August RandomCAT: Animal Kingdom

ANIMAL KINGDOM



August is primarily the month of Leo's, represented by the mighty lion, aka - King of the Jungle. So this month, the challenge is to read a book that has an animal in the title or a book that features an animal. Some suggestions are listed below, but I'm sure you guys will find plenty of other options.

Books with Animals in the Title:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Zoo Station by David Downing
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

Books about Animals:
The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson (Lobsters)
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (Dogs)
From Baghdad with Love by Jay Kopelman (Dogs)
Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell (Otters)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Whale)
The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan (Horses)

I'm going to enjoy looking through my TBR for suitable books!

I am so excited to see this! My RL book group (with whom I no longer meet as we're in a different city now, but keep in touch with on facebook) have just today chosen Animals as our summer theme (the rest of the year they go for specific titles, but the last few summers we've gone for a different theme and it's my favourite bit of the reading year!). I have a number of books on my TBR, I think my challenge will be to see just how many I can get through! I'm lucky I have September as well as August to read them, so if I get my skates on I could get quite a few. A quick glance through my TBR reveals cats, dogs, jellyfish, donkeys, and sheep, amongst others!

Yesss! I could count Doctor Who: The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner, for this challenge. I'll see what else I can pull out from the pile. :D

I have a bunch of TBRs that would work but two that I've had on the shelf for several years are The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss and Lie Down With Lions by Ken Follett which seems especially appropriate. Not only is it lion month, I'm a lion.

More possibilities:

The Left-Handed Hummingbird, by Kate Ornan
Invasion of the Cat-People, by Gary Russell
The Blackbirder, by Dorothy B. Hughes
Tales from Watership Down, by Richard Adams
The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling (or to be more precise, that section of a volume of Rudyard Kipling stories that I've been meaning to read for a while)
The Case of the Mythical Monkeys, by Erle Stanley Gardner
Birds and Other Plays, by Aristophanes

I have just checked, and so far have found 13 books that could work for this challenge! I'm going to aim for 2 in August and 2 in September (book group is meeting again at the start of October), but now have to whittle down the list to the final 4!

Another suggestion, which I'm not going to read as I read it last year, but which I very much recommend, is Joanna Cannon's The Trouble with Goats and Sheep.

Good one!

Nice! I'm pondering The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore. He's always funny. And maybe Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

I've a ton of books that fit this challenge, now just to make the time to read them... ;)

I have two on my list that I was planning to read this year anyway - Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear and The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde, but I was also thinking about When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. And there are a ton more I could pull off my TBR. This might be a hard decision.

>11 dudes22: I agree, this will be a tough one! I snagged an Early Reviewer book The tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library that would fit perfectly. It's about a bug who loves to read and lives in behind the board in a fourth-grade classroom with his huge family.

The best dog stories I've ever read are in the Chet and Bernie series from Spencer Quinn. Chet is my favourite dog of all time!

Most people who notice my reviews know I love animals. I have sooo many to choose from for this! I'll have to take my time to weed some stuff out...

Let's see, I've got a swan, a magpie, a t-rex, a rat, a bass, animals, beasts, birds, an eagle, a wolf ......

I picked out a few possibilities:

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat / Hal Herzog
Primates: the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey... / Jim Ottaviani
Love Saves the Day / Gwen Cooper
Jerry of the Islands / Jack London

This theme will be a great opportunity for me to read a book from the 1001 Books List, I have both Tarka the Otter and Kestral for a Knave on my shelves so will be picking at least one of those.

Fun theme!

I'll list my possibilities here, so I don't have to go through the whole list again:
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine (tbr)
Die Känguru-Chroniken by Marc-Uwe Kling (library)
Das Lied der Stare nach dem Frost by Gisa Klönne (library)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (library)
The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna (library)
Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos (wishlist)
Schweinezeiten by Gary Victor (wishlist)

I'm planning to read The Secret Language of Cats by Heather Dunphy for this challenge, and also use it for the animal square on my BingoDOG card for only women authors. I may also reread either one of my favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird and/or The Humming Birds, a collection of poems by Lucinda Roy.

I've got tons to choose from, but I think I'm going to go with Reign of Serpents--I started the series because this title caught my eye, after all!

I plan to read Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. I loved her first book, The Glass Castle and have had this one on my TBR for awhile. Good reason to bring it to the top.

