Johnson P. Johnson, The Armchair Naturalist: How to Be Good at Nature Without Really Trying

I'd recommend this to anyway who needs to fill in the blanks of UK flora and fauna that you somehow forgot to find out when you were little and are now too old to ask!

I read this and loved it, although I have to say that J.P.Johnson got his title wrong. I don't want to be too Enid Blyton about this but there was nothing 'Armchair' whatsoever about it; it made me get straight out there and start seeing the flora and fauna - so beautifully observed by this entirely self-taught naturalist - with my own eyes. His lack of formal education on the subject does nothing to diminish the quality of the book either. He writes with an unpretentious charm and enthusiasm that will ensure you, the book and its equally charming illustrations could easily spend days charging through fields and along river banks in search of a rare newt or a simple wild flower. It's pocket width suggests that was what it was intended for anyway, which again makes me wonder how 'Armchair' crept into the title. Either way, I think it's brilliant and can not recommend it highly enough, however into nature you are.