Better World Book Club discussion

Just wondering what books you've been reading outside of the book club selections! Any recommendations?

My library doesn't have a large vegetarian or environmentalism section and I have to order the book club selections from other libraries so I'm about three weeks behind the monthly reading. So I've read a bunch of books that ARE on my library's shelf or that I've bought per recommendations or bibliographies of other books I've enjoyed. The best ones:

- While I know this is not a Christian group, anyone who is vegetarian or passionate about the environment will hear (or hear of) flak from Christians. I love this book because it shows using both the Bible and logic why this is bizarre and just plain wrong. Sleeth's wife's book,
, is also very good and incredibly practical. I've never gotten back a copy I've lent out.

- fascinating, terrifying, but ultimately inspiring look at environmental trouble spots around the world.

- Due to the name of this group, maybe everyone's already read this one, but I thought of it when The Story of Stuff was so discouraging because this one is so empowering.

Have you read Dominion? Speaking of books written from a less typical AR perspective. "Republican speechwriter" isn't the first thing I think when I think animal advocate, but Matthew Scully is an excellent writer.

I just read two fictional books that are both in regards to animal testing. The first was The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams (author of Watership Down--HOLLA!!!!).

: Two dogs escape from an animal research facility. All of the experiments mentioned in the book actually took place in research labs so this could be quite a useful tool in humane education, while retaining more fanciful qualities such as being able to understand the animals speaking to one another. There is also an animated version of this, which I watched right after reading it, but I believe a lot is lost in the adaptation. For one thing, the ending in the book is more rewarding/happy, even if the author as much as concedes how unrealistic it is.

The second book I read was the very short--as in you can read it in less than fifteen minutes (buy it used!)--graphic novel We3 by Grant Morrison.

: A dog, a cat, and a rabbit have been modified to become weapons of mass destruction. They've also been taught to talk in a very basic and fragmented way. This takes a far more science-fiction approach, but I see the potential for in-depth discussion, which is great considering how little time required to read it. Also, these are some pretty badass, violent critters... and I love graphic novels.

Reading it reminded me of a graphic novel I read years back before becoming vegan:
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan (who also wrote the most awesome graphic novel series Y: The Last Man, which you should read although it isn't exactly humane education literature).

: Based on the true story of a pride of lions escaping from a zoo in Baghdad during an American bombing. Like We3, there's plenty of room to discuss both the way we treat animals and war.

AND I already posted this in another thread, but if you want to read a SUPER SHORT (6 pages, so it's the equivalent of a couple of paragraphs) illustrated story by Neil Gaiman: http://ljconstantine.com/babycakes/pa...