Full disclosure: I started reading this book and then set it aside until I could get to the audiobook. However you approach it, this collection of essays is a beautiful reflection on the animals in our lives.

A really great book! And such a range of topics! I love Susan Orlean and this was a lot of fun! She is so entertaining at the same time as informative. A real page turner! I learned a lot without even trying. I was sharing anecdotes from it with friends and family. Imagine collecting tigers! or the breadth of the use of mules and donkeys or the amazing antics of chickens! I would highly recommend this to just about anyone.

Okay, anyone who knows me knows I like animals fine, but I’m not an animal story person at all. Heartwarming dog stories? Not for me. Cats solving mysteries? Can’t do it. So I’m a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The stories were all delightfully candid and real, without ever dipping into sappy territory. A lot of the stories were funny, and I learned something new in almost every one. Definitely a fun book, one I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the review copy.

Take a look at Susan Orlean's contributors page at newyorker.com and you'll see that the topics of her essays have ranged from origami artists to treadmills desks. But take a closer look and you see that many of her essays—more than any other subject—have been about animals. A collection of those essays is available in a new book, aptly titled On Animals. Beth Golay recently spoke with Orlean about the collection for this week's Marginalia.

I really enjoyed this. If you are a fan of Susan Orlean and her writing style, you will love this. It definitely feels more like a fun research project on different animals and their roles in society and how that affects us as humans. It can feel a little bit disjointed at times, but this didn't bother me, however if you are just looking for short stories about particular animals, that is not really what you are getting. It definetly feels more methodical and historical than a linear narrative, but I still think it is worth the read.

I enjoyed this collection of Orlean's writing, which---surprise!---is on animals. These pieces were originally published in The New Yorker and The Atlantic, but are assembled here in a single solid tome. I am partial to Orlean's more in-depth pieces like The Orchard Thief and The Library Book, but her writing is always enjoyable, as her voice, for me, always rings inquisitive and true. "Little Wing," about racing pigeons in Massachusetts, was the best.

I want to preface this review by saying I am a huge fan of Susan Orlean, and her previous book, The Library Book. However, I did not enjoy this book at all. The writing was disjointed and did not feel like the brilliant writing in her previous books. The content was scattered and did not feel connected & cohesive. There were too many moments that she glossed over where I was hoping for depth, description, something more! When I realized this was a collection of previously published, unrelated, "essays", suddenly it made sense and I found myself quite disappointed. I look forward to her new works, her current words, her latest research. I was not interested in reading words of a past that maybe no longer quite resonate.

I really enjoyed this book. Each chapter is devoted to a specific animal and I thought the insights and experiences regarding the animals was wonderful. I read it because I like animals and I tend to like the writing style of Susan Orlean and I was not disappointed. I really liked how she taught me things about animals without it being dry.

It was the summer of ‘07, I’d recently graduated college and was on a solo road trip traveling south from the heart of Alaska to my favorite camping destination, Valdez. Epic views abound in the land of the midnight sun as I drove along listening to The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. It was my first introduction to her fantastic reporting style narrative non-fiction.

While perusing NetGalley, I came across the cover of Susan Orlean’s newest book, On Animals, and instantly requested it. I didn’t even bother reading the description. After reading The Orchid Thief and The Library Book I knew I didn’t need to.

Fast forward to about a month ago when I finally opened it up and much to my chagrin and realized that it is quite literally a book On Animals. I’m not what you would call “an animal lover.” Don’t get me wrong, animals are majestic, wonderful creatures, but let’s just say that I am not eagerly anticipating the day my daughter’s dreams of becoming a pet owner become realized. When Susan Orlean began sharing her pet experiences I suspected this wasn’t going to be a book I would enjoy.

……But I was wrong.

Susan Orlean has done it again! I’m fairly certain that regardless of her topic of focus, her particular journalistic style transcends those “fun facts” into fascinating essays that will ultimately lead to further personal research. Here are just a few of the highlights in the essays that take up the bulk of the book:
•a day in the life of Biff the Boxer, a show dog, and his brass crate
•”Tiger Lady” Joan Byron-Marasek, keeping a streak of tigers in her backyard in Jackson, NJ
•the mules’ commitment to survival: Army, Amish, and Middle-Aged Pleasure Riding
•the American Racing Pigeon League is actually a thing, and it’s 10,000 members strong
•the heartbreaking story of freeing Keiko (aka Willy)- cue MJ’s “Will You Be There”

Susan Orlean concludes On Animals with her own personal forays into backyard animal husbandry. These short stories are the musings of an animal admirer. They reminded me of that pride felt from a farmer who expresses her love for her pigs through the stories she shares- the very definition of animal husbandry.

It’s the perfect blend of non-fiction memoir and investigative journalism. I enjoyed slowly savoring each story, going back to google more information. If you are an animal enthusiast, then this is the perfect book for you. If you’re not, but still appreciate the natural world around you then I highly recommend you give this book a chance.

