Animals

The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany

The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-16 10:51:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Graeme Gibson
  • ISBN：0385547137
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Summary

Featuring a new foreword by Margaret Atwood！

In this stunning assemblage of words and images， novelist and avid birdwatcher Graeme Gibson offers an extraordinary tribute to the venerable relationship between humans and
birds。

From the Aztec plumed serpent to the Christian dove to Plato's vision of the human soul growing wings， religion and philosophy use birds to represent our aspirational selves。 Winged creatures appear in mythology and folk tales， and in literature by writers as diverse as Ovid， Thoreau， and T。 S。 Eliot。 They've been omens， allegories， and guides; they've been worshipped， eaten， and feared。 Birds figure tellingly in the work of such nature writers as Gilbert White and Peter Matthiessen， and are synonymous with the science of Darwin。

Gibson spent years collecting this gorgeously illustrated celebration of centuries of human response to the delights of the feathered tribes。 The Bedside Book of Birds is for everyone who is intrigued by the artistic forms that humanity creates to represent its soul。

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Reviews

Garry ，

The Bedside book of Birds， an Avian miscellany by Graeme Gibson。 Underwhelming， odd， depressing collection of poems and prose extracts mentioning birds in them。 Peculiar。 

Literature Lattes ，

🕊Book Review🕊Thank you to @doubleday for this gorgeous gifted book！ “The Bedside Book of Birds” is a beautifully illustrated collection of excerpts relating to the winged creatures！ Filled with snippets on birding history， superstitions， bird/human interactions and more！✅ Beautiful Poems✅ Amazing Artwork ✅ Anthology Format ✅ Inspired by Nature✅ Perfect Coffee Table BookHighly Recommend for Bird Lovers！🦢🦩🕊🦤🦚🐓

Ruby ，

I started reading this， and then put it where the title suggests， on the bedside table， and then proceeded to never open it again。 Moved it to the living room table， and it did finally get looked at。 Very nice collection of pictures and writing of all types curated by Margaret Atwood's husband， Graeme Gibson。 I started reading this， and then put it where the title suggests， on the bedside table， and then proceeded to never open it again。 Moved it to the living room table， and it did finally get looked at。 Very nice collection of pictures and writing of all types curated by Margaret Atwood's husband， Graeme Gibson。 。。。more

Barbara ，

I picked up The Bedside Book of Birds at a local library book sale。 It was an interesting compilation of writings about birds edited and introduced by Graeme Gibson。 The book was divided in to sections， each with a somewhat lengthly introduction by Gibson。 The only thing commonality among the writers and writing was the topic of birds。 Some of the pieces were out of date and politically incorrect。 Some were quite violent and gruesome。 Since I really did use it as a bedtime read， I didn’t appreci I picked up The Bedside Book of Birds at a local library book sale。 It was an interesting compilation of writings about birds edited and introduced by Graeme Gibson。 The book was divided in to sections， each with a somewhat lengthly introduction by Gibson。 The only thing commonality among the writers and writing was the topic of birds。 Some of the pieces were out of date and politically incorrect。 Some were quite violent and gruesome。 Since I really did use it as a bedtime read， I didn’t appreciate those as much。 I liked the book enough to finish it and to order a used copy of Graeme’s other book， The Beside Book of Beasts。 Interesting fact: Graeme Gibson was Margaret Atwood’s partner before passing away in September 2019。 。。。more

