Mix-It-Up Monday: Review of A Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom Seen Birds of North America

Like most people, I have a few favorite genres that I typically stick to when I choose books to read. If you've read any of The Revolving Bookcase's posts before, it won't be difficult to guess what those are - Romance (of any age), New Adult, and YA. Every so often, a non-fiction or a comedy book will catch my eye and intrigue me enough to want to know more. I never know where to put those reviews, so I'm starting a new post called Mix-It-Up Monday where we feature books you might not expect to find reviewed on our site. I doubt this will be a weekly thing since we're creatures of habit, and will probably still stick to our favorite genres, but I hope for at least one Mix-It-Up post a month.

To start it off, this week's feature is a parody that is so well disguised as such that more than a few people (my sister included) actually thought it was a serious non-fiction book.

A Field Guide to Little-Known & Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
Ben Sill, Cathryn Sill, John Sill
John Sill (Illustrator)
August 1, 2013
Peachtree Publishers
112 pages (paperback) 

Synopsis: Birders and just about anyone who likes birds will delight in this field guide parody. Thirty-two fabulous new species are depicted in this volume, which features tongue-in-cheek descriptions, observation hints, and range maps, as well as remarkable full-color illustrations. The reader will never look at our feathered friends in the same way after encountering these frequent flyers.

Review: This book's layout is just like you'd expect from a field guide to birds, even a satirical one - there's a color illustration of a bird followed by it's description and identifying characteristics. Some of the listings are so matter-of-fact sounding, they read like they could actually be about real birds (the Giant-Billed Snapper), and some are just absurd (the Auger-Billed Clamsucker). As somewhat of a bird enthusiast, I really appreciated the details the authors put into every listing - even laughing out loud at some of them. Might be a little on the dry side for non-bird lovers though.

A Field Guide to Little-Known & Seldom-Seen Birds of North America: 3.5/5 Stars
Cover: 4/5 stars

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.