What are you currently reading?

KevinB said:
Next on my reading list is A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg, about the different caracara species
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This one is on my want to read list, please let us know what you think of it!
 
I decided to indulge in my early childhood as of late so I'm currently making my way through the Adventure Series by Enid Blyton. I have just finished The Mountain of Adventure.
 
After Tim Brown gave this book a very good review in the winter issue of Zoo Grapevine, I thought that I would give it a go. The book in question is Raised By The Zoo, by
Gerry Creighton..Tim said that it is remarkable book by a remarkable person, how right he was. It's a very engaging read and I would definitely recommend it
 
KevinB said:
Next on my reading list is A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg, about the different caracara species
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Crowthorne said:
This one is on my want to read list, please let us know what you think of it!
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I am about two hundred pages into it now.

I am quite enjoying it and it has made several train journeys to and from work quite a bit more bearable and less stressful for me.

The maps in the book aren't the best due to being in grey scales and there are a few things incorrect or at least unclear on them also.

The stories about the caracaras are certainly interesting and contain some new information even for those of us who may already know a fair bit about birds.

Some of the passages about the people somehow tied to caracaras that Meiburg discussed are in my opinion a bit too long and meander away from the topic a bit too far. I think the first few chapters are bit weaker, however the book becomes stronger once Meiburg gets into the chapters telling about his actual travels in South America searching for caracaras.

If you want a strictly scientific publication about birds this is not the book for you, however if you think you would enjoy an enjoyable and interesting book with discussions of people and history as well as travel tales and information about birds I would definitely recommend it.
 
After finishing the caracara book I recently started two new ones.

A Wilder Kingdom: Rethinking Nature in Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Beyond - Edited by Ben A. Minteer and Dr. Harry Greene and Different. Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans De Waal.
 
I'm currently reading the story of the Hollywood tower estate,home to the New Bristol zoo, so far five chapters in and struggling to read, the last book I struggled to read like this one was animals in the blood the ken smith story, I might give up and re-read building Noah's ark a cracking read despite the very in your face religious beliefs of the author.
 
I am now reading TMNT: The IDW Collection Volume 4. It's a great series so far, I'd recommend it.
 
KevinB said:
After finishing the caracara book I recently started two new ones.

A Wilder Kingdom: Rethinking Nature in Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Beyond - Edited by Ben A. Minteer and Dr. Harry Greene and Different. Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans De Waal.
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I did not continue with the gender book when the topic came up in rather toxic ways during my country's recent election cycle. Not feeling like it right now, but will probably pick this one up later on.

I did however continue with the Wilder Kingdom book, however so far it hasn't really been what I expected from it. About 100 pages it is still very academic, and although interesting, hasn't really provided that much practical information for zoos. I am however going to finish it.

I have also started Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia by Wade Davis, and am enjoying this one very much. It is a story of expeditions in the Magdalena river basin of Colombia, of very interesting Colombians or people with ties to Colombia, and of the convoluted and sadly very often marred history of Colombia and how it ties to this river, from the Spanish conquistadores to the FARC and Pablo Escobar. Environmental issues also form part of the content of the book. Many parts of the book can certainly evoke some emotion. The book is quite a page turner and does grip the reader quite well. I disagree rather vehemently with some stances the author takes on an infamous illegal export product of Colombia, but still am so far enjoying the book greatly. It requires some attention to keep up with the names and some terms the author uses, but because the book is so enjoyable so far I have no problem with that. I would definitely recommend this one.

Finally I have also started re-reading The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf, which tells the story of Alexander Von Humboldt.
 
'Remarkably Bright Creatures' by Shelby Van Pelt. A novel based in a fictional Pacific North West aquarium, with alternate narration by the various human characters and a Giant Pacific Octopus called Marcellus.
 
I'm currently working through "The Fall of the Wild: Extinction, De-Extinction, and the Ethics of Conservation" by Ben A. Minteer :)
 
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