Book info

• Title Rewild Yourself
• Author Simon Barnes
• Year 2018
• Genres Non-fiction, Science, Nature

We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features 23 spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home. Mammals you never knew existed will enter your world. Birds hidden in treetops will shed their cloak of anonymity. With a single movement of your hand you can make reptiles appear before you. Butterflies you never saw before will bring joy to every sunny day. Creatures of the darkness will enter your consciousness. And as you take on new techniques and a little new equipment, you will discover new creatures and, with them, new areas of yourself that had gone dormant. Once put to use, they wake up and start working again. You become wilder in your mind and in your heart. Once you know the tricks, the wild world begins to appear before you.

Thoughts

What a lovely book this is. Simon Barnes takes 23 examples of ways you can get in touch with nature as simply as possible - whether that is just taking the time to sit outside and soak it in, or learn a couple of bird songs, or invest in some good binoculars - there’s something in there that everyone can try.

But what’s really special about it is the way the book is written, as though sharing a piece of magic, the wonder of nature, the beauty of the outside world. It’s really a wonderful thing to read. I did find there were a few too many mistakes in there, not the proofreaders best day at work, so that did slightly detract from the overall ambience. But if you can put that aside, it’s worth every moment.

Rating: 4 / 5