How do you review a book that you like? I know what I don’t like in a fly fishing book these days- basic how to books, books that are stating the obvious, books on fishing that have very little actual fishing in them – do what so you look for in a book on fly fishing ?
I suppose what I look for is a connection with the author; I like to read the authors experiences and say to myself that I could see me somewhere mixed up in their musings. Which is why when I was sent “Philadelphia on the Fly: Tales of an Urban Angler” I knew there was going to be something in it that I liked – I was not mistaken.
The book takes you on a journey as his skill levels rise from when Swegman gets his new rod through the post to philosophical wonderings about the ethos of killing fish. His experiences with fly fishing in an urban environment struck a chord with me that not many books do.
This is a quirky book, in a positive good way – full of interesting photographs and drawings spread through the pages that made me really connect with the places that Swegman fishes. It can be the hardest thing sometimes to explain to someone what a spot on a river looks like – in one memorable story Swegman describes a spot with some boulders. The picture in my minds eye I was pleasantly surprised to find was exactly like the photograph on the next page – I like that.
It is one of those books that I just know I will read time and time again – I keep a stock of fishing books in my bedside drawer – I just have to read a story every night before going to sleep and this book has definitely been added to that list.
You can of course buy it from Amazon…
