‘Zoo World’ explores natural realms

“Zoo World” by Mary Quade (Ohio State University Press)

In “Zoo World,” an illuminative collection of essays by Hiram College creative writing teacher Mary Quade, the common thread is the natural world as it engages with humanity and the savagery committed by each.

The first essay, “Hatch,” is the most intimate, as Quade monitors a handful of duck nests on her property. She’s named them by the location (“rototiller duck” is in her barn near a broken sump pump) and watches the progress of incubation. Some of the ducklings don’t survive and Quade concludes that sink duck likely killed four of car duck’s hatchlings. She spends more than two days trying to sustain an injured duckling “Zoo World” by

that eventually Mary Quade

dies. All of this is PROVIDED BY OHIO

interspersed with STATE UNIVERSITY

breaking news of PRESS

the environmental disaster of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Quade writes of her visits to Vietnam and Cambodia, where she sees pathetic animals in markets and zoos and where she and her husband feast on pho, crab and papaya.

The decline in the numbers of monarch butterflies and the dreadful story of a series of early expeditions to the Galápagos to collect specimens are examples of the ways in which people fail as custodians of the Earth.

“Zoo World” (208 pages, softcover) costs $21.95 from Ohio State University Press. Some of the essays were previously published. Quade also is the author of two poetry collections.

Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

OKLAHOMA BESTSELLERS

The Oklahoma bestsellers list is based on total number of book sales at Best of Books in Edmond, Brace Books and More in Ponca City, Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City and Magic City Books in Tulsa.

Fiction

1. “Sabrina & Corina: Stories” Fajardo-Anstine (One World)

2. “Razorblade Tears” by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

3. “Woman of Light” by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (One World)

4. “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

5. “All the Sinners Bleed”

Cosby (Flatiron Books)

6. “Murder Your Employer” by Rupert Holmes (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

7. “Any Other Place: Stories” Michael Croley (Blair)

8. “The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” Simonson (Dial Press)

9. “Table for Two: Fictions”

Towles (Viking)

10. “Sparks Like Stars” by Nadia Hashimi (William Morrow & Company) by Kali by S. A. by by Helen by Amor

Nonfiction

1. “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War ” by Erik Larson (Crown Publishing Group)

2. “A Year of Living Constitutionally : One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning ” by A. J. Jacobs (Crown Publishing Group)

3. “Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them ” by Timothy Egan (Viking)

4. “The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War ” by Jeff Sharlet (W. W. Norton & Company)

5. “Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl ” by Timothy Egan (Mariner Books Classics)

6. “Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself ” by Michael A. Singer (New Harbinger Publications)

7. “Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America ” by Jane Kleeb (Ecco Press)

8. “The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America ” by Monica Potts (Random House Trade)

9. “Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith ” by Timothy Egan (Penguin Books)

Children’s/YA

1. “Puppy Dog, Puppy Dog, Do You Want to Play?” by Michael Sampson and Bill Martin Jr. (Brown Books Kids)

2. “Being Home” by Traci Sorell (Kokila)

3. “Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep!” by Michael Sampson and Bill Martin Jr. (Brown Books Kids)

4. “Ten Little Squirrels” by Michael Sampson and Bill Martin Jr. (Brown Books Kids)

5. “We Are Better Together” by Bill McKibben (Henry Holt & Company)

6. “Mary Had a Little Plan” by Tammi Sauer (Union Square Kids)

7. “Armadillo Antics” by Michael Sampson and Bill Martin Jr. (Brown Books Kids)

8. “The One and Only Family” by Katherine Applegate (HarperCollins)

9. “All Kinds of Special” by Tammi Sauer (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books)

10. “Bomb (Graphic Novel): The Race to Build — And Steal — The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press)