About

Books and Beasts is an online book review blog focusing on books about animals, animals in books, and a whole menagerie of related topics.


About Alex Washoe
I am a novelist and freelance writer living in Seattle. I learned to read before I started school, and books have been my constant companions. Science, science fiction, psychology,history, literary criticism and animal behavior are among my favorite subjects. I was raised by philosophers (my mother and stepfather were both philosophy professors) which pretty much doomed my chances at a normal life. By nature, I am an extrovert, but I also suffer from pretty serious social anxiety and occasional (meaning daily) bouts of misanthropy. I volunteered for several years at a companion animal shelter as a dog walker and trainer, and now I volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center. I'm an avid birder, wildlife photographer, and have two great dogs who occupy a disproportionate share of my home.  I have a related blog devoted to birds and wildlife, which you can find here:  Birdland West