I finished The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner, which is a delightful Doctor Who adventure. I listened to the narration by Freema Agyeman, aka Martha Jones. She has a lot of fun doing a Tenth Doctor impression :)

In August I hope to finally get started on The Jungle Book through Serial Reader.

I'll be finishing up Moby Dick in August! Finally! Lol.

I unexpectedly finished my first book for this theme today, so I'm kicking it off with Happyslapped by a Jellyfish by Karl Pilkington. Having got all excited about the theme, turns out this one was a bit of a dud. I've a few more in the pipeline though so hopefully they'll be better. 2/5.

That's too bad that it was a dud - kind of surprising with an awesome title like that.

Would a zoo count?

>25 cyderry: I'd count it, personally :)

>25 cyderry: - Yes, a zoo definitely counts.

I think I'll go for The Classics Magpie by Jane Hood

>27 LittleTaiko: Great ! I'm reading Deadfall by Linda Fairstein and the center of the story surrounds the Bronx Zoological Park and its history,

I just read They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy for another challenge. I vaguely remember seeing the film ages ago.

I just finished Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. So glad this Cat challenge brought it to the top of my TBR. Comments Here https://www.librarything.com/work/8143078/reviews/143905819

I finished Borne by Jeff VanderMeer, which I really liked. Besides having a giant flying bear in it, and a sentient kind of squid-thingie (the title character), the themes included bio-engineering of animals, the differences between animals and persons, and how animals might become people. Surprisingly fitting, although I did originally choose it for the giant flying bear.

I've started The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland. I've been wanting to read this one for a while as all of the other books I have read by this author have been quite compelling. This challenge was a great prompt to read it now.

>32 sturlington: Giant flying bear - sounds like a must read :-)

If anyone has Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, I recommend it. Also, Birds of a Lesser Paradise is a great short collection by Megan Mayhew Bergman

The newest Linda Fairstein Alexandra Cooper mystery Deadfall centers around the illegal trafficking of ivory and Rhino horns and various other "big game" animals that are nearing extinction because of hunters that believe they are above the law. The details of how these animals are hunted and why was horrendous. Great book.

I finished Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson, this was a beautifully written story and apparently this well-loved book played a part in saving otters from extinction in the U.K.

>37 DeltaQueen50: - Ooh, I really need to read that one. It's on my shelf so maybe I'll try to get to it this month finally.

>38 LittleTaiko: I was totally amazed at the quality of the writing as I was expecting it to be more of a children's story.

>37 DeltaQueen50:, I liked Tarka the Otter a lot.

>6 rabbitprincess: The Jungle Book was one of my favorite books as a child. It's also a good adult read.

>15 LibraryCin: I adore Love Saves the Day! I think it was the first 5-star ER book I read.

>37 DeltaQueen50: I read Tarka the Otter as a child, need to reread it as an adult and get the nuances that I'm sure I missed.

I would highly, HIGHLY recommend almost anything by Joyce Stranger. She writes about people and the animals around them. My favorite of all is The Running Foxes, but most of her stories are wonderful. She also was a prolific author, so her books shouldn't be too hard to find.

I've got several books sitting here, staring at me, that will fit:

The Great Dane Thor by Walter Farley
The Island Stallion's Fury (same author, part of a shared read this month)
In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle (brand new, by the author of The Last Unicorn)
There's an Owl in My Shower by Jean Craighead George (she wrote the My Side of the Mountain series, and more)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry (author of the Misty of Chincoteague books)

And I've got several Thomas Hinkle and Joseph Wharton Lippincott books that are gathering dust...perhaps I'll get to some of them this month?

It just occurred to me that Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood counts for this challenge, as Crake in the story was named after the bird.

>42 Robertgreaves: it would also work for AlphaKit this month! O & F

>43 cyderry: I already put it there :-)

I will try to squeeze in Plumdog this month. It's a graphic novel so it should be a fairly quick read!

Catacombs / Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
3 stars

A continuation of Catalyst, human boy Jubal, and cat Chester have a bond where they can communicate via their minds. They (and other cats) are brought to planet Mau by Pshaw-Ra, who is royalty on that planet. Pshaw-Ra has plans to rule the universe. Little does everyone know, but Pshaw-Ra is planning to find a way to use all these cats to his advantage.

