Book Review - Moorland Wildlife and Garden Wildlife by Villager Jim

By Ozhene @papaver
When I am not obsessing about my garden and reading gardening books, I obsess about photography and photograph books so when I was asked if I would like to review these two books from Villager Jim I was happy to do so.  I was sent these as review copies, as ever whilst I have not paid for the books, my opinions remain my own.
I admit to being unaware of Villager Jim as a name, but when I read through the books I realised I had seem some of his photos before.  Villager Jim is a pseudonym and he (or maybe she) is anonymous.  These two hardback books have good quality paper suitable for the quality needed to reproduce the photographs well.  Jim introduces himself and his approach to photography in the books, explaining that he likes to be up and out an hour before dawn on most days.  Jim also gives some extremely good tips for if you want to take wildlife pictures of your own.  I am not a good reader of introductions (I know, its a flaw, but I tend to want to get on and into the book) but I found these introductions interesting and useful.
The Moorland book focuses on the animal world out on the Peak District National Park.  There is a wide breadth of subjects from pheasants to lambs to hares and deer.  The photographs are extremely skillful and very beautiful.  Jim labels each photograph with either a short description or a short witty caption.
The Garden book is based around Jim's garden and follows the same format.  The photographs of garden birds are some of the best I have ever seen and other wildlife are also present.  This book made me want to visit Jim's garden, the glimpses of it are tantalising.
The best word for both of these books is 'charming', they have a real charm about them that makes it hard not to smile whilst flipping through the books.  They retail about around £12 and they definitely suitable as gifts for birthdays and Christmas and other gift giving opportunities.
Villager Jim's Moorland Wildlife and Villager Jim's Garden Wildlife are published by White Owl