Sally Hegedus ，

The book is artistically beautiful！ The cover art， the numerous drawings， paintings， photos of artifacts— they are the best part of the book。 Some of the paintings I would love to have framed on my walls at home。 The book’s pages are thick and smooth。 It’s very nicely made。 But I have some disappointments with the writings which were chosen for inclusion。 I found too many of them to be depressing and even upsetting。 Stories of man’s cruelty toward birds， examples of our role in the extinction of The book is artistically beautiful！ The cover art， the numerous drawings， paintings， photos of artifacts— they are the best part of the book。 Some of the paintings I would love to have framed on my walls at home。 The book’s pages are thick and smooth。 It’s very nicely made。 But I have some disappointments with the writings which were chosen for inclusion。 I found too many of them to be depressing and even upsetting。 Stories of man’s cruelty toward birds， examples of our role in the extinction of bird species， of abusing and killing birds for our own enjoyment。 I get that the author is an avid bird lover and wants us to be aware of our cruelty， to educate people， in hope of preventing those beliefs and behaviors from continuing， but it was just too much for me。 I actually skipped over a few of the writings once I saw where they were headed。 I wish the author had included more pieces which celebrate the beauty of birds， their songs， the ways they live in and and vitally contribute to the ecosystem。 。。。more

Meghan Copeland ，

Very interesting collection of stories and poems about birds。 I plan to spend a fair bit of time reviewing the references in the back for more things to read！

Devan Marques ，

The best things about this book are the illustrations and the paper quality。 I would deem it suitable for a bathroom read， but I didn’t learn anything。 Miscellanies can be done quite well， but this was not。

Ilana ，

I picked this one up aaaages ago， maybe over a year even。 Was really enjoying it too， but it got lost amidst the piles and piles of other half-started books about the place。 There are many many such like， which are much loved but lie semi-abandoned about the place。 I have too many books and that is a fact。 But one I am very happy to live with。 At some point at the end of last year， I made a promise to myself to finish it， reading small bits from it on a regular basis， as I said， "because it's th I picked this one up aaaages ago， maybe over a year even。 Was really enjoying it too， but it got lost amidst the piles and piles of other half-started books about the place。 There are many many such like， which are much loved but lie semi-abandoned about the place。 I have too many books and that is a fact。 But one I am very happy to live with。 At some point at the end of last year， I made a promise to myself to finish it， reading small bits from it on a regular basis， as I said， "because it's the kind of book you read from in small morsels anyway。。。 or that you peck at。。。 like a bird。" I’ve taken photos of some of the gorgeous artwork in this book along the way to share on Instagram （artist credits at bottom of post）， and a couple of poems too， such as the following: This is a wonderful collection of short pieces around the avian theme which is a delight to page through。 It features excerpts from novels and short stories; I was pleased to find a few pages from Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle， which I'd read sometime in the 90s and been meaning to reread ever since， so be prepared to add to your groaning wishlist and tbr too。 This is often a very melancholy tome， as man’s relationship with birds has historically been that of predator， and they our innocent victims。 Here's a heartbreaker from The Heron by Giorgio Bassani: 。。。though wounded， though weakened by loss of blood， and consequently more anxious than ever to enjoy there， sheltered from the wind， the last warmth from the sun， at a certain moment it had thought that it was wise still， immediately， to “move on”。 The long strip of land， over there， thickly covered with vegetation， more or less the same color as its feathers， and mostly tall enough to allow it to walk there without being seen， perhaps represented what best suited the bird’s needs。 To hide in there， for the present， waiting for night， which was now near; and afterwards， afterwards it would see what could be done。 […]It went farther and farther away， painfully dragging its shattered wing after it; and he thought he could read in its narrow， obstinate little neck all this reasoning。 But how mistaken it was， he suddenly said to himself， it fooled itself to such a degree （the strip of land was all right， it would get there; but with all the blood it was still shedding， the dog， soon unleashed to search for it， wouldn’t have the slightest difficulty in flushing it）， it was wrong to such a degree， obviously， poor stupid animal， that if he hadn’t felt that shooting at it would seem， to him， shooting in a sense at himself， he would have fired at once。 Then， at least， it would be all over。 — （and then I bought The Novel of Ferrara） Countless poems and stories feature these plumed beauties， and I will be all the more attuned to the mention of birds in fiction from now on。 This volume now joins a growing collection of gorgeous Bird Books on my Natural History shelf， alongside Gibson’s companion book， The Bedside Book of Beasts， another splendid and much recommended book， though equally heartbreaking。 Graeme Gibson （August 1934 – 18 September 2019） was a Canadian novelist， a past president of PEN Canada and a member of of the Order of Canada。 Among many other things， he has been a council member of the World Wildlife Fund of Canada and is chairman of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory （PIBO）。 Half of the after-tax royaties from this book are donated to PIBO。 Probably of most interest to GR readers， Gibson lives in Toronto with his spouse， the writer Margaret Atwood。 Artwork: Goldfinch， K。 Svolinsky （1896-1986）， CzechAn owl， a heron， and a crane from Codex Canadiensis， L。 Nicolas （1634-after 1698）， FranceBuntings， A。 F。 Lydon （1836-1917）， EnglandTwo Swans， O。 Eckmann （1865-1902）， Germany 。。。more