I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from Susan Orlean! Thank you so much to the author for sharing and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

For those already familiar with Susan Orlean's work, this collection of previously published essays might feel redundant. As an introduction to her signature dry wit and keen observations, however, it shines. Animal lovers will be drawn to some of the essays, and may be surprised by the journalistic detail Orlean is able to bring to every essay. The way she is able to paint a scene brings readers fully into the moment, whether it is in the back of a plane watching mules parachute out or in a hidden backyard big cat habitat. Immersed in these stories, a reader will learn unexpected things all while chuckling at Orlean's humor.

Some were quite sad and a bit tough to read. I love her writing and it's stellar as always but I think the topic just wasn't as resonant for me as some of her others. You'll always learn something from her stories though.

Whenever I see that Susan Orlean has written a book, I immediately add it to my list. Her writing is so thoroughly engaging that subject matter is of no consequence. In this book she explores relationships with animals, and it absolutely hits the mark. I liked that it was the sort of book you could pick up snd put down (as if you would want to) due to each chapter being a separate essay. I enjoyed this book immensely and would highly recommend it to anyone, most especially people who have a special relation/kinship with animals. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this book.

Susan Orlean is an entertaining writer on any subject, and this eclectic collection of previously published essays, on animals from backyard chickens and tigers (yes, backyard tigers) to working donkeys and animal actors, is a delight.

My thanks to Netgalley for the digital arc.

First and foremost, Susan Orleans is an incredible writer and an Indefatigable researcher. Her THE LIBRARY BOOK was simply riveting. This book collected her articles published over the years that focused on animals combined with ones about her personal experiences as an animal lover and caretaker of chickens, guinea hens, turkeys along with dogs and cats. Wide-ranging from rabbits to panda bears to donkeys to the lion whisperer to taxidermy, each article is personal and jam-packed with fascinating facts and tales. Highly recommended!

On Animals investigates various animal/human interactions. Where her previous books (The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin and the Library Book) took deep dives into their subjects, In On Animals Orlean introduces a different subject with each chapter. The stories she tells are about people as seen in relationship to animals as much as they are about the animals themselves. She explains her own enthusiasm for raising hens; from the preliminary research to the postal clerk’s announcement : “You have a package here … and it’s clucking” to the reactions she gets sitting in the vet’s office with a chicken. She introduces us to a Westminster Dog Show champion Boxer named Biff Truesdale; takes us through the process of rewilding Keiko, the orca behind Free Willy; and paints a vivid picture of Fez, Morocco and the way donkeys there are considered good and useful tools. As she says in the first line of this chapter: “The donkey I’ll never forget was coming around a corner … with six color televisions strapped on his back”. Orlean’s writing is light and diverting and her subjects are equally as engaging.

Amusing, informative, and poignant, this collection of essays about animals will delight. Susan Orlean’s inquisitive mind, quirky observations and compassion for animals, their people and places, takes the reader on journeys domestic and abroad. What a wonder way to spend quality time with an author who cherishes the lives of animals. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

A collection of essays about our relationship with animals, whether they be pets or grown for food or work. I especially enjoyed reading about her farm and the many animals they kept. The personal pieces were the best. Most others were more "reporty"--about mules, people who kept tigers or show dogs, etc. compiled from previously published essays in magazines.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Ms. Orlean for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I have heard of Ms. Orlean but somehow have never gotten around to reading either the Library Book (scandalous, considering my day job) or the Orchid Thief. So, I can't say with any authority whether this collection of essays is in line with her normal writing style or content. I will say this: Ms. Orlean has a very engaging and relentlessly charming writing voice. Within only a few pages she managed to totally engage my attention and interest in a variety of topics: backyard tigers in New Jersey, Cuban oxen, Moroccan donkeys, the backstage life of a show dog, humble whitetail deer. Ms. Orlean had me half-convinced that I too need some chickens in my backyard [spoiler: I DO NOT need chickens. Like: not at ALL. Although my two very enthusiastic and very large dogs would no doubt argue otherwise].

Apparently most of these essays have appeared in print previously in various publications, although I have seen none of them. I'm not particularly bothered by this but I would say, if I was going to say anything critical at all, that it would have been nice if the author had added more current content, or at least refreshed some of the articles (particularly the tigers and Keiko's story) to incorporate some sort of "where are they now" updates. Many of the essays are timeless, though, and every single one catches your heart.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes and is interested in animals. Warning: you will need full strength to resist the allure of those tempting backyard chickens.

As a fan of Orlean's writing I started this book with high expectations. I really expected to like this book more than I did. It's not that I disliked the sixteen essays but more they would give me more insight than they did. Also, a few of the stories had content that was either had debunked or outdated and could have benefited by being updated with more up to date information.

Calling all animal lovers! This book is for you. If you've ever shared and connected for at least one moment with an animal you'll love Susan Orleans stories. Take a walk with the other creatures who inhabit our planet through Orlean's book. There's a whole world out there and after reading these stories I think we need the animals more than they need us.