21st Century Yokel

De: Tom Cox

Narrado por: Tom Cox

21st-Century Yokel explores the way we can be tied inescapably to landscape, whether we like it or not, often through our family and our past. It's not quite a nature book, not quite a humour book, not quite a family memoir, not quite folklore, not quite social history, not quite a collection of essays, but a bit of all six. It contains owls, badgers, ponies, beavers, otters, bats, bees, scarecrows, dogs, ghosts and yes, even a few cats. What emerges from this are themes that are broader, bigger and more definitive.

©2017 Tom Cox (P)2017 W. F. Howes Ltd

An engaging storyteller!

I love Tom Cox's books and this was no exception. It was wonderful to hear his stories and musings in his own voice, and his impressions of the other folks, especially LOUD DAD, drew me in to this place so far away from my American southwest in so many ways. I am hoping to hear Tom read his Help The Witch and Ring The Hill soon!

Absolutely endearing

Tom is insightful, illustrative, and paints an intricately detailed picture of the natural world he adores. His writing communicates how the landscape influences his thinking, while also giving an excellent sales pitch for getting out and experiencing the outdoors in general. If you live somewhere that the great outdoors doesn’t color your world much, this book is a good primer as to why others love it so much. Likewise, if you spend time bonding with the landscape, climates, and wildlife where you live, you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement with tom quite often. Witty, humorous, and honest in his expression of personal points of view - does not disappoint. I find myself upping the level of my own mental narrative after reading one of tom’s descriptive and insightful books, too.

Excellent book

I’ve just finished this, and I’m sad that it’s done. Wonderful stories of trees, walks, cats, swimming, family, and finding one’s place in the world.

A wonderful performance!

I learned about Tom Cox and his series of delightful books from Substack, where he entertains a large following with his dry straightforwardness and humor. Read further to discover his beautiful, skilled use of language, and his personal photos of his beloved countryside and critters. Tom's storytelling demonstrates his understanding of U.K. ecology, and a deep devotion to place which I find captivating. I can't imagine another narrator of his books would be so welcoming. His charming voice and inflections, description, and command of his words form the whole of his art, In fact, I see Tom Cox as a folk artist, a kindly St. Francis of Assisi to the animals, a humorist, a friend to nature, a performance artist, and a warm guide to his countryside.

a wonderful collection of thoughts and musings.

listening to Tom stories is like sitting down to a cup of tea with a good friend and catching up. listening was delightful and endearing, and I will definitely be listening to this one over and over again.

not about much of anything at all

This book is less about nature than the author waffling on about his current home in Devon and how it is totally different than other parts of the country he has lived in. The humor and observations seemed a bit try-hard and grating. In the first chapter, he even nonchalantly discusses a possibly fatal encounter between a weasel and a baby rabbit. I was a bit horrified when he casually wonders if he should "put it out of its misery", then wishes he had recorded a video for social media, which then turns into a rant about the evils of social media. I don't know, clearly a lot of people find this book charming so I say it might be worth checking out, but it certainly wasn't for me.

Additionally: avoid the audiobook if you also suffer from misophonia and you struggle with "mouth sounds". There's a fair amount of lip smacking, tongue clicking, etc which were very difficult to cope with. I recognize this is a niche issue and my dislike of the book is not due to this specifically, but tread with caution if you are a fellow sufferer.