A core philosophy of Be Your Own Birder is that we all have passions other than birds, other parts of our lives beyond birding. Reading is a great passion of mine, and I read 100+ books every year, spanning multiple genres, age ranges, and story types. A fair few (not every book I read, to be sure), also incorporate birds, and so I bring you Birder’s Bookshelf.
This is not intended to be a full accounting of every bird book available (I don’t read THAT many), but instead are my tried-and-true recommendations about birding books. Each book on these virtual shelves is one I’ve held in my hands, turned every page, and read every word (I don’t actually read the index, but you get the idea). These reviews are not culled from press releases or blurbs, and are not the result of scanning, skimming, or speed reading. While some books have been provided to me as review copies (see my Disclosure Policy for full details), each discussion is my own opinion and is not influenced by anything other than my personal thoughts of the book, from the perspective of a birder who loves reading.
For ease, I’ve divided these reviews into three categories; no book is listed more than once, so I strongly recommend browsing all three bookshelves! Please also note that field guides are discussed separately in the Field Guide Directory.
Happy reading, and happy birding!
Fiction Books
Novels of all types are my favorite books, and make up the majority of my spare reading time. These fiction books all feature birds in some prominent way, from birding mysteries to rare species fantasies to mythical worlds driven by birds.
See all fiction bird book reviews…
Non-Fiction Books
Non-fiction encompasses all true books, from biographies to personal accounts to informative texts. These books are amazing resources for any birder and give us remarkable insights into our feathered friends; this is armchair birding at its finest.
See all non-fiction bird book reviews…
Children’s Books
These books, both fiction and non-fiction, are written for the youngest readers and include picture books, early readers, and juvenile titles (anything teen-oriented is classified as fiction or non-fiction above). Rediscover the innocence and joy of birding with these young titles.
See all children’s bird book reviews…
Do you have a recommendation for another book to include on these shelves? Are you an author or publisher with a book you’d like me to consider for review? Please first read the Disclosure Policy for review details, then visit the About Me page for contact information!