I remembered enjoying the author’s earlier book, Late Migrations. However, a few essays into this collection and I put this one aside. Great for nature lovers, but the tone is a downer and I stopped reading.

Wow. What a beautiful book.

In bite-sized (3-6 page) essays, one from each week of the year, Margaret Renkl reflects on the natural world as viewed through the lens of her backyard. Although she doesn't shy away from hard topics - the brutality of nature, the changing climate, the other ways humans have interrupted the natural balance - the tone of this book is meditative and calming. There is comfort in nature's indifferent endurance, and so much beauty in even the humblest of places.

With that said, it would be hard to walk away from this book without a sense of frustration at the outsized impact human civilization has had on the natural world. I hope this book drives more of us to slow down and marvel at the wonders that surround us, and then to ask what we can do to help.

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to review.

I enjoy reading Margaret Renkl’s column in "The New York Times," so I jumped at the chance for a NetGalley review copy of her newest book. "The Comfort of Crows" is a collection of 52 essays designed to be read weekly through the seasons, but I couldn’t put it down. Renkl is the nature writer I’ve been looking for: just enough detail about flora and fauna, just enough philosophical musing, and realistic concern for the environment, but not without joy. I believe I learned something in every essay. Here’s one passage I bookmarked: “Even now, with the natural world in so much trouble–even now, with the patterns of my daily life changing in ways I don’t always welcome or understand–radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world. I mean to keep looking every single day until I find them.” Thank you, Margaret. Me too.

Margaret Renkl's newest collection of essays took me back to the early days of the pandemic, when amid all the uncertainty of life I found comfort in nature and in its ability to continue to grow and change even as the world seemed to be falling apart. In reflecting on the plants and animals in her backyard over the course of a year and the change of the seasons, Renkl reminds us that while it's hard to stop nature, our impacts are changing it and that we have a responsibility to do right by our fellow creatures. Her writing is calming and comforting, even as it raises the alarm of climate change. Highly recommend!

I loved this book and inhaled it in one great gulp on a long plane ride. Margaret Renkl's beautiful nature writing manages to conjure a year in her Nashville backyard--left to grow wild and home to a wide variety of flora and fauna--in such a way that I felt held in its haven while I read. Starting on New Year's Day and organzied in sections for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, "The Comfort of Crows" mixes events in the author's life with descriptions of the natural world that is their backdrop; I loved, for example, how Renkl coupled her ruminations about being an empty nester with her descriptions of watching multiple clutches of bluebirds in her garden nestbox hatch and fledge. There is certainly a lot of sobering content in "The Comfort of Crows"--there are essays about how temperature change is wreaking havoc with the migratory patterns of birds; how the pursuit of the perfect suburban lawn, and the poisonous fertilizers that entails, has almost made lightning bugs a creature alive in memory only--but, as the book's title suggests, Renkl still manages to find comfort in nature even as she worries for the future. This is a perfect read for nature lovers, mothers--anyone, really, who loves beauty in the natural world and in writing. The gorgeous illustrations provided by Renkl's artist brother Billy are a lovely bonus.

Thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. Loved it!

An eye-opening and enchanting read that feels like the author's personal journal, with such colorful, affecting observations of the natural world and very thoughtful overall. I would have enjoyed reading this over the year in line with the seasons as the book goes through them.

With one chapter/essay per week of the year, Margaret Renkl invites the reader to discover the delights found in her backyard: creatures and plants we so often overlook, and the role they play in creating our ecosystem. Through her observations, she expresses her joy at witnessing new life, her delight in learning about her neighbors in nature, her hesitation over interfering with birds' nests or threatened caterpillars, and her grief over the changes in weather wrought by climate change. And as she gives attention to the patterns in nature, she connects the world around her with the changing rhythms of her own life. The book is a lovely, meditative journey through the world we so often fail to see around us.

Readers of Mary Oliver, Robert Macfarlane, and Helen Macdonald will find pleasure in this cozy volume.

Thank you, Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I am, if you will pardon the language, a real slut for lawn slander. Renkl’s book is filled with complete correct digs at the relic of British aristocracy, so I had a great time.

There’s a meditative stillness to this book that was soothing - similar to Mary Oliver!

The Comfort of Crows is a series of stories of Margaret Rinkl’s life told through nature. The 52 essays which are accompanied by beautiful illustrations by the author, take the reader on a journey through the seasons and invite them to embrace the songbirds in the backyard as well as the trees in a nearby woods. Rinkl reflects on topics such as climate change, grief, the pandemic but she also takes us on a journey through her youth by telling us stories of the animals that she encountered.

