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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I listened to this book over two days while I worked alone in my office. I really loved all the stories of the cows and the commitment Rosamund Young and her family display to ensuring their stock of animals is healthy and, I suppose, happy. I am not a vegetarian and will probably never be one, but this book has made me think about what type of meat I buy and consume.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
It was quite interesting, but a bit difficult to remember all the cow’s names and stories. Sometimes a cow was mentioned once and then brought up many chapters later and it was difficult to remember which cow it was talking about😂
A nice listen though:)
A nice listen though:)
Absolutely bloody brilliant.
Laugh out loud. Very moving in places.
The author's love and respect for her animals is obvious and touching.
Laugh out loud. Very moving in places.
The author's love and respect for her animals is obvious and touching.
On the one hand, I'm surprised a book about cows' lives could be as interesting as Young made it, but it's still a rather dull, sometimes repetitive collection of stories. I never quite got a full understanding of all the cows and their relationships, which is the main subject she wants us to consider. When you know the cows as well as she does, it's surely obvious, but learning about all of them at once, I feel I missed out on the significance of that.
I really liked the subject of this book and the technical style in which it is written. Unlike a lot of other commentators I don't strictly object that Rosamund Young gives the animals she describes up for slaughter - I started reading hoping to get insights into the social behaviour and intelligence of cows and someone who farms them might provide just that.
What I didn't like about the book was its constant anthropomorphism: A lot of interpretation of cow behaviour seems to be wishful thinking and romanticizing. I liked, as mentioned, the calm and precise writing style but sometimes I felt like reading a children's fiction instead of a non-fiction book - "The Adventures of Dizzy the Cow and all her friends". And I can understand that vegetarian and vegan people are upset to read such a book in the knowledge that all the described animals are slaughtered since it feels dishonest and inconsistent.
I might have stopped reading after the first positive mention of homeopathy and the first critical description of vaccines (according to Young, vaccinating isn't that necessary, if cows can roam freely and self-medicate with different plants and herbs), but at least the book is refreshingly short and just ideal for reading in bed before dozing off.
What I didn't like about the book was its constant anthropomorphism: A lot of interpretation of cow behaviour seems to be wishful thinking and romanticizing. I liked, as mentioned, the calm and precise writing style but sometimes I felt like reading a children's fiction instead of a non-fiction book - "The Adventures of Dizzy the Cow and all her friends". And I can understand that vegetarian and vegan people are upset to read such a book in the knowledge that all the described animals are slaughtered since it feels dishonest and inconsistent.
I might have stopped reading after the first positive mention of homeopathy and the first critical description of vaccines (according to Young, vaccinating isn't that necessary, if cows can roam freely and self-medicate with different plants and herbs), but at least the book is refreshingly short and just ideal for reading in bed before dozing off.
The introduction focused a lot on the meat industry, which wasn't really what I was looking for in this book, but most of the rest was pretty sweet
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
If you like cows then MOO HOWDY do I have the book for you.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Easy and mostly charming read. Particularly enjoyed the comparisons between humans and animals throughout the stories told, such as how children do not develop into healthy, well functioning adults when exposed to situations of neglect and abuse, in the same way that animals do not in the artificially manufactured conditions of industrial farming that focus on the pursuit of maximum profit rather than wellbeing and quality. Many points mirrored my experience of being around animals growing up, and there are good points on conservation. Perhaps a lot of the information is more directed at people who do not have (much) experience or knowledge of farm or other animals.
I feel however, that the foreword does not fit with this book and soured the start of my experience to what was otherwise, a generally wholesome read. Between "Still, it's a book that alters the way one looks at the world, with dumb animals not as dumb as we would sometimes like to think" and Alan Bennett questioning why the author has not disclosed information on the sex lives of the cows and whether their individualness shows differently in those situations, I felt this was a poor choice in foreword. It would have been wiser to have someone more experienced in the topic of the book to open it in a less crude and distasteful way.
Additionally, many sentences seem to run on without adequate punctuation, which affects the writing quality, and there are points here and there that I erred on, such as an opinion on the use of vaccines in humans towards the closing of the book.
I feel however, that the foreword does not fit with this book and soured the start of my experience to what was otherwise, a generally wholesome read. Between "Still, it's a book that alters the way one looks at the world, with dumb animals not as dumb as we would sometimes like to think" and Alan Bennett questioning why the author has not disclosed information on the sex lives of the cows and whether their individualness shows differently in those situations, I felt this was a poor choice in foreword. It would have been wiser to have someone more experienced in the topic of the book to open it in a less crude and distasteful way.
Additionally, many sentences seem to run on without adequate punctuation, which affects the writing quality, and there are points here and there that I erred on, such as an opinion on the use of vaccines in humans towards the closing of the book.
funny
informative
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced