God knows I have a ton of them: Books on African Greys, on behavior training, diet, stories about parrots, handbooks. You name it, I’ve probably seen it, own it or I’ve read it. And the hits just keep on coming. I really enjoy reading and I’ve found that many other parrot people do as well.  And if a person who loves parrots can also read about parrots, well, they’re just thrilled. Reading is one of those things you can do sitting down and feel like you’re accomplishing something. You’re not really doing anything such as running a load of laundry or cleaning out a closet, but if someone calls and asks you what you’re doing and you reply, “I’m reading a book.” you can be sure you have left a better impression than saying you were watching Jerry Springer.

Phyllis Diller once said that what she did to avoid doing any housework was to sit and fold diapers.  This was before the days of disposables and when the diapers came out of the drier, you had to fold them. Phyllis wrote that she still folded diapers three years after the last kid was trained.

While reading a book is fun, writing a book is challenging. Writing in general is, as Patrick Dennis once said, …no harder than ditch-digging.” The reason I know this is that I’ve “dug a lot of ditches” so to speak.

Rebecca K. O’Connor’s Book, “Lift.”

Get Rebecca’s Book Here: “Lift”

So anytime anyone actually gets a book out about parrots or birds that people will actually purchase and read, I say “Hurray!” It’s even better if the book is really good. Parrot People of the Parrot Nation like to read these books. There aren’t as many of them as, say, Harlequin Romance Novels but it still affirms that they aren’t the only people in the world with this “Parrot Fever” affliction. And sometimes, we learn a thing or two which is even better.

Irene Pepperberg’s Memoir, “Alex and Me.”

Get Irene’s Book “Alex and Me” Here: “Alex and Me”

I will tell you that most people who have parrots feel they have a book in them. Frustrated writers they are, with a story of their parrots roiling their brains. But because of the fact that they do indeed have parrots means that they will most likely never find the time to actually write a book about their parrots. They are far too busy cleaning cages, making food or getting their bird out from behind the couch to find the time to sit down and write about it.

Joanna Burger’s Book “The Parrot Who Owns Me”

Get Joanna’s book Here: “The Parrot Who Owns Me”

But somehow, there are people who manage to not only write the damned thing, but they actually get the damned thing published. Damn!

Get Barbara’s Book Here: “The Parrot Problem Solver”

I admire these people who can get these books written. I admire them even more for getting them published.

Get Sy Montgomery’s Book Here: Birdology

Now if you know me even a little, you know that I really do love to write. And as I write more and more, I seemed to be getting a bit more efficient at it. It no longer takes me nine hours to write up something. This means that it now only takes me five hours. So I guess I’m not only improving my writing, I’m a little faster. Now if I could only learn to type.