The Comfort of Crows (Reese’s Book Club Pick) by Margaret Renkl

There’s something profound about noticing the world around us—really noticing. Margaret Renkl invites you to slow down and pay attention in The Comfort of Crows, a Reese’s Book Club Pick that reads like a series of love letters to the natural world.

This stunning collection of essays weaves together keen observations of backyard wildlife with meditations on family, loss, and the quiet grace found in everyday moments. Renkl, a beloved New York Times contributing opinion writer, has a gift for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary—whether she’s watching crows gather at dusk or contemplating the resilience of native plants pushing through concrete.

What makes this book special is how it holds both joy and sorrow in the same breath. Renkl writes about the changing seasons in her Tennessee yard with the same tenderness she brings to reflections on aging parents and the passage of time. Her prose is luminous yet accessible, the kind that makes you want to underline passages and share them with friends.

Perfect for readers who loved Braiding Sweetgrass or H is for Hawk, this is a book that reminds us to look up from our screens and notice the chickadees at the feeder, the first crocus breaking through snow, the comfort found in the natural rhythms all around us.

Whether you’re curled up by the window on a foggy Ogunquit morning or reading on your porch as the sun sets over Perkins Cove, The Comfort of Crows is the perfect companion for quiet contemplation.