Helen Macdonald is best known for her memoir H is for Hawk. [True confession: I didn’t finish it.] In 2020 she published Vesper Flights, a collection of previously written essays that I did finish. As Macdonald’s fans know, she is British, and many (though not all) of her experiences take place in England.
The book contains 41 brief essays showing some of the amazing creatures and events she has witnessed. In her introduction, she states, “These are terrible times for the environment. Now more than ever before, we need to look long and hard at how we view and interact with the natural world.” The collection, however, does not preach, but encourages the reader to pay attention. Essay titles are brief and intriguing: Ants, Eclipse, Swan Upping, Murmurations.
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What I’m ReadingI began working in libraries as a seventh grader, courtesy of scoliosis. My orthopedic surgeon wrote me a pass to miss gym class, so I began working in the school library to feed my love of reading. Even after my surgery to correct the curvature, I kept getting out of gym to work in my high school library and then in my college library (for pay, at last!).
So began my eventual career as a college reference librarian—after a detour into teaching high school English. Later I worked for an educational publisher before going back to libraries.
I have a reading and writing life now. I devour both fiction and nonfiction, and will tell you about some of my favorite reads, both old friends and new discoveries.
Here's some library-themed music to get you in the mood.
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