Shelf-Life: Books Abounding Part 2

Unfortunately, this isn't my Victorian bookshelf but the husband brings home enough natural oddities that I sometimes feel like we have a curiosity cabinet!

 

 

Shelf Life continued

It's been nice to find myself back at the keys, so I thought I would continue yesterday's discussion of books that have entered my life since last year.

I even spent part of last night on the floor of the sunroom catching up with some of them, Tiberius dutifully at my side!









Part Three: Victorian Books

Although I adore my varied teaching schedule, I'm still a Victorianist at heart and I still try to read widely in my area.

I hesitated to purchase this title because I've already read my share of Victoria-centric tomes, but people kept raving about devouring its 800 pages so I allowed myself to be talked into it! I haven't read far enough to say if this biography is deeper or richer or more engaging than the others I've read -- but I'll keep you posted!

 I'm a huge fan of Penn State's Animalibus series, especially since they started using Google Play to make the e-versions more affordable! I was drawn to this title because it belonged to that series, but also because I was already reading Raulff's Farewell to the Horse, which takes place one century later. I'm a sucker for companion books (those that can be read well together). To this list I would also add The Horse in the City: Living Machines in the Nineteenth Century. It's a difficult read if you're a horse lover (think Black Beauty) but illuminating, too!

I have major misgivings about zoos, as I love to visit them but also question whether they serve a purpose larger than entertainment, but I keep reading more in order to try to decide what I think! And a Victorian connection to the zoo - who can resist? For those who are still making up their mind about the zoo, this is a great title: Animal Underworld. 

 We often think that we're the first people (following Singer's Animal Liberation) to focus on animal rights and animal cruelty, but, as I so often find, the Victorians beat us to the punch. I hope Turner and Obechain can fill in the gaps in my knowledge when it comes to what Victorians believed about the lives they shared with companion animals, working animals, and animals they raised (or purchased) for food.

 As I type, this book is somewhere in the postal system, making its way to me. I'm on a major animal studies kick, so when this one appeared in Amazon's forthcoming books I couldn't resist pre-ordering. I hope the stories within can live up to that cover!

Tune in tomorrow for more books!