For the birds

Just finished reading The Big Year by Mark Obmascik, a funny, quick read about something near and dear to my heart: obsession. The obsession in this case is birding, a competitive sport, it turns out, not to be confused with the more passive pursuit of bird watching. Birding is not my particular obsession (though, I suddenly notice, there are a large number of posts in my blog about birds), but neither is mountain climbing, another favorite book topic of mine. For some reason I am drawn to this kind of non-fiction. Maybe I am obsessed with obsession itself? The three main characters in this book (real people) are well drawn, and even though they are all very different, they all share the same obsession and they are each appealing in their own twisted way. I wanted them all to win. ( A Big Year is a quest to see the largest number of bird species in North America in a year.) Those of you interested in the survival literature genré (and you know who you are!), should definitely pick up this book. You will laugh out loud and be glad you are in the safety and comfort of your own home.