As the book came to an end, and I considered what I had read, the strange but enthralling life Howard must have lived and her love for birds and independence, other books with birds I had come across on my reading journey came to mind.
The books below aren’t all about birds; although in some of these stories, birds – real, or ethereal – do play a role, some I chose for the birds on the cover, others for the birds on the title. It’s mostly a list for bird lovers who enjoy a good read.
If these have piqued your interest in birds, here is a list of 3 books to get you started on bird watching!
It’s only years later that Meridian, who has traded the possibility of an independent life exploring her passion for a traditional marriage, realises how much she has given up.
A behaviour analyst brings him to New York, and Zal sees the possibility of a future for the first time in his life. Now knowing exactly how to behave like a regular adolescent, he ends up finding his place among other outsiders. Chaos ensues as he becomes friends with an illusionist who is convinced Zal can fly and an artist who believes he is clairvoyant.
Having decided to start a new life, she meets Arturo Whitman, father of Snow, a cherished little girl who is everything Boy never was as a child.
When Boy gives birth to Bird, things become complicated with Snow, and Boy is given a new insight into Arturo’s family.
Before dying, she left all of her journals to Williams, requesting that her daughter not read them until after she was gone.
When the time came to open the journals, they were not what Williams had expected at all. They were all empty, and Williams was left to find out the meaning behind what her mother (hadn’t) said.
What she imagined would be a way to find freedom and to discover more of her passion, ornithology, suddenly turns into the same type of oppression she was used to at home.
A job in a hat shop and a secret romance save Garnet from the boredom of other people’s expectations.
For every person who loves to read stories of young women setting themselves free from the traditional and expected norms, this book is a delight.
Leigh travels to Taiwan guided by a strange and mysterious red bird, where her thirst to figure out her family’s secrets grows, and the ghosts of the past linger still.
The year is 2019 and a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up signs of terrestrial life from a planet which will later be known as Rakhat.
As the United Nations decides how best to approach the situation, a Society of Jesus decides to organise an expedition of its own, but this expedition ends up having some jaw-dropping repercussions.
In it, an art authenticator and an art historian hired by a famous painter to sell a portrait find themselves entangled in the lives of two sisters, Natalie and Alice, and in the centre of a family secret that had been buried deep for years.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is an inspiring tale of finding self-love, choosing to be kind, and allowing oneself to be set free.
It is proof that there’s power in poetry and in the softest parts of ourselves.
Beneath the surface of Tokyo, he ends up finding antagonists and allies, each one more bizarre than the other.
