Barn 8

By Deb Olin Unferth,

Book cover of Barn 8

Book description

One disaffected administrator, one disenchanted teenager, four hundred and twenty-one vegan extremists, sixty trucks, and nine hundred thousand grumpy layer hens awaiting liberation. In barns. Six barns. No, wait, seven. No, wait ...

Two auditors for the US egg industry conceive a plot to liberate an entire egg farm's worth…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Barn 8 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What I love about Barn 8 is that it focuses as much, if not more, on the animals as on their human rescuers. The novel’s portrayal of chickens—their history, heritage, tortured present, and imagined future—is a celebration of them as individual beings rather than merely egg makers (“Chickens gossip, summon, play, flirt, teach, warn, mourn, fight, praise, and promise”). And, along with the chicken characters—including the individual bird that inspired the rescue—the human characters are engaging and relatable, with their own complex stories. The myriad points of view (including interview-style chapters) keep the pages turning in a novel that is…

From Midge's list on saving animals.

Book cover of This Animal Body

Meredith Walters

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life together—she’s determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuse to share. And while the animals may not have Frankie’s exalted human brain, they know things she doesn’t, like what happened before she was adopted.

To prove she’s sane, Frankie investigates her forgotten past and conducts clandestine experiments. But just when she uncovers the truth, she has to make an…

By Meredith Walters,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Animal Body as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Frankie Conner, first-year graduate student at UC Berkeley, is finally getting her life together. After multiple failures and several false starts, she's found her calling: become a neuroscientist, discover the cause of her depression and anxiety, and hopefully find a cure for herself and everyone like her.

But her first day of the program, Frankie meets a mysterious group of talking animals who claim to have an urgent message for her. The problem is, they're not willing to share it. Not yet. Not until she's ready.

While Frankie's new friends may not have her highly evolved, state-of-the-art, exalted human brain,…


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