It was ok. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book. I’m not a big fan of the space-stuff, but I enjoyed the cats themselves when the focus was on them and their behaviours and their links to their humans.

I finished Rest in pieces, co-written by a cat, and the pets are instrumental in solving the mystery.

I finished Plumdog last night. If you've ever lived with a dog you'll love this one!

It occurred to me that I'm planning to read Parrot and Olivier in America for the Miles Franklin award this month and it will fit here, too!

I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice which was just okay. Not sure if I'm really a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories told by someone other than Doyle. Never mind that his side-kick this time around was quite insufferable.

>49 LittleTaiko: sorry you did not care for The Beekeeper's Apprentice, as it's one of my favorites. I've even given away copies to friends and family.

>49 LittleTaiko: I count Mary Russell as one of my favorite literary characters and wait impatiently for each new book in the series. I'm sorry that she didn't entertain you.

I finished Murder at Monticello, the next instalment in the Mrs Murphy mysteries, which did not thrill me. Thomas Jefferson adoration did not mix well with the mystery.

In memory of Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, who died August 6th after a tragic fall, I've started Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis winner of the 2015 Giller Prize.

http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/jack-rabinovitch-founder-of-the-giller-prize...

I finished Three Men in a Boat-To Say Nothing of the Dog. It was written in the late 1800's as a travelogue of three Victorian men (and a dog) taking a holiday traveling up the Thames to escape their ills. Hilarious at times, but it did drag at some parts. It's a bit dated but I think holds up rather well more than 100 years later. Overall a fun, quick read. I read it in anticipation of reading To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis which I"ll be reading this month--and will also fit this category.

and:

>42 Robertgreaves: I didn't realized Oryx and Crake would fit for this category too. Had no clue about the bird! I'll be reading this one later this month Looks like I'll have 3 books this months. Yay!

I finished Simon Ships Out. How one brave, stray cat became a worldwide war hero. Based on a true story of the Yangtze Incident in 1949, when British warship HMS Amethyst was trapped in the Yangtze for 3 months during the Chinese Civil War. It's written from the point of view (and voice) of a stray cat on board, who in real life was awarded medals for his impact on the morale of the crew. It's really not great literature, but it's an OK bit of fluff for a couple of hours, and kind of cute. 3/5.

I ended up reading a novel, Ape House by Sara Gruen for this challenge instead of a nonfiction book about cats. Although I enjoyed this mystery of who destroyed the Great Ape Language Lab and how the apes would be rescued from a reality TV show, I found the writing a bit choppy; Ms. Gruen had several threads to her story and kept skipping between them. The book discusses the mistreatment of animals and alludes to the place of animals in research.

Just finished Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis a wonderful fable where Hermes and Apollo make a bet in a Toronto bar that if animals were given human intelligence they would be more unhappy that humans. It was very entertaining and thought-provoking. Highly recommended.

I spent a lovely hour re-reading Das Märchen vom herrlichen Falken und andere russische Märchen, which has a falcon in the title and gorgeous illustrations by Ivan Bilibin.

I did my reread of The Island Stallion's Fury, and am currently reading another book that should qualify by the title: The Satan Bug by Alistair MacLean. At this time, I like the latter one more than the Farley book.

>52 MissWatson: I have not read Murder at Monticello, but am not surprised to hear that it praises Thomas Jefferson. Monticello was Jefferson's home, and Rita Mae Brown is a local author having lived in the Charlottesville area (currently in Crozet, about 10 miles from Charlottesville) for many years. This book was originally published in 1994; I think that Jefferson was still highly praised then. After we moved to the Charlottesville in late 1985, we got very tired of hearing about Thomas Jefferson as if he could do no wrong; it seemed before the locals made any decisions, they asked what TJ (as he was affectionately called) would have done. This is no longer so, especially as the nearby sites of the presidents who owned slaves have in the last decade{s} or so been changing their interpretations to discuss slavery.

>60 sallylou61: Yes, she mentioned in a brief note that she wrote it to mark his 250th birthday. She couldn't have guessed that new facts would alter people's opinions so quickly and so radically.

>41 fuzzi: My boys (now in their 20s) and I read Brighty of the Grand Canyon some years ago. We all enjoyed it very much.

I finished Moby-Dick!

One more, which also fits the CATWoman this month: Falcon. Helen Macdonald tells us a lot about falcons, but I expected a little more.

