Book Review: The Tortoise’s Tale by Kendra Coulter
Years ago, when I was in the Galápagos Islands, a fellow traveler asked how long tortoises live. Our guide’s answer was: “We don’t know.” No human has yet lived long …
Animals
Book Review: North of the Sunlit River by Jessica Bryant Klagmann
In her novel North of the Sunlit River, Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s characters face grief and loss amid beautiful depictions of the natural world, from Alaska to New Mexico. Eila Jacobsen is …
Book Review: Defending Animals by Kendra Coulter
During the writing of Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection, Kendra Coulter’s dog, Sunny, spent many hours wrapped around her feet. Sunny, who had been abused …
Writing opportunity: Bestiary / Dark Mountain
I’m excited to share this new writing opportunity from Dark Mountain: Submissions are now open for Dark Mountain’s 29th issue, a book devoted to animals. We are seeking non-fiction, fiction, …
Habitat, by Case Q. Kerns
Black Lawrence Press, August 2025 In Habitat, a delectably creepy novel-in-stories, set slightly in the future, Case Q. Kerns imagines how late-stage capitalism plays itself out in the worst possible …
Book Review Flashback: How Animals Grieve by Barbara J. King
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 12 years since I reviewed How Animals Grieve by Barbara King. It’s a powerful book and I still recommend it today. Animals …
New and forthcoming environmental books (May 2025)
Imagine a lion who decides one day that he will no longer survive off eating animals. This is the premise of Erasmus Joseph Lion by Marvin Rollick, one of a …
Book Review: My Dog Always Eats First by Leslie Irvine
Even before beginning the research for her book My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People & Their Animals, Leslie Irvine had been thinking about what it means for a human to …
Book Review: The Universe in Verse
The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science and Poetry By Maria Popova Illustrations by Ofra Amit Storey Publishing, 2024 If books are medicine, The Universe in Verse …
Book Review: The Wild Horse Effect by Chad Hanson
Chad Hanson’s gorgeous book The Wild Horse Effect: Awe, Well-Being, and the Transformative Power of Nature combines beautiful imagery of the West and wild horses with reflections on mindfulness, nature, …
Book Review: Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch
Christina Lynch’s Pony Confidential is a light, highly readable mystery co-narrated by murder suspect Penny and her childhood pet, Pony, who comes to her rescue despite his lingering resentment that Penny sold …