Sharon Barrow Wilfong ，

I could not resist the cover of this book and for me it's strongest feature are the old paintings of birds from throughout history and cultures。The paintings are accompanied by poems， stories， folk tales and nonfiction travelogues about， you guessed it， birds。The author has divided the stories up according to topic: creation stories of the world， birds as sentient creatures， how birds were prepared as food， reports by explorers and adventurers， and birds that are in turn the predators。 It's a ni I could not resist the cover of this book and for me it's strongest feature are the old paintings of birds from throughout history and cultures。The paintings are accompanied by poems， stories， folk tales and nonfiction travelogues about， you guessed it， birds。The author has divided the stories up according to topic: creation stories of the world， birds as sentient creatures， how birds were prepared as food， reports by explorers and adventurers， and birds that are in turn the predators。 It's a nice mix of real reports of birds and stories of fantasy and supernatural with birds as the subject。But the most appealing aspect of this book are the beautiful illustrations。 That alone is worth possessing the book。 。。。more

L A ，

Beautiful book with some amazing artwork。 Sadly as a bird lover there are too many pieces about killing birds for me to enjoy it fully。

Maria ，

Beautifully designed book， love the concept。 Unfortunately， I found it dull and flat。

Peyton ，

I read The Bedside Book of Birds in middle school and fell in love instantly。 It introduced me to so many different writers and forms of writing from around the world and across time。 It includes short stories， excepts from novels， poems， letters， snippets of memoirs， and more。 My favourite short story and poem from the collection are The Crow Comes Last by Italo Calvino and Only Child by P。 K。 Page， respectively。 I would recommend this book to anyone who loves birds or writing。

Arlene Richards ，

Very well written， researched and illustrated but I did not like the content。

Jess ，

This is a very pretty book， with lovely illustrations。 Some of the pieces captured my interest; others， not so much。 There are more than a few sad tales。

Barb ，

great

Sissel ，

A nice collection of art and short stories about birds。

Tammy ，

Interesting， beautifully illustrated。

Emily Crow ，

This really is a good book for the bedside， containing short excerpts to dip into， all on the topic of birds。 I especially like the poetry， and the illustrations are lovely。 Not something to sit down and read straight through， though。 Recommended for artistic types who like birds。

Lesley ，

wonderful

Laura ，

A beautifully written book to be consumed in small doses

Richard ，

Everything about this book is of interest。 There was the selection of passages included， which ranged from ancient to modern。 Many kinds of birds were discussed， from the extinct passenger pigeon to common birds， from the small lecherous sparrow to the giant dangerous cassowary。 A variety of genres were covered: travelogues， literature， poetry， religious and mythological writings， natural history。 The whole breadth of history was looked at， from prehistoric times to the present。 Last but definit Everything about this book is of interest。 There was the selection of passages included， which ranged from ancient to modern。 Many kinds of birds were discussed， from the extinct passenger pigeon to common birds， from the small lecherous sparrow to the giant dangerous cassowary。 A variety of genres were covered: travelogues， literature， poetry， religious and mythological writings， natural history。 The whole breadth of history was looked at， from prehistoric times to the present。 Last but definitely not least， there were the gorgeous illustrations。 Some birds， such as owls， ravens， falcons， albatrosses and vultures， appeared in more than one entry， but that did not bother me。 Of course environmental themes were discussed， such as the slaughter of various species。 But the humorous and positive associations we have with birds were also looked at。 This is a delightful book for anyone interested in history， science， folklore， culture or art。 。。。more

