Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 A good read but a bit too gushing July 16, 2008
I enjoyed reading this book and agreed with virtually everthing in it, but the author's uber-enthusiasm for his subject (which I share) did occasionally grate. He establishs in the first few pages that he really likes birds, but then restates this on every other page, occasionally deviating to say that he really, really likes them; or that's how it feels in any case.
The problem is that Simon Barnes is a journalist, and journalists feel they have to give readers their money's worth with every sentence. A longer, less gushing book would have been better, with more information about the birds themselves. Also, who is the author trying to kid? He is clearly not a 'bad' birdwatcher but a good and experienced one.
Having said this, for someone starting out as a birdwatcher, or thinking about starting, this book will provide real impetus and explains very well why the hobby is worthwhile. An even better book with a similar theme is Mark Cocker's 'Birders; tales of a tribe'. If you are going to buy one of these books buy that one, if only because Cocker deserves our ever-lasting gratitude for writing 'Birds Britannica'.
 Don't believe the few negative reviews September 10, 2006
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I've long since been a fan of Simon Barnes' - due to his regular spot in the RSPB magazine. However, the book exceeded my expectations. It seems I've been a bit of a bad bird watcher for a while, but he's unspired me to improve my birding skills without worrying about not being "good" enough. I may be wrong, but I suspect those that found his refreshing humour to be "patronising" are, in fact, "good birdwatchers".
Insightful book for good or bad birdwatchers August 31, 2006
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Like many birdwatchers I'm quite a bad birdwatcher. I enjoy watching birds and consciously try to improve my birding skills but can't be bothered with scanning through a flock of 500 gulls to find the elusive white-winged bird or 500 terns to find the one that may possibly be of the rarer roseate variety. Whether you are a good or bad birdwatcher or maybe not even a birder at all, there is plenty to enjoy and discover in this book.
How To Be A Bad Birdwatcher is an amusing book on how to watch birds by journalist Simon Barnes. It serves as a witty introduction to beginners and acknowledges facts to more experienced birders which they had realised inside but never fully expressed or thought through. In the book, the Award-Winning writer cleverly uses simple language and well-reasoned arguments to make fundamental, quite complex points on why we like watching and identifying birds, how to get more involved in birdwatching and much more.
How To Be A Bad Birdwatcher is a delightful, easy-to-read book. It is recommended for anyone who has a vague interest in birds as well as providing telling anecdotes to those of us who are already birdwatchers - good or bad ones.
fell in love with it August 3, 2006
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
My son-in-law gave this book to me and my husband, as we started birdwatching about two years ago (I can't say we are good yet, but this summer we were overjoyed to realize just how many birds we already "knew", several by their song, or even just by their jizz ). So I started reading it listlessly, thinking it would be a dry effort of humor about the joys and sorrows of birdwatching. I did not get what I bargained for. What I got was a book that grabbed me by the shoulders and delighted me with unexpected and delectable surprises. It was a book that I couldn't wait to get back to, that I started each new chapter with a fluttering heart, wondering what next ? . I definitely fell in love with it. And with Barnes, too, if you want to know the truth.
It is only about birdwatching on the peripheries (and even here, it is not like anything you'd read in a regular bird book, I can guarantee you). In its essence it is about a man whose way of looking at life has changed thanks to these lovely and mysterious creatures of the air, and who would like to let others in on the secret. I know what he means. I have always loved nature, and yet how much more I get from it now that I see (and look for) the birds ! It is like I was only seeing one-half, no, one-third of the picture before. It is also a soul-baring book : to write so philosophically about one's relationship with nature, to then wrap it all up in a veil of humor takes insight and courage. For example, Barnes writes, My understanding of the tree, the butterfly and the pebble has altered in some cruious way because I know their names. That is because knowing something's name is a highly significant thing. It is the most significant thing you can tell someone about yourself. An American will announce his name with this first breath ; the English prefer to keep people waiting before imparting that treasured scrap of information.
It is a book of poetry : But there he was against the cold blue sky, every feather picked out by the low winter sun, and he sang his song of spring and gave it absolutely everything. It was a song that made the whole day better. A common bird : a rare moment.
So buy it, read it, treasure it. And then go watch birds like your life depended on it. Because more than you know, it really does.
Beautifully written June 8, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Part autobiography, part philosophy, part user manual, part call to arms, this book takes Simon Barnes' fascination with birds and nature at large as the starting point for an assessment of our shifting relationship with our environment and reminds us of the importance of the small pleasures, not forgetting along the way to dispel many of the myths about birdwatching which might deter the person who is more keen than knowledgeable.
While I think I understand some of the other reviewers' doubts about the tone of the book, it is undoubtedly beautifully written and is to be highly recommended to anyone with any interest in the world about us.
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