Thank you Steve, Little Wing added to my nature read list. Recommended reads are sugar in my tea.

1) Sara Baume’s first book–SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER (2016) (all letters are lower case)–was something I normally don’t read but it really grabbed me–my heart was pounding right up to the end. I hesitated before buying her second–A LINE MADE BY WALKING (2017)–but I got it and it grabbed me too. I recently read her non-fiction HANDIWORK (also based in nature; she wanted a break from writing fiction) (2020) and it was beautiful. And here I am eagerly awaiting her SEVEN STEEPLES (end-April 2022). They all take place in Ireland.

2) Robert Seethaler is an Austrian writer and actor. The translations in English are very good. His work is also known in France. A WHOLE LIFE (2015), THE TOBACONNIST (2016), and THE FIELD (2021). I read them as a trilogy. They are very beautiful in a very different way. Check them out first.

3) STRANGE FLOWERS (2020) by Donal Ryan. An Irish rural setting. “Endlessly surprising and incredibly moving.” It reads like a poem that flows freely like a river.

4) LITTLE WING (2022) by Freya North. This awesome book that takes place in The Outer Hebrides (UK) somehow got overlooked, is said to be different from the “usual” Freya North romances. All I can say about LITTLE WING is that it’s achingly beautiful and will wing you away from wherever you are. The cover is beautiful enough to make you want it. Before the story starts, North quotes “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with you one wild and precious life?”

If you’re ready for something very different and very beautiful, try these. The Mary Oliver quote goes for all the above-mentioned books. Enjoy the escapes!

Highly recommend Braiding Sweetgrass as well! What a great list!

Thanks for the recommendation!