I have reviewed 28 books on this blog this year – an average of more than one a fortnight.
Some of these are sent to me by publishers or authors, some I simply go out and buy.
Which books you like is as personal a choice as what music you like. But for what it’s worth, here are my top five books of 2015, the next five (in no particular order) and the rest (a list which contains many entertaining reads).
Book of the Year:
The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks
This book is very well-written and really quite irritating! It’s a particular view of sheep farmers in the Lake District and a brilliant piece of propaganda for their way of life. I would have a completely different take on this subject – but the author’s is a great read.
2. Rainbow Dust by Peter Marren
A cracking book littered with unusual stories and erudition. Fun and educational at the same time.
Lovely cover too (by Carry Akroyd).
3. Cuckoo by Nick Davies
A brilliantly clear tale of a triumph of evolution of behaviours that we would call cheating. Only someone with a deep understanding of natural selection could make the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and their hosts so comprehensible.
4. The Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy
A tale of loss – loss of abundance and personal loss but ending with the hope that we can recapture our love for the natural world.
5. In Pursuit of Butterflies by Matthew Oates
A slightly rambling account of 50 years of rushing around with a butterfly net. I was happy to go on this long walk with Matthew Oates because he is such entertaining company.
The next five in order of publication – most distant first
Ten Million Aliens – Simon Barnes
What nature does for Britain – Tony Juniper
Honourable Friends – Caroline Lucas
Undiscovered Owls – The Sound Approach
The Man who made things out of trees – Robert Penn
And also…
Penguins – David Tipling
Horus the Peregrine Falcon – John Miles
Britain’s Habitats by Lake et al.
Nature in Towns and Cities – David Goode
Few and Far between – Charlie Elder
Nature’s Conscience – Des Thompson (ed.)
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How to Clone a Mammoth – Beth Shapiro
On a Wing and a Pryor – Sarah Woods
Queen of the Sky – Jacquie Morris
My review.
Tales from the Concrete Jungle – David Lindo
The Complete Naturalist – Nick Baker
On the Edge – Clause Martin
Skydancer – Martin Bradley
Metamorphosis – Robert Soskin
An Illustrated Coastal Year – Celia Lewis
My review.
Natural Capital – Dieter Helm
Natural Histories – Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss
Yorkshire Dales – John Lee
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