Thank you NetGalley and Timber Press for the opportunity to read this book. I love books about nature and this one was very informative. It was a little slow at times but I still enjoyed it. The passion the author has shines through. As someone who lives in the foothills of North Carolina I found the information on native plants very interesting. I have a friend who just moved here from up north and got a little homestead, I think I’ll pick up a copy of this for her.

If you are a nature nerd or outdoor enthusiast, you will enjoy this book. Humorous at times but also scientific at times. I enjoyed the insight into the massive undertaking the author took on by moving to the mountains to start a new chapter in life. It was a little slow in spots but overall enjoyable.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. A woman and her husband buy mountaintop acreage in the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia with the goal of restoring it to its natural state. This restoration is a tall order for someone with no experience in doing so, and the author realizes very quickly that she has taken on a rather mammoth and expensive project. Along the way we meet people who help her out in this quest to reclaim the land from invasive trees and plants, and we experience her frustrations with the pace and scope of the project. I enjoyed her relationship with her neighbors, the few we met.

The story was not as interesting as I expected it to be, there was a lot of minutiae about the various species of invasive plant interspersed with an occasional funny anecdote about her inexperience. At times it felt repetitive. If you're really into the flora and fauna of mountain foothills, you'll enjoy this book. For me, I was hoping for a more conversational tone about how the rest of her life was going as she and her husband planned to reside on the mountaintop, and a more satisfying resolution to the state of the mountaintop.

I appreciate NetGalley and Timber Press giving me an advance copy to read.

Incredibly humorous at times, overwhelmingly boring on occasion, with quite a bit of interesting information in the middle! Sometimes it just got a bit more scientifically involved in technical. Overall, this is a good read especially if you are a nature nerd or an outdoor enthusiast.

4.5 stars rounded up

A light-hearted but informative memoir of a woman's attempt to restore some farmland in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. I loved all the detail and that she wasn't afraid to admit her mistakes, which were misfit dealt with grace and humor. If you love the outdoors, I highly recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks, Timber Press, for the advanced review copy via NetGalley. Unfortunately, the book wasn't a good fit for me as a reader, though I'm sure it will resonate well with scientific naturalists.

Such a fascinating read! You can easily see Paula Whyman's love and passion through all the hard work and obvious research she did to understand how land conservation works. I loved her writing and learned a lot at the same time!

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You will learn about the tension between invasive and native plant species through the well-pruned prose of Paula Whyman, a "late middle-aged" writer that purchases a tract of land in Virginia with the ambition to restore the native meadow that once flourished. Government and non-profit organizations (and helpful neighbors) assist in the restoration process which is mired in self-doubt and well grounded in realism. The means and methods of land restoration are daunting in their conflicting ethos and time scales. A great informative read for those interested in man vs nature narratives or those that previously enjoyed Doug Tallamy or David Haskell.

A memoir by a naturalist who journaled experiences and what was learned in bringing back the native plants to acreage in the Blue Ridge Mountains. An interesting read.

Thank you NetGalley and Timber Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Naturalist : One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop. This is an interesting memoir of one women's attempt to re=wild
200 acres of farmland in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lacking in experience, she learns on the job, and this is her journal of her trials and tribulations and all the things she learnt along the way. Her passion and commitment shines through, and hopefully her story will inspire others to care for our precious world.

deeply interesting naturalist memoir with a lot of fun and cool aspects. 4 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

Requested for West Virginia, read for general interest. There were times this book was sort of outside of my understanding, since I've never had land enough to think about these sorts of things. But Whyman's storytelling is both good and relatable. The first few paragraphs really spell out why returning land to itself is vitally important in a climate crisis that no one seems ready to take responsibility for on a macro level.

Thanks for the digital ARC!

This is such an important book! Okay, maybe mostly important because I also live in Virginia and I also care about restoring natives and I also don't have a clue how to do it. But I'm gonna guess that what Whyman writes about will resonate with anyone concerned about plants and the planet (which impact everything else). I enjoyed the candid, emotional side of the challenge as well as learning about methods of restoration (and mediation). Reading Bad Naturalist made me wonder if there is any other kind of 'naturalist' at this point, as we have severely befuddled our environment, sometimes unintentionally and too often with the best of intentions. Great read. I hope it finds a wide audience in Virginia and beyond. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and offer my honest review. And thank you to the author for writing this wonderful book and sharing her journey so well.

A very enjoyable read with a lovely mix of observation ( plant, animal, human impact on the Earth) and the story of a woman batting non-native plants and other factors to encourage her corner of wilderness. In the world. I liked her writing style and the slowly evolving journey. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.