I'm so glad to have found Kathleen Jamie - I really love her writing. Another great series of essays. ( )

Sightlines still my favourite but loved a lot of these pieces - been re-reading a lot of them or just dipping in, which is why it's taken so long to finish. ( )

Why did I read it? When "Findings" was first released, it received favourable reviews, some particularly glowing. It went on my wishlist, but I never seemed to get around to reading it.

During lockdown, I have sought to sift through my books, and add some Kindle editions of books I had wanted to read, and "Findings" was at the top of my list.

What did I like about it? Each chapter was a new story; each story was a revelation. Kathleen Jamie has a poetic style to her writing, but also a particular eye on her environment, one I had not seen through before. Each sentence seemed like a new discovery.

The illustrations preceding each chapter were enjoyable, too.

This was a short, but pleasurable read. I have the feeling I will delve into this book again, from time to time.

What didn't I like about it? Not a single thing. Not even the descriptions of the Surgeon's Hall.

Would I recommend it? This is a very short review, because I feel the book has to be experienced rather than written about by someone as word poor as myself. It is an utterly charming journey that should be experienced by all. Get it! Read it! ( )

There is something about the way that Jamie writes that captivates and immerses you in the subject that she writes about.

This book is no exception to that.

The subject, or short essays, that are in this book are not exclusively about the natural world, but most are. As she writes on the matter at hand, I feel her passion and her strengths, her weakness and doubts, and all the time I am amazed by the attention to detail that she has in her prose. It doesn't seem to make any difference whether she is writing about peregrines or her husbands fever, you feel alongside, seeing the things that she has seen, feeling the wind and smelling the sea.

This is effortless, exquisite reading. ( )

I have been looking forward to reading this book since I read its equally brilliant sequel/companion piece Sightlines last year. Jamie brings a quiet poetic eye to her observations of both the natural world and modern humanity, making many intriguing connections.

She succeeds in making a beautiful and unified whole from essays on a very varied set of subjects, ranging from the nature of darkness, birdwatching, remote uninhabited Scottish islands, the view from Edinburgh's Calton Hill and a museum of surgical specimens, to name just a few, while making perceptive observations on the connections with her own life. ( )