‘New Wild Order’ by Andy Hamilton

Hardback, Scribe £18.99

Join forager, author, dad, and everyday fella Andy Hamilton, as he answers his own call of the wild, and discovers joy. This is a hopeful, practical book.

In a modern world that eats poorly, stays indoors, is overly competitive, sedentary, and sleep deprived; our stress levels are at record highs and our mental health at record lows.

Our eyes are strained from looking, and our backs are killing us.

Yet if you step outside and look carefully, you will see plants bursting with nourishment, hear calming birdsong, breathe in fresh air, move your stiff body.

Perhaps it is time for a New Wild Order.

‘The Curious Life of the Cuckoo’ by John Lewis-Stempel

Hardback, Doubleday, £9.99

Another beautiful, gorgeously illustrated book from this award-winning nature writer.

John Lewis-Stempel delves into the cuckoo's unique behaviour and captivating role in our cultural imagination, in folklore, myth, literature and music, turning his exquisite prose to one of the strangest tales of the countryside.

Is there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo?

It is invariably heard and not seen. And if seen, it is mistaken for a sharp-winged hawk.

The female cuckoo, by a trick that borders on alchemy, can disguise its egg as another's. But we forgive the cuckoo its con-artistry because it is the true herald of spring.