Amy Tan's books helped turn me into a reader so I was very excited to see she was coming out with a new book. The added bonus was reading about her exploration of a topic, backyard birds, that I too find fascinating. I would recommend this book to anyone who feeds birds in their yard or thinks it might be fun to start, as well as to bird enthusiasts in general. Her artwork is beautiful and you can tell she has spent time developing her skills. The book is organized into journal entries and accompanying illustrations. Each entry explores her observations of birds in her yard and gives readers a chance to learn more about Amy Tan herself. This was a lovely book and I do hope she will write another one sharing her bird observations and stories.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles was such a balm to my soul. I loved Tan's writing but also her illustrations were so gorgeous.

I found Tan's reflections to be thought-provoking. However, I wasn’t able to view her illustrations in color, and so feel as if I've missed out!

I loved this rambling reflection of coming to appreciate backyard birds from author Amy Tan, who is also evidently an accomplished artist. Tan started recording the birds that came to her backyard, but like many others, the habit really took off during Covid, when everyone's world slowed down.

This is a great book to ingest in small bites. I found it both meditative and soothing. It would also make a great gift for anyone interested in birding. Although I am only a casual bird lover, putting out a bowl of seeds when I think about it, I found the book very enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Tan, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A unique perspective into an aspect of a writer's life we don't often get to see; Amy Tan's illustrations are incredible! Happy I had the opportunity to give this a read.

With an introduction by David Sibley (a great birder and artist in his own right), Amy Tan documents the comings and goings of bird and wildlife in her backyard through observation, feelings and incredible drawings. I also have my home office looking out to my backyard and enjoy watching the birds, hawks, squirrels come in and out of my view. This book is a non-fiction journal with drawings in case you think it is another great novel by her. I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

“The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan - 3 stars (Pub Date: Out Now!) is a lengthy but beautiful description of the birds seen from the California porch of renowned author Amy Tan.

Good things: Tan is a great artist. Her rendering of the birds she describes are stunning, the color and detail speaking to the 1000’s of hours she’s spent studying and then drawing the visitors to her back yard. As the daughter of a ‘crazy bird lady’ and a fellow amateur artist, I really appreciated the artistry on display. The author provides an excellent demonstration of the observational calisthenics needed to become an expert on a specific topic of interest. The drawing, writing, and reflections on bird behavior and the author's motivations for doing so are a playbook for mindfulness.

Opportunities: While there was great heart in the art, and there was obvious and immense interest in the subject by the author, there was something missing in the connections between journal entries. I at first thought that the book was written after the fact based on notes and I believe it was, but there was no narrative thread to speak of so then I thought maybe it was truly just a lightly edited journal. But I think it was written purposefully without any kind of narrative guiding the reader to any kind of personal reflection or conclusion, and if that’s the case it was a very very long personal diary read.

Final Thoughts: This is a great book to pick up and just read through the art and description pages. It would probably also make a great gift for a bird lover, a wildlife artist, or a hobby orinthologist. It was not something I would recommend reading straight through though, and ultimately I realized that as I’m not the crazy bird lady that my mother is, this book really wasn’t for me. I found the author a tad bit obsessive and repetitive in her reflections, and there was only so much bird behavior reflections and bird feeder descriptions that I could absorb.

I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read of this book by netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf in exchange for my honest opionion. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #thebackyardbirdchronicles #amytan #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #arc #arcs

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Review Shared on Goodreads - www.goodreads.com/leah_cyphert_butidigressbookclub
Publishing Review 5/30/2024

As an Amy Tan fan I know I would enjoy her backyard journal entries. Having an interest in my own backyard birds, I could relate to her journal entries having had similar thoughts. While I knew her writing style would be descriptive and witty what blew me away was her artwork. Her sketches were absolutely beautiful and detailed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an amazing book.
4.5 stars

I am a long time fan of Amy Tan’s novels so I was excited to read something a bit different from her. I loved this! There was so much to enjoy about it and I will definitely be buying a copy for my shelves.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing an eARC for review.

This was a beautiful, extensive and engaging narrative about the world of birds. Most readers are probably familiar with Amy Tan's Asian historical fiction books with the most famous being "The Joy Luck CLub." I do not know if Tan has written any nonfiction books previously but I was very impressed by the prose and beauty she has portrayed in this wonderful book...

I like how this book is glimpse and education into all types of birds, not just birds of prey or songbirds; all bird! Enjoying birds has become a recebt hobby of mine and this an exceptional and thoughtful book on the subject. Plus the pictures are beautful.

I am definitely purchasing a hardcover copy of this to enjoy for myself and share with other people. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Amy Tan, NetGalley, and the publishers at Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available.

You might know Amy Tan from her award-winning book, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, and numerous other novels. But, I bet you didn’t know she was a bird lover and an amazing illustrator. In her newest book, Tan chronicles the comings and goings of birds in her own backyard along with intricately detailed illustrations of the birds she is writing about.

Tan shares the joy of a visit from a Golden-crowned Sparrow and the frustration of birds visiting her neighbors’ feeders and not hers. She tried not to feel rejected when she lured birds with her expensive bird food and they dropped her when she no longer provided it; eventually creating their nests elsewhere.

