Animal (Fiction and Nonfiction)

It's a wild world and we're just living in it. Try this list for reads about wildlife, ecology, and human/animal connections that matter for survival.

Updated June 6, 2024
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Silk : a world history
Prasad, Aarathi
Paper Book
A Next Big Idea Book Club Must-Read for April "Aarathi Prasad's Silk: A World History is a love song to this protean material. . . . Beautiful [and] fascinating." --Wall Street Journal "Aarathi Prasad spins a masterpiece of a story, as luminous, supple, and surprising as the...
Of time and turtles : mending the world, shell by shattered shell
Montgomery, Sy
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * AMAZON EDITOR'S PICK and BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * INDIE BESTSELLER * A SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR * THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST NONFICTION OF THE YEAR PICK * A NEW SCIENTIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR *THE PERFECT...
Eat, poop, die : how animals make our world
Roman, Joe
NAMED A TOP-TEN BEST BOOK OF 2023 BY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN A "fascinating" exploration (Elizabeth Kolbert) of how ecosystems are sculpted and sustained by animals eating, pooping, and dying--and how these fundamental functions could help save us from climate catastrophe.<...
Eight bears : mythic past and imperiled future
Dickie, Gloria
Ebook
An Economist Best Book of 2023 * An NPR 2023 "Books We Love" Pick * A Science News Favorite Science Books of 2023 * A Scientific American Best Staff Read of 2023 A global exploration of the eight remaining species of bears--and the dangers they face.   ...
The last animal
Ausubel, Ramona
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Whip-smart and compulsively readable. . . both a wildly entertaining adventure story and a meditation on what it means to love your children-fiercely and imperfectly."-Oprah Daily "Springs alive to explore questions that stump scientists and...
Our kindred creatures : how Americans came to feel the way they do about animals
Wasik, Bill
Paper Book
A compassionate, sweeping history of the transformation in American attitudes toward animals by the best-selling authors of Rabid Over just a few decades at the end of the nineteenth century, the United States underwent a moral revolution on behalf of animals. Before the...
Twilight Falls
Black, Juneau
Ebook
The fourth book in the Shady Hollow mystery series sees Vera embroiled in a case involving star-crossed lovers whose affair may have turned deadly. It's spring in Shady Hollow, and romance is in the air. Even reporter Vera Vixen is caught up in the season as her relationship with...
George : a magpie memoir
Hughes, Frieda
Paper Book
"Poignant and funny...a passionate book about unconditional love and commitment." --The Washington Post * "Captivating." --Associated Press * "Rich with imagery...It's impossible not to be smitten." --Star Tribune (Minneapolis) From poet and painter Frieda Hughes...
The other family doctor : a veterinarian explores what animals can teach us about love, life, and mortality
Fine, Karen R.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . Calling all animal lovers! A heartwarming memoir about one woman's career as a vet and the unique role pets play in our lives."Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their...
On animals
Orlean, Susan
Ebook
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Magnificent." --The New York Times * "Beguiling, observant, and howlingly funny." --San Francisco Chronicle * "Spectacular." --Star Tribune (Minneapolis) * "Full of astonishments." --The Boston Globe
Funny farm : my unexpected life with 600 rescue animals
Zaleski, Laurie
Paper Book
An inspiring and moving memoir of the author's turbulent life with 600 rescue animals. Laurie Zaleski never aspired to run an animal rescue; that was her mother Annie's dream. But from girlhood, Laurie was determined to make the dream come true. Thirty years later as a...
How to be a good creature : a memoir in thirteen animals
Montgomery, Sy
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals--her friends--who have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green. ...
The soul of an octopus : a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness
Montgomery, Sy
Audiobook
In this astonishing book from the author of the best selling memoir The Good Good Pig, Sy Montgomery explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus-a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature-and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.
What an owl knows : the new science of the world's most enigmatic birds
Ackerman, Jennifer
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 Named a Best Book of 2023 by Publishers Weekly From the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, a brilliant scientific investigation into...
Perestroika in Paris
Smiley, Jane
Ebook
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals--and a young boy--whose lives intersect in Paris in this "feel-good escape" (The New York Times). ...
The cat's meow : how cats evolved from the Savanna to your sofa
Losos, Jonathan B.
Paper Book
The past, present, and future of the world's most popular and beloved pet, from a leading evolutionary biologist and great cat lover. "Engaging and wide-ranging ... The Cat's Meow is a readable and informed exploration of the wildcat that lurks within Fluffy." --...
Dewey : a small-town library cat who touched the world
Myron, Vicki.
Paper Book
Experience the uplifting, "unforgettable" New York Times bestseller about an abandoned kitten named Dewey, whose life in a library won over a farming town and the world -- with over 2 million copies sold! (Booklist) Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. On...
Saving nature one yard at a time : how to protect and nurture our native species
Deardorff, David C.
Audiobook

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