This week you are asked to share books (fiction or nonfiction) and/or movies which center around an animal or animals.
When I was a kid, I memorized Poe's "The Raven." Just loved it. The rhyme and rhythm, the vague eeriness, and some romanticized picture I had in my head of the "rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore." I wrote her whole story in my head. And I love birds, especially ravens. For a moment today, I considered writing about owls (love them too), but felt sure someone else would take up that lovely, someone else who experienced the same sharp intake of breath at Hedwig's demise perhaps. But ravens it is.
Mind of the Raven by biologist Bernd Heinrich was published a couple of years to ago to well-deserved glowing reviews. The author's scientific observations reveal a startling intelligence in ravens as well as playfulness, the ability to plan, and a whole host of other characteristics that illustrate the complexity of this bird. A complexity that rivals that of humanity in some instances. The author obviously loves this bird, and it is that personal affection that makes this book of science as easy and enjoyable a read as most novels. Well, for me at least. Love this book.
In the Company of Crows and Ravens by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell is a beauty piece for raven lovers. Am always tempted to rip the book apart and start framing it for the walls. But I don't. The science here from biologist Marzluff is as compelling and detailed as Heinrich's, but I am so distracted by Angell's gorgeous artwork that I occasionally lose the thread of the text while reading it. Just look at the elegance of that cover image. Ooo, and check out this one below also.
Finally, Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Magpies, Ravens, and Jays is a wonderful addition to the library of a raven lover looking for "dramatic images from the world's top nature photographers." Exactly what one would expect from a Sierra Club publication.