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Reading the Water by Mark Hume
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Reading the Water

Fly Fishing, Fatherhood, and Finding Strength in Nature

$17.96

Retail price: $19.95

Discount: 9%

This title is not eligible for purchase with membership credits. Why?

Narrator Jim Denison

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

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Length 8 hours 36 minutes
Language English
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“A father shares the joys of fly-fishing with his daughters in this eloquent memoir…[Mark] Hume vividly conveys the sensory details of their adventures and the stunning surroundings…A heartfelt, beautifully written celebration of the wonders of nature and comfort of family.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Fishing was Mark Hume’s passion since he was a young boy, a lifeline through a childhood marked by his family’s frequent moves. When he became a father, he knew he wanted to pass on his love of water, fishing, and the natural world to his daughters. Most of all, he wanted to give them hope for their future even as they were coming of age during uncertain times.

As soon as they were old enough, Mark taught his girls how to read the water and see the patterns in nature. He showed them how to cast, how to catch fish and release them, and—only when needed—how to kill them. He discovered that fly fishing and fatherhood require many of the same skills: patience, flexibility, and the knowledge of when to reel in and when to let go.

Illuminating and heartfelt, Reading the Water is a much-needed, positive story about a father raising daughters, and a meditation on finding faith in a deep connection with the natural world.

Mark Hume is an award-winning environmental journalist and author of four books, including the acclaimed River of the Angry Moon. He was formerly a national correspondent and columnist with the Globe and Mail, BC bureau chief for the National Post, and a senior correspondent with the Vancouver Sun. Based in Vancouver, he has fly fished in British Columbia for fifty years.

Jim Denison is an audiobook narrator and voice actor with over thirty years experience in professional public speaking, including five years as a radio personality.

Collage of covers

Indie Bookshop Appreciation Sale

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Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

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Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

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Reviews

“Hume captures the poignancy of having once grasped a natural world teeming with exquisite, if all too vulnerable and fleeting, abundance. A must read for anyone who loves nature and cares about the earth.”

“An immensely profound look at how fly fishing has been ‘a way of navigating life’—a joyous celebration of how it has mingled with the seasons, the rivers, and the author’s close family. I loved Reading the Water.”

“Reading this book I found myself feeling more hopeful…Not just about the environment, but importantly, about men as fathers.”

“A father shares the joys of fly-fishing with his daughters. In this eloquent memoir…[Mark] Hume vividly conveys the sensory details of their adventures and the stunning surroundings…A heartfelt, beautifully written celebration of the wonders of nature and comfort of family.”

“In the tradition of Roderick Haig-Brown, and with a clear lyricism reminiscent of Wallace Stegner, Hume writes passionately about his intense connection to wild fish and the waters that sustain them. Gorgeously imagined, told with humility and grace, Reading the Water is a meditation on what it means to be a son, a father, a man wading the deep currents of his own mortality.”

“This is glorious…truly brilliant.”

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