>62 muddy21: glad to hear it. I read most of the Marguerite Henry books in my youth, but not that one. I picked it up a couple years ago at a used book sale, just hadn't read it yet.

I've finished Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family by Glenn Plaskin. It's an ok story but kind of sappy.

Native Tongue / Carl Hiaasen
3.75 stars

Two endangered voles (a specific type) – in fact the last ones on Earth! – are stolen from Animal Kingdom, a theme park/zoo in the Florida Keys. Characters in the book include the two bandits and an old woman (an activist who has a penchant for guns!), who get to know each other; the owner of the zoo, who has a questionable past, and some of his employees: one of the main ones being a PR script writer, who decides he doesn’t like all the lies he is asked to write to release to the media. Then… people start dying...

Hiaasen’s books always have so much going on, and plenty of zany characters! I quite enjoyed this one, possibly more than some of the others I’ve read, but not quite enough for a 4 star rating. I liked that Hiaasen brought back a character from a previous novel, though I can’t recall which novel, but I do vaguely remember him. I don’t think I found this as funny as some of his others, but that’s ok. I always like the environmental themes in his books.

I have completed The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss. This is an historical novel that takes place in Oregon the last half of 1917 and the first half of 1918. This will be on my favorite books of 2017 list.

I re-read the short story Rat-Catcher by Seanan McGuire. The protagonist is (kind of) a cat.

I'm reading Kafka on the Shore and have just discovered that Kafka means bird. It says crow in the story and there is a crow. I googled and it says bird. Either way, I will count this one too.

I finished The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine and really liked it. A modern fairy tale retelling, set in the golden 20s of NYC. It's one of those BBs that hit me back in 2015, thank you christina.reads!

While at the library I found a new Peter S. Beagle book, In Calabria. I brought it home, and finished it last night. It was very good!

And yes, there is a unicorn in the story.

>73 christina_reads: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I think it's a really unique retelling.

Eye of the Whale / Douglas Carlton Abrams
4 stars

Elizabeth is married, but spends much of her time away, researching for her thesis on whales. She is studying whale communication. When she is the first to notice a different song amongst the whales, something appears to be very wrong. But, she needs to head home to California. With trouble brewing with her husband and at the university with regards to her thesis, Apollo, a whale, races too close to shore, but won’t leave. When she tries to help get him back to the ocean, she becomes a target...

I really enjoyed this! I love animals and am interested in environmental topics, and this has a definite environmental focus, as well. There are short chapters, introduced by location and time, so you know this is time-sensitive. There were parts that kept the book a page-turner for me.

The animal was only really in the title but I have completed The Classics Magpie by Jane Hood.

I finished The Fisherman by John Langan, also for this challenge.

I just read Brighty of the Grand Canyon, which I'd somehow missed during my childhood. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even as an adult read.

I have finished The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle -- I don't know how I missed reading this growing up!

>80 whitewavedarling: oh, I am so glad you read that! I love that book, and enjoy the author's style of writing.

Now you need to read his latest book, In Calabria.

Just finished Reign of Serpents by Eleanor Herman. Full review written...

I am using Travels with Charley by Steinbeck for this one. Charley being his blue poodle.

>83 beebeereads: I quite enjoyed that one when I read it a few years back!

My second book for this cat was History of Wolves. It has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. There are discussions of animals throughout the book because it takes place in the north woods of Minnesota, but they are not the story. I wrote a short review on the page for those interested in learning more. I rated this 3.5 stars.

Like >57 VivienneR: I read Fifteen Dogs for this challenge too, and really enjoyed it.

I read the thriller Fierce Kingdom by Phillips (set in a zoo) and
Notso Hotso by Anne Fine. (a dog story)

I finished my second book for this month's RandomCAT: The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna, a crazy, weird and fun roadtrip across Finland.

>86 Chrischi_HH: Glad to hear you enjoyed Fifteen Dogs. I always worry when another LTer picks up a book after I've given a glowing review of it.

>89 rabbitprincess: Haha, no worries - your review wasn't actually a BB for me, it was a birthday gift so I got it before I saw your review! But I know what you mean - when I really love a book, I just want everyone else to like it as much, and am nervous in case they hate it!

>89 rabbitprincess: >90 ME TOO! I am also anxious about hating books that many others have loved.