Are you a bibliophile? My love of books is very deeply ingrained: as a child I read voraciously, I worked in book publishing for 10 years, and libraries and bookshops are amongst my favourite indoor places. I don’t yet have a large library of reference books for British flora and fauna but my collection is slowly growing as I trawl through the offerings at local second-hand book and charity shops or allow myself the luxury of buying a new guide.

As well as the reference books, I also like to read books by authors who write more broadly about the natural world. Recent favourite reads have been James Rebanks’ The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District, and I am working my way through the many publications of Robert Macfarlane, which has also led me to a book which is now particular favourite of mine, Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain. If you have suggestions for Nature or wildlife-related books I really should read or own, I would love to hear about them.

Oh, and as a nod to World Book Day I’ve updated the ‘Resources’ page on this blog (see link above; it also includes many useful websites).