkmark on his list. The love and respect the author has for birds comes through clearly. This is part bird book, part travelogue, and part memoir. And it's all interesting.
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