'Deeper Into the Wood' is a pleasing, gentle read, interspersed with some lovely artwork that I'm sure looks even better in a printed book, but still had a sparing to beauty to it when viewed with my e-reader.

Although I haven't read the book that comes before this one, that isn't necessary. Pavey gives the background to how she came to acquire the wood, and the management she's applied to it since. The narrative is almost in a stream-of-thought style, with Pavey flowing from the flora and fauna in the wood, to her quest to determine the providence of the water in it, to local history. I admit that I scanned over the passages concerning the attempts to trace the woods' original owner from several centuries ago. I was much more interested in the wildlife part. Handily, the book includes appendices of bird, plant and moth surveys carried out in the woods.

It's a fairly short read in all, and provides a glimpse into one woman's personal acts of observations of nature - both delightful and saddening, as Pavey tracks the diminishing and vanishing of species in the time she has owned the wood.

(With thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)

The first impression one gets from the earliest sentences in this book is Ruth Pavey loves her small patch of Somerset with a passion. The book is a warm kind-hearted look at the changing seasons of her small patch of woodland and how the tendrils of the modern world are impacting on the natural history of the area. Ruth cares about the whole wide-ranging mix of species on her patch and their struggles.

The nuances of the seasons are beautifully embroidered within Ruth’s gentle narrative, which is heartfelt in its honesty and description. She also enhances the chronicle of the year with a number of divergences in each chapter into a number of fascinating vignettes on local history, geology, and culture of the area of the wood. What also helps to bring the story to life is the compendium of individuals experts and artisans that embellish the story with interesting facts and information.

This book also raises the spectre of the serious issues of our time species loss and the impact that humanity has on the natural world, Ruth approaches this issue thoughtfully and with the empathy of an individual who cares about her footprint on the world. The book was a pleasure to read.

A lovely book Ruth Pavey draws us into her land her life .Through her lyrical writing her world her life in nature is very vivid.Her drawings add to charm of this memoir. I will be gifting and recommending this wonderful book.#netgalley #duckworthbooks

I so enjoy reading books like these. So intimate, like reading a journal. I observe the wildlife in my tiny postage stamp yard in a semi-suburban city. I've lived in mine for 50 years and have watched many changes. For a long, long time I saw it changing for the worst, now it seems to be rebounding with wildlife returning (I saw a turkey vulture the other day!). Maybe things will turn around for Ruth Pavey and community. Organic farming will help, easing of traffic, too (we all really need more public transportation. Especially here in the States. I enjoyed the illustrations, too. Whole book is simply a lovely read. Make a great gift for a nature lover or gardener.

This book took me on a wonderful journey on what its like to live in a wooded rural area. Yes it might of only been a second home but people seem to be far to critical to appreciate the work people like the author is doing to manage her wooded area and surrounding fields to be more sustainable. To allow a lot a variance in the nature that are becoming more scarce. It follows the story for her speaking to various people gaining knowledge on how to deal with the decline of nature. More people should read this book and truly appreciate the knowledge the author brings to the story. This book contain beautiful little pictures drawn by the author which brings a great sense of life to the pages. I enjoyed this book so much I will be reading further books by this author and thank the author for producing such a wonderful insight into the little things we can do to encourage more insects into your garden. A truly delightful book.

I loved this book and wish I could be there. The description of the nature, the seasons and the poetical language made me love this book.
Great illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine