book finds

Doing my friday finds on saturday here again. I added so many titles to my list this week, I'm just going to highlight a few, those I'm most eager to read.

Chrysalis by Kim Todd- this book was on one of Eva's Women Unbound posts.  It's about a woman in the 1700's who was a naturalist and artist- she studied insects and painted them with the plants they lived on. From the book's cover, the artwork looks stunning, and I'd love to read more about this unconventional (for her times) woman.

An Eagle Named Freedom by Jeff Guidry- saw this one mentioned on At Home with Books. It's about the relationship between a man with cancer, and an eagle with a broken wing he nursed back to health.

The Maintenance of Headway by Magnus Mills- it's due to Savidge Reads that I heard about this book centered around the daily work and experiences of city bus drivers. Sounds very interesting, with astute observations of human nature. 

Lucy by Laurence Gonzales- found on The Last Book I Read, this sci-fi novel that sounds reminiscent of Eva is about the genetic mixing of a human and a bonobo- chimpanzee-type apes who have the closest DNA to ours.

Animythical Tales by Sarah Totton- discovered this title at Stuff as Dreams are Made On. Chris says it's "a collection of short, fantastical stories centered around animals" each "a fascinating story that’s written with gorgeous prose that entertains, provokes, and turns the gears in our brains" full of beautiful prose. Unfortunately for me, this book was printed by a small publisher, and sounds hard to find. I already know (because I looked) that my library doesn't have it. 

Crashing Through by Robert Kurson- The Capricious Reader wrote about this book, which is about the life of a man blind since three years old, who regardless of lacking vision drove a car, rode motorcycles and held a record in downhill skiing! Then he became a candidate for surgery to have his sight restored. It sounds like an amazing and inspiring story.

Seven Cats and the Art of Living by Jo Coudert - I saw this book while browsing on Paperback Swap. The Amazon reviews are very mixed- some people love it, others don't because they disagreed with how the author treated her cats. I'm curious what I'd think.

Africa: An Artist's Safari by Fred Krakowiack- my husband heard this book mentioned somewhere and told me about it. It's an artist's diary of his time spent on safari. Not photographing the animals, but mostly sketching and drawing them. It's full of artwork as well as descriptive text.

These last are just two of the many titles I came across while reading the Schaller book:

Serengeti Shall Not Die by Bernhard Grzimek- a memoir of time the author and his son spent flying over the Serengeti in a small plane, to take ariel surveys of the animal populations.

End of the Trail: the Cheetah in India by Divyabhanusinh- describes the evolution of cheetahs in India, how they were anciently kept by Indian royalty as hunting animals, their decline and current endangered status in the wild. I didn't even know there were cheetahs in India!

What great-sounding titles have you discovered this week?