What attracted me to this book was the writing style. It really feels like you're reading someone's diary. There is a lot of interesting observations of the natural world around the author's home, reflections on her youth, the present and the future. The language used to describe the outdoors makes the reader want to keep their own seasonal journal.

I do think that a book like this is best read over the span of the year so that you can really relate to the seasons as they are described in the book. I find that reading it in one go made it feel a bit repetitive at times. I also absolutely recommend reading it on a quiet morning with a window open or outside so that you can hear the birds and insects as you read to compliment the text.

The Comfort of Crows excels in finding magic in the mundane.

My favorite part about The Comfort of Crows is that it doesn't shy away from grief. The Essay's as a whole paint a complete and thoughtful picture of what it is to be human. Readers will be privy to moments of immense joy and deep grief and the clever parallel to a creature or season gives these insights a unique and fresh prospective.

Part memoir, part nature study, this book and its thoughtful essays will help readers slow down and marvel at the simple moment.

Simply gorgeous and unique. This reads like elegant poetry. Margaret Renkl weaves the seasons with the intricacies of her life in such a way that I couldn’t tear myself away. Illustrations serve to complement the beautiful writing. I cannot wait to see this book in print.
Spiegel & Grau via NetGalley provided me with a digital ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

The Comfort of Crows is a beautiful gem of a book.The writing the illustrations drew me in
I read this slowly savoring each essay.The Comfort of Crows is a book I will be gifting.# netgalley #thecomfortofcrows

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl is a wonderful memoir and within it the author presents observations not only of nature and her surroundings, but also how that reflects the passage of time within her own life.

This book was truly stunning. The images themselves are beyond wonderful. Every time I came upon one, I was taken aback by the colors and talent.

I loved the author’s presentation of her life, her immediate surroundings, and nature on a weekly basis throughout the seasons. To see the transitions and transformations by stepping back and looking at life as a whole through the changing seasons was very thought-provoking and intimate.

I was really drawn in and emotionally invested on her use of finding parallels between her own life and that of her “neighbors”. Seeng her own mortality reflected off of those flora and fauna surrounding her and her ability to choose hope and promise over being swallowed in change and moments of sadness and despair, brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. Even after finishing the book, I find myself still remembering it and being brought back towards that light when there is something outside that reminds me of one of her keen observations.

The author clearly has a talent, and I most certainly going to purchase her other books.

Excellent.

5/5 stars

Thank you Spiegel & Grau for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 10/24/23.

Fascinating read. Would be wonderful to dip in and out of as part of a mindfulness practice or devotional type practice. A gorgeous book that will make a great Christmas gift for several of my family members.

First off, thank you to Ann Patchett for introducing me to the highly talented Margaret Renkl. I savored Renkl’s first two books, and was patiently waiting for her to publish another book. When I saw it available on NetGalley, I optimistically requested the arc. Thank you to the publisher, Spiegel & Grau, and NetGalley for allowing me a copy before the October publish date!

This was the perfect book for me to read while going through two very different hardships in my life… the onset of tinnitus and the devastating loss of a beautiful, healthy tree (that also did extreme damage to our 1927 garage). Renkl’s word are always just so right. I will definitely purchase the hardback this October.

I do not think there is anything I can say to do justice to this absolutely beautiful, perfect book! I found myself again and again in the pages and stories which describes the beauties and hardships of nature. The illustrations add to how special this book is. If you need a peaceful break, treat yourself to what lies in these pages. I will be truthful, I have read only the spring and summer half of this book. I will be purchasing this book, not only for the bookstore where I work, but for myself also. I look forward to reading the other half as the leaves fall and the snow flies. Something to look forward to! I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the inside peek to this special book.

The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl is a beautiful and thought-provoking book that offers a unique perspective on the natural world and our place within it. Renkl's writing is evocative and lyrical, bringing to life the creatures and plants in her backyard in vivid detail. As we follow her through the seasons, we witness the joy and grief that come with living in a world that is both wondrous and fragile.

What makes this book truly special is Renkl's ability to weave together her observations of the natural world with reflections on the changing rhythms of human life. Whether she is describing the bittersweet experience of watching her grown children leave home or reflecting on the impact of climate change, Renkl's writing is always honest, insightful, and deeply moving.

At its core, The Comfort of Crows is a book about finding meaning and beauty in a world that can sometimes seem overwhelming and chaotic. Renkl reminds us that even in the face of great challenges, there is always something to be grateful for and something to marvel at. Her book is a testament to the power of nature to comfort and inspire us, and a call to action for all of us to do our part in preserving this precious world we call home.

Overall, The Comfort of Crows is a must-read for anyone who cares about the natural world and our place in it. It is a book that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page, leaving you with a renewed sense of wonder and gratitude for the world around us.