I’ve always enjoyed watching the birds as they were a common visitor to my backyard growing up. We have feeders in our backyard now and my husband diligently fills them every morning. Even though we live in town, we are on the outskirts and enjoy visits from a redheaded woodpecker, sparrows, goldfinches, juncos, robins, and occasionally an oriole. My mom still gets an array of birds to flock to her backyard and I’m always in awe of the variety of birds when I visit. There is something quite enjoyable about sitting and watching the birds stop by.

Tan shares the unique behaviors of various birds and other wildlife that frequent her backyard. She notes how they take turns visiting the feeders, watch out for cats or hawks, and shakily take their first steps and flights. She struggles with wanting to interfere with Mother Nature and knowing she shouldn’t. She notes the migration patterns and gets excited when new visitors stop by to take residence, even if just for a short time.

As a backyard bird watcher, something I have noticed that Tan also talks about is their songs and conversations. Using my favorite app, Merlin Bird ID, I learned the sounds of the various birds in my backyard. I may not have been too excited to see a House Sparrow on our feeder, but once I learned their song, it is now one I look forward to hearing. Tan has reminded me to enjoy all the visits to our backyard feeder and maybe one of these days I’ll get a visit from something really special.

This was a great book! I very much enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the author’s next work! Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

I was really, really looking forward to this one but, ultimately, I didn’t finish it. I love Amy Tan and think she is a great author. I had no idea what a great artist she was, and the illustrations are spectacular. It was just…boring. It took me 3 weeks to reach 75%. I just couldn’t keep going. Maybe you all will have better luck.

Some books you want to race through. . . this is not one of them. Amy Tan's beautifully illustrated chronicles of her birdie besties is one that is a treat with which is it worth taking time to consider and explore. Compare your world as you turn pages through your time with her. If you can do it outside, even better, especially if you are in an area where birds are in your daily vistas.

Listening is my usual choice, but it wasn't for this one, and I'm glad. I found it is one to read, hold in your hands, and keep your binoculars at the ready!

*A sincere thank you to Amy Tan, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheBackyardBirdChronicles #NetGalley

As a fan of Amy Tan, and also a birder, this was such an enjoyable read! I really enjoyed the illustrations and can't wait to physically see them in person. I kind of wanted a little more from this book, but it was a great into to birding.

Thanks to #TheBackyardBirdChronicles and #NetGalley for a copy of this arc!

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

First I will say that this is 3.5 on the star rating scale.

I love Amy Tan and have read several of her non-fiction books, so I was very excited to get to know a little more about her.
This is a story of how she developed a love for birds. A narrative of how to bird watch and journal your experiences. I found the beginning very interesting and interactive but have to say about halfway through got a little bored with the whimsical stories. This was a fun book about one person's experience with finding a new hobby and her experiences along the way.
Yet! Let me not neglect the artwork. WOW, very talented in her drawings Mrs. Tan does not disappoint.
In whole I will say , I enjoyed the art, the cute stories and find that I am now intrigued by those birds that seem to be everywhere. I also just purchased a bird feeder with a video feed. SO excited and must find a way to keep my cat away....

Amy Tan is already known for her writing, particularly fiction but also nonfiction. Turns out she’s an impressive artist as well, rediscovering the joy she gained from drawing she had as a kid when she started to watch and feed the birds in her yard. She chronicles in this book 6 years of watching, drawing, and journaling the avian goings-on and the mild obsession she develops with feeding them. This book is a complete delight! I love nature books and learning about animals (though am not myself a birder), and I couldn’t have enjoyed this more.

This is a beautiful book! I was so impressed with what I read on my Kindle that I couldn't wait to purchase it when it came out and see all those lovely drawings in color. I know that our patrons will really enjoy this book!

I have never read a book like The Backyard Bird Chronicles before and I wasn't sure if I would like it. Only an excellent writer like Tan could make seemingly mundane bird behaviors interesting. Her descriptive writing and personification kept me hooked throughout the book. Though there was no real plot, I was drawn to see how Tan and her birds would evolve throughout the course of the book. A must read for home gardeners and Marin residents.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles is a gently written and enjoyable ode to birdwatching full of reminiscences and sketches by Amy Tan. Released 23rd April 2024 by Knopf Doubleday, it's 320 pages and is available in flexibound, audio, and ebook formats.

Contemplative and relaxing to read, the author is quite talented with description and her ruminations on the division and unpleasantness which inevitably comes with being an internet citizen will have readers nodding along in sympathy. Her answer was to turn her gaze on the world outside her windows. She learned how to sketch the birds visiting her backyard, and she's done quite a remarkable job of it. Her sketches are technically adept and lovely to look at.

She also speaks a bit about the creative processes of writing a novel (torture, discipline, and structure) contra journal (pure joy and spontaneity) and how those differed from the drawing part.

It is written as a journal/diary... with dated observations and many illustrations. It's fascinating reading.

Four and a half stars. It would be a great public library acquisition, home library addition, or gift purposes.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.