Florence Lyon ，

This book is a collection of stories， mythology， poems and illustrations all about 。。。 birds。 Some were entertaining; some were sad in describing man's cruelty to these creatures， the closest to angels on earth。 I was shocked to learn that James Audubon killed thousands of birds in order to get just the right poses for his drawings！ This was before photography and high-resolution binoculars provided a more-humane method。Other entries were too long or not of interest to me so I did not feel guilt This book is a collection of stories， mythology， poems and illustrations all about 。。。 birds。 Some were entertaining; some were sad in describing man's cruelty to these creatures， the closest to angels on earth。 I was shocked to learn that James Audubon killed thousands of birds in order to get just the right poses for his drawings！ This was before photography and high-resolution binoculars provided a more-humane method。Other entries were too long or not of interest to me so I did not feel guilty to flit through the pages。 I think it was a bit heavy to be a bedside book as it was hard to hold up when slightly reclined and dozing off， allowing gravity to make a literal connection with my head！Graeme's introductions at each chapter's beginning were insightful and entertaining as well。 I laughed at the rooster entries and shared some with co-workers in the "poultry-related" field。 I was inspired by his description of bird watching: "At its heightened moments， birdwatching can encourage a state of being close to rapture。 It is an ecstasy that is said to accompany the writing of poetry; sometimes it comes when we’re listening to music。" 。。。more

Joyce ，

A wonderful collection of writings。 At times funny， others shocking， and still others fascinating and beautiful。 I learned a lot about birds， history and folklore as well。

Christie ，

Husband of Margaret Atwood （didn't realize this until I had finished all of the stories！） Yes， this book is sad， but the extermination of birds is real and happens all too often。 I think it is a very brilliant collection of stories and artwork。 Being aware isn't always cheery。 I found it inspiring to learn more about the birds among us now。。。 Husband of Margaret Atwood （didn't realize this until I had finished all of the stories！） Yes， this book is sad， but the extermination of birds is real and happens all too often。 I think it is a very brilliant collection of stories and artwork。 Being aware isn't always cheery。 I found it inspiring to learn more about the birds among us now。。。 。。。more

A。V。 ，

One of my favorites when all I believed in reading was teen fantasy。 [Quarter and year correct]

Debbie ，

Gorgeous book。 The illustrations are fantastic。 The Miscellany of the title I find is also the downfall， too much going on for a higher rating。

David R。 ，

A delightful anthology of writings related to birds， even if tangentially。 Gibson groups the material in nine topics （or "kingdoms" from birds in myths to birds as sources of danger。 Definitely for the reader with a taste for beautiful language， and even of interest to serious birders。 A delightful anthology of writings related to birds， even if tangentially。 Gibson groups the material in nine topics （or "kingdoms" from birds in myths to birds as sources of danger。 Definitely for the reader with a taste for beautiful language， and even of interest to serious birders。 。。。more

maura ，

A beautiful book with wonderful illustrations from all aspects of the art world。 The stories， poems and essays， however， seemed to deal mostly with the extermination of birds - not much on enjoying and preserving their beauty。 Maybe because animal rights and appreciation of the species is a relatively new thing and most of continents of this book were gathered from history rather than present day。

