Odd Birds

March 27, 2017
Actor Harding’s breezy memoir uses his hobby of birdwatching as a lens to muse about his career, craft, and values. He earned celebrity status as Ezra Fitts on the TV series Pretty Little Liars, but he doesn’t lean on his fame as a crutch. His passion and curiosity for birds is evident, and he does a commendable job of keeping the focus on his encounters with them. As he goes on hiking quests to find a red cockaded woodpecker and a California condor, releases a red-tailed hawk back into the wild, and mourns a lost arctic loon, Harding looks for meaning and metaphors in his excursions. When he hits the mark, readers learn about the fickle world of auditions and unusual acting classes. When he falls short, they get strained analogies and exaggerated similes. The chapters are uneven, but Harding’s authenticity and knowledge of his subject manage to redeem even the more pedestrian sections. The book may frustrate fans looking for traditional Hollywood-insider scoops, and birder geeks who seek more depth from their sympathetic screen star comrade, but both audiences will take away refreshing insights from a likable nature lover. Photos.

March 15, 2017
A TV actor reflects on his life (so far) and a love of birding.Noting that at 30, he is too young to pen a memoir, Harding, known for his role as Ezra Fitz on ABC's Pretty Little Liars, instead compiles an affable collection of stories, anecdotes, and memories of his time in Hollywood and his affinity for bird-watching. Though they don't appear on the West coast, cardinals are plentiful in Virginia, where Harding grew up in a military family, and he writes fondly of how these birds still bring serenity and a sense of protectiveness for him. The author connects many of his Los Angeles adventures to his experience as an avid birder and a lover of the natural world around him, though as an adolescent, he hid his unconventional interest out of fear of being ostracized by classmates. Harding also explores his childhood penchant for tantrums and troublemaking; exhausting a steady stream of babysitters, he behaved in a manner that starkly contrasted with his -practically angelic- older sister, Sarah. Elsewhere, tales of acting classes at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and a bold, postgraduate, cross-country move to Hollywood after driving for four days demonstrate Harding's sheer dedication to acting. Fledgling actors will appreciate chapters on the craft of acting, the author's acquisition of the TV role that established him in LA, and the mechanics of on-set scenes. Thoughts on mockingbirds, woodpeckers, the massive California condor, and Harding's palpable excitement over an arctic loon -rare-bird alert- are equally fervent. The author deftly interweaves both acting and nature loving into a unique group of memories and experiences. Harmless and pleasantly innocuous, the narrative stays in the safe zone yet is revealing enough to leave fans and birders satisfied. Animal lovers in particular will find much to savor in this endearing, breezy memoir from a young, enterprising Hollywood actor.

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April 15, 2017
Shortly after Harding's grandmother died, a female cardinal started showing up in the backyard. The family liked to think it was Grandma Mary, checking in on them, and when her husband and his new wife later died, two new cardinals, one male and one female, joined the first bird. Even before they became possibly reincarnated relatives, birds were an early interest for Harding. He can tell you why a certain island off the coast of Texas is a mecca for birders, or why white is considered taboo for birders to wear at any time of year. But, as he recounts in this affable memoir, he set birding aside until after college, concerned that interest in the hobby might brand him as a loser. At that same time, his acting career took off with the role of Ezra, a teacher who dates a student on the teen TV drama Pretty Little Liars. Harding recounts with charm and enthusiasm his road to success as an actor (including the semester he had to spend portraying a jellyfish) and his rediscovery of the joys of birding.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)