Review by yvo_about_books - My Animals, and Other Animals

yvo_about_books 's review for:

My Animals, and Other Animals by Bill Bailey

4.5

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

Finished reading: May 12th 2025

"Nature often just needs us to back off for a bit so that it can recover."

I admit that I hadn't heard of Bill Bailey before, but after Nicki reviewed this memoir on her blog I couldn't resist adding it to my TBR anyway. I love a good travel memoir AND books about animals, so I immediately loved the sound of this book. Especially with the author being a comedian and the humor coming through in the blurb... And I ended up having SO much fun reading My Animals And Other Animals! It's the perfect blend of humor, animal antics and memoir, and the fact that I hadn't heard of the author before reading this book didn't hinder me at all. This memoir is divided into parts, some relating to Bill Bailey's own animals and others relating to his work and travels around the world. The chapters include some of his own drawings of the animals present in the chapter, and I especially loved reading about the antics of his pets. There were some hilarious scenes along the way, and the humor was spot on for me... It was all well blended with some more serious moments, and I definitely learned a thing or two along the way as well. The bookish travel itself was glorious, and My Animals And Other Animals will visit multiple destinations around the world as we follow the author on his journey. This is by no means a linear memoir, and the chapters jump back in forth without any order. Somehow I wasn't really bothered by this at all, which was helped by the informal tone of the story itself. It felt like the author was simply chatting with you, telling you anecdotes about his past in the order they popped up in his mind... And this structure somehow worked perfectly for this memoir. Without doubt one of my favorite non fiction reads to date!

Content Warnings