My Place of Private Solace: Amy Tan Exclusive Guest Post

Believe it or not, acclaimed author and our Gift Book of the Year winner Amy Tan had no idea that her personal journal entries would become a backyard birding book sensation when she began writing it. Read on for an exclusive short essay from Amy Tan on how it feels to be our Gift Book of the Year winner and discover what she’d like to say to her devoted readers. If you’re just as obsessed with these illustrations as we are, you’ll want to get your hands on the accompanying collection of 50 postcards, available for pre-order now.

I was stunned when I heard the news that The Backyard Bird Chronicles had been voted as Barnes & Noble’s Gift Book of the Year. This book had such an improbable start compared to what it has become. Six years ago, there was no thought on my part my journal would ever be published. These pages were my place of private solace, a repository for odd thoughts,  humorous observations, and messy practice sketches as I learned to draw birds. But my longtime editor and Knopf believed in its worth. And then came news that the icon of the birding world, David Alan Sibley, was writing the foreword! You can imagine how gratifying it was for me to hold the book, hot off the press, and to soon find it had become a NYT #1 bestseller. And now, to receive this biggest surprise of all, the huge vote of confidence from Barnes & Noble— unbelievable! I am deeply moved that countless readers have told me that as a result of reading my book, they are now infatuated with their own backyard birds and report to me the funny antics and amazing feats the birds perform. As a result, they tell me they are now committed to bird conservation. With Barnes & Noble’s spotlight, I’m deeply grateful that more people may come to love birds and join efforts to protect and save them. My profound thanks to Barnes & Noble.