The following bit of information might have been quietly added to our Two-Fisted Library page. Or it would have made sense in our Heavy Duty Ornithology page. Couldn’t decide. So we put it here.
“Daily Sightings” takes a temporary tour into the world of the bookish. Our sighting today is a website called “The Birder’s Library.” A friend from Princeton University Press brought it to our attention. We looked. Somewhat reluctantly. But we gotta admit, we like this website.
It’s got a two-fisted commitment to a simple concept: Reviewing books and other materials about birds, birding and ornithology. Currently it has a review of a book published by Princeton, “All About Birds: A Short Illustrated History of Ornithology.” You’d have to read the review to see if you want this book. But that’s the idea.
At first we thought that spending any time with such a book would be about as exciting as watching bird droppings dry. But after reading the review, we had to admit that some interesting things are revealed. Ornithology has a somewhat hidden history. And there are pictures.
The Birder’s Library website has reviews of countless books about birds and birding, including kids’ books, field guides, even fiction and periodicals. It also reviews CDs, DVDs and I-Phone Apps. It’s a labor of love created by a guy who loves this category.
With all the craziness we hear about every day on CNN (gotta stop watching that), it’s nice to know there’s an honest guy somewhere who’s a bird book librarian. A guy who cares about an honest sub-category of a sub-category and has made something meaningful out of it for anyone else who cares. Like us.
We give two fists up for Birder’s Library. (http://www.birderslibrary.com).
