Seattleâs premier avian scribe follows Mozartâs Starling with this look into how the âinnate connection between humans and the natural world is coming to the fore in a new way as academic research rises in support of truthsâ that are age-old. With an erudite and roving wit, Haupt writes about how trees can communicate with each other, and how we can connect with them simply by walking in the woods. And, of course, there are still birds. Out now Swimming to Freedom: My Escape from China and the Cultural Revolution by Kent Wong His father was a Chinese official, but when the Cultural Revolution hit, Kent Wong and his siblings were separated into different villages. Eventually, heâd join an underground movement and become one of a half million who fled to Hong Kong via an open water swim that in some spots stretched six miles. His trip ultimately took him to Seattle. He recalls that journey in clear, direct prose in this memoir. You can read an excerpt here.