Mortalform ，

I love this book， tidbits of bird trivia mixed richly with myths from every corner of the globe。 Birds and myths， what more could I desire？ However I never seem to be able to finish this one when I get it from the library。 It sprouts scrappy bookmarks like mushrooms after the rain marking quotes to record， images to track down and books to add to the ever growing stack。One of the rewards of birdwatching is the brief escape it affords from our ancient and compelling need to make Nature useful。 Th I love this book， tidbits of bird trivia mixed richly with myths from every corner of the globe。 Birds and myths， what more could I desire？ However I never seem to be able to finish this one when I get it from the library。 It sprouts scrappy bookmarks like mushrooms after the rain marking quotes to record， images to track down and books to add to the ever growing stack。One of the rewards of birdwatching is the brief escape it affords from our ancient and compelling need to make Nature useful。 There may even be something of Thoreau’s “true knowledge” in that evanescent taste of freedom。 p4 Outside my window there is a cardinal。 。。。the bird that serves as a sign for any bird， just as any bird serves as a sign for any idea。。。 they are no longer birds but usages of birds， feathered with words and meaning。 Alberto Manguel p 17 Current research indicates that men in successful hunting-gathering societies spend about a week each month in search of game， and that woman’s work takes between one and three hours a day。 The rest is leisure time， as we now call it。 There’s a good reason to believe that ritual and ceremony， and probably language， occupied much of that time。 p 19Artistic people with time on their hands must have wondered about the meaning of things。 p 19It is noteworthy that by the time of the Greeks the gods had been assigned two attributed possessed by birds: flight and song。 The more godlike you were， the more birdlike you were as well。 Man is the only singing primate; a fact that may cast some light on the ancient connection。 P 40Here in Genesis [the raven] is offered the role of the messenger when Noah seeks to learn whether the glimpse of the distant mountain tops means that there is enough dry land for his family to begin rebuilding homes， find food and growing things again。 Only a bird would have been able to bring back such word， yea or nay， and Noah must have thought that the raven –strong of wing and adventurous of spirit- would be the best choice。。。。The fault had been Noah’s for making the wrong choice， but down through the ages the raven has had to bear the blame， becoming the symbol of ill omen and even death， the companion of witches and wizards and the embodiment of lost souls。 p 42-43A satisfying ululation is the contending of a river with the sea。 p 63If you believe， as the Inuit have traditionally done， that the animals you must kill have souls， and that their spirits are sometimes stronger than your own， than spiritual life is dangerous and inescapably tragic。 p 78 bulangazi “guardian of unclaimed property。 If a horse， therefore， a sword， a bird or any other article is found， and it does not appear to whom it belongs， the finder carries it directly to this officer， by who it is received in charge and carefully preserved。 If， on the other hand， a person finds any article that has been lost， and fails to carry it to the proper depositary， he is accounted a thief。 Those by who any property has been lost make their application to this officer， by whom it is restored to them。 His position is always in the most elevated part of the camp， and distinguished by a particular flag， in order that he may be the more readily found by such as have occasion to apply to him。 The effect of this regulation is that no articles are ultimately lost。 p 139Poem Hurt Hawks from Bird Preparing to Fly ， O。 Mikkigak Nor is it surprising that birds are associated with prophecy。 Like angels， they are of the air rather than the earth， of the spirit rather than the body。 They can move between worlds， and are therefore messengers from the gods。 p 152-153My song is pitiful; may good follow all evil。 Aeschylus， Chorus from Agamemnon P 156Perhaps our engagement with birds is an instinctive quest。 If so we should remember that the results of quests can be unpredictable: we never know what we will discover。。。 birds can be guides on our personal quests， as well as the objects of them。 But quests have always held an element of danger。 P 186-187Mountford， The Dawn of time。 （traditional australian myth）John Houston’s documentary Diet of Souls。 。。。more

Jane ，

I wanted to like this book， I really did。 I borrowed it from the library to consider purchasing it for my own bird book collection。 I love books and bird books。 However， I ended up not being able to read this book （which is why there are no stars）。It is a collection of readings about birds， so I skimmed through， reading some of them， but there were too many sad passages about birds slaughtered by the thousands and one awful story about a bird being plucked alive （by a Saint， no less）。 I enjoyed I wanted to like this book， I really did。 I borrowed it from the library to consider purchasing it for my own bird book collection。 I love books and bird books。 However， I ended up not being able to read this book （which is why there are no stars）。It is a collection of readings about birds， so I skimmed through， reading some of them， but there were too many sad passages about birds slaughtered by the thousands and one awful story about a bird being plucked alive （by a Saint， no less）。 I enjoyed the art in this book， but I will keep Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds with illustrations by David Allen Sibly by my bedside instead。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0