ANIMALS | BOOKS | ANECDOTES

Creatures on my Bookshelf

How did they get there?

Image by Author

It was like any other lazy Sunday morning. I had just put on my socks. Sitting on my bed, I let my eyes wander to the bookshelf in front of me. Book titles that included animals started popping out.

Having been an editor for an animal-centric publication for a few months now, this makes perfect sense. Our minds gravitate to topics and issues we focus on a lot.

Living creatures are all around us and are part of our lives. Even if you don’t have pets, some creatures are at least in your periphery. I wondered how many of us are subconsciously drawn to books that, while not about animals specifically, might have an animal in the title.

Here are mine.

Fantasy

It’s no secret that fantasy authors load their stories with all manner of magical creatures: dragons, unicorns, elves, vampires, and the like. Why do fans like this genre so much? Perhaps it’s a way to stay connected to the creative part of your brain. To me, it’s also an easy way to temporarily escape today’s disturbing realities.

• Dragonlance Series (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman; TSR, Inc.)
• The Black Unicorn (Terry Brooks; Ballantine)