Mozart's Starling | 
pickI knew I would enjoy this, but wow, this surpassed my expectations. Wonderfully written and just a delight. I fell in love with Haupt‘s starling, Carmen (pictured) and was fascinated with her research on Mozart and his pet, Star.
If you enjoy learning about birds, history, language and/or the connections between humans and the natural world, highly recommend. Includes photographs throughout. Look forward to reading her other books!
Haupt‘s writing is just lovely. Found this paragraph “And what is this wild summons…” very moving.
“This book would have taken me half as long to write if it were not for one fact: most of it was composed with a starling perched on my shoulder.”
#FirstLineFridays
Book 122 of the year. This wasn‘t what I was expecting it to be but thoroughly enjoyed it!
pickDelightful book that weaves several narrative threads together - the titular story of Star and Mozart, the author‘s story of her starling Carmen, and a larger story of ecology, nature, sentience, and music. Beautifully written and a joy to read.
pickI really enjoyed this book about how starlings came to be the invasive species they are in North America, Mozart‘s pet starling, Star, and the influence she had to his music and the author‘s pet starling, Carmen. By far I liked Carmen‘s story best but the whole book is lovely to read. If you liked H is for Hawk you may enjoy this
This is me tonight. First I have to make a list, check it twice, and then I‘m busy
pickThis is an interesting book about starlings, two in particular: the author's one and Mozart's one. At first, I wasn't sure that the subject matter would interest me enough to keep me reading until the end, but it actually did. I really enjoyed the fluid writing, and all the information given about starlings and about Mozart's life.
pickI LOVED this random library pick. “An unexpected window into human-animal friendships, music, and the nature of creative expression.” - NPR. This has also inspired me to get my gorgeous bird photographs (by New Zealand photographer Stewart Nimmo) framed and on the wall.
pickThis was a nerdy delight, for nerds of many stripes - music, nature, science, language, history. I learned lots about starlings, beyond that they are a much-hated invasive species, which was the extent of my preexisting knowledge. And, as it always does, the I-did-an-unusual-thing-and-also-researched-the-topic-very-thoroughly memoir format pleased me. 😊
pickWhat a lovely, uplifting book! Yes, it's about Mozart's pet starling, and about Haupt's experiences of living with her starling, Carmen. But *really* it's about how our lives are enriched when we acknowledge our relationship with non-human animals, in this case with a species that is (so I discover) widely reviled. Add some Mozart fandom, plus a discussion of starling language and how these intelligent birds learn and what more can you want?
pickWonderfully quirky book that mixes memoir, biography, and ornithology in an accessible, entertaining way. Haupt raises a much-maligned starling of her own in order to better understand Mozart‘s much-touted relationship with one. She also delves into the communicative properties of birds, the history of starlings, and why these birds are loathed by birders and conservationists in the US. A fun and informative read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sitting out on the deck, watching the birds in my backyard, and reading this fascinating book about starlings. 🐦
This book sounds like it lives right in my heart's Venn diagram: an account of the relationship between a young Mozart and his pet starling (incredibly smart birds with an extensive musical/imitative repertoire) that interweaves modern society's harsh perspective on the invasive species, as well as the author's own experience raising a baby starling (seen in the photo-- which comes from Instagram)! #TBR
