the author is clearly skilled at writing, and the essays were about somewhat interesting topics, but overall it was a very meh read. 
- Most of the essays were written in the late 90s and early 2000s, but were not updated or even noted when they were written, which made for a confusing read, especially when it came to outdated information. 
- Many of the essays were poorly wrapped up and lacked a satisfying conclusion, often leaving me wondering what the point was. 
- The final essay 'Farmville' was terribly edited, if it was edited at all. I think it was a collection of blog posts, and it read like it. Stories overlapped and repeated within a page or two. 
-  Despite being a book on animals, and the author describing herself as animal-ish, as others have said, she seems to mostly view animals as interesting objects to collect. Which is fine if suppose, but if you're coming to this book hoping to read about animals through a compassionate & loving view, you're in the wrong place. 
Overall, could've been better with some editing, but as it is, very mediocre and not really worth reading.