Mountainfit by Meera Lee Sethi

Ahh, to fall in love with the natural world  

Synopsis: In 2011, a tiny bird observatory in far western Sweden found itself hosting its first American volunteer, and Meera Lee Sethi found herself exactly where she wanted to be: watching great snipe court each other under the midnight sun and disturbing lemmings on her way to find a gyrfalcon nest. Mountainfit is an ecological field notebook, a keenly observed natural history of the life that sings from the birches, wheels under the clouds, and scuttles over the peat bogs of the Swedish highlands. And it is a letter, in 21 jewel-like parts, from a well-read and funny friend. Meera's vigorous, graceful prose communicates a wry understanding of how utterly ordinary it is to long for more out of life--and how extraordinary it can feel to trust that longing. Meera's intent was to create a book small enough to fit in your pocket and read on the train to work in the morning. It is that. But it's also large enough to contain a mountain or two.

My two cents

I declared this among my favourite reads of 2013, so I figured I better say why I love this little book so!   Because it captures the sheer wonder of discovery! Meera Sethi Lee has captured in her deliciously perceptive prose the joy, the wonder, the glee of feeling like a little child once again in this beautiful, wondrous world that we live in. There is no place for cynicism when you read this.

I have had this book for a while. I even hosted Meera on this blog with her array of beautiful photography and even more cheerful words. I held off on reading this but my timing couldn't have been better. I picked this up when I was feeling a little worn down (probably because of the sudden drop in temperatures) that I thought a little bit of humour was needed. Because really, why would I want to miss witnessing a lemming do a back flip?

Reveling in Meera's words and wonder is the next best thing to being out there in the slopes of Sweden.

Bird lover? Animal enthusiast? Love the outdoors? Have a soft spot for a contemplative life without the hum and distractions of a city life ... you need to read this.

There. A short, simple yet much-deserved rave about a great book!

Verdict: Everything about this book puts a smile on my face. You need to read it!    I received a copy of the print version of this book from the publishers in exchange for nothing :) I had a gut feel about this book when I read the synopsis and consequently hosted the author my blog.