Better Birding Book Club

When thinking about the birds that surround us, we quickly acknowledge their grace, beauty, and versatility. Less frequently, however, do we consider their effect on our physical and mental health and the way we think about and practice social, economic, and environmental justice. In this book club, we investigate the joys and benefits of birdwatching, as well as more serious topics like how birds get their names, the heightening impact of environmental changes on birds, and the inherent inequity and assumptions built into the birding practice. Join book club host and bird-enthusiast Brenda the fourth Tuesday of each month to talk books, birds, and bettering the world together.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper

Christian Cooper is a self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the birdwatching ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old when what might have been a routine encounter with a dog walker exploded age-old racial tensions. Cooper’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.

In Better Living Through Birding, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today. From sharpened senses that work just as well at a protest as in a park to what a bird like the Common Grackle can teach us about self-acceptance, Better Living Through Birding exults in the pleasures of a life lived in pursuit of the natural world and invites you to discover them yourself.

Equal parts memoir, travelogue, and primer on the art of birding, this is Cooper’s story of learning to claim and defend space for himself and others like him, from his days at Marvel Comics introducing the first gay storylines to vivid and life-changing birding expeditions through Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Himalayas. Better Living Through Birding recounts Cooper’s journey through the wonderful world of birds and what they can teach us about life, if only we would look and listen.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us at Dog·Eared Books at 5:30 PM on March 25th, to discuss the book with book club host Brenda! This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate, no registration necessary.

Also, for 20 minutes after each club meeting, you will receive 20% off all books and merchandise!

For further readings, resources, and to continue the conversation after club ends join the Better Birding Book Club Discord!