Events › Cupertino Nonfiction Book Discussion: Better living through birding: notes from a Black man in the natural world by Christian Cooper

Open to all adults who love to read and discuss Nonfictional literature. In January, the Nonfiction Book Discussion Group will talk about Better living through birding: notes from a Black man in the natural world by Christian Cooper (2023)

   Christian Cooper is a self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park. While birdwatching in Central Park in the spring of 2020, Cooper was falsely accused of physically attacking a white woman he encountered in the park, but successfully defended himself against the charge by videotaping her interaction with him with his phone. Cooper also writes about his boyhood love of birds, which never left him in adulthood. Feeling like a misfit in high school, Cooper found Harvard more welcoming. He discovered the Harvard Ornithological Club and the Gay Students Association, and he came out to his three roommates. He also writes about his enthusiasm for birdwatching as an adult, and about how it has helped him navigate life as a black man in the United States. All while being fully aware of the problems of police brutality, and who was likelier to be believed by the police and the public during his Central Park encounter with his accuser.

The Adult Nonfiction Book Discussion Group meets on the second Sunday of each month at 11am in Room 201B. All meetings are sponsored by The Friends of the Cupertino Library

For accessibility accommodations (ex. ASL), please fill out the online form at sccld.org/accessibility 7+days prior to the event. If you need assistance with the form, speak with a staff member at your local library, call (408) 540-3945, or email us at ask@sccl.org.