Rating: 
Summary: Why all the fuss?
Review: I'm surprised at the vehemence of some of the reviews of this funny, caustic and entertaining book. (Try reading Hannibal or one of the Left Behind books if you want a real 1-star read.) I thought the ending was just fine...what other ending could it have been? My single complaint is that any female over the age of about 19 should have smelled a rat with His Exquisite Washboardness. Way too much too soon. Lust not love, etc. Was my mother really right? Guess so.
Rating: 
Summary: Sporadically interesting theory of the sexes
Review: "Animal Husbandry", made recently into the film "Someone Like You" with Ashley Judd, starts off promisingly enough with what the heroine, Jane Goodale, terms the "New Cow Theory"--essentially, that one men have met and bedded a woman, they need to get on to something (or someone) new and leave the "old cow" behind. Needless to say, this isn't a very flattering view of men--or women, for that matter.What this novel does well is chronicle Jane's own heartbreak at the hands of a co-worker, who promises her the moon (and to share a posh apartment), but eventually leaves her apartment-less and heartbroken. The sections of the book where she decides not only to get mad, but to get even, are very funny. And hence Jane comes to write a column (under a pseudonym with a fake scientific background) espousing the "new cow" theory. And here's where the book goes wrong--page after page of information about the lack of monogamy in male animals. Long tracts of research and, ultmately, the article that she publishes under the pseudonym. Of course, a downfall must come after the article is published--she must and will be found out. But the ending is ultimately satisfying, as Jane learns to deal with the aftermath of the breakup. In all, a mixed bag.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you think
Review: I liked this book for several reasons. Like Laura Zigman's other novel, Dating Big Bird, I finished this in only a couple days. The main concept of this book is a woman gets her heart broken by a man, then comes to the concept of the "old cow, new cow" theory. This theory basically states that men can never stay with one woman for very long, they are always going to be on the prowel for a "new cow". Jane (the main character) spends most of her time and energy on this theory and gradually comes to understand that you just have to suck it up and move on. Very refreshing, somewhat cynical, but overall a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Painful Recovery from the "Disappearing Man"
Review: It's the nighmarish phenomenon: the disappearing man. I read this book as I was grappling with the aftermath of the disappearance of my own "bull." The "New Cow/Old Cow" theory that dominates the last half of the book gets a bit old, but there are some gems in the first half, including passages like: "I searched his face, his eyes, his mouth for something to tell me who he was, who he had been for the past three months, but it was if a pod had replaced him across the table, and I knew, suddenly, that it was true what people always say about never being able to know another person completely."
Rating:
Summary: An easy read but forgettable
Review: I read this book on an airplane and enjoyed it, with the exception of the ending, which was terrible. Overall, it was fast paced and cute, but was really only OK. I have actively not recommended it to friends who have seen it on my bookshelf.
Rating: 
Summary: A bell-shaped book
Review: It took me a while to get interested in this book. The initial chapters were rather boring. After the breakup, when Jane starts researching male behavior heavily, the novel got more engrossing. I liked the scientific mumbo-jumbo interspersed along the chapters quite a bit, and i found those tidbits very informative. But towards the end, i became disappointed. It all started with the master plan to have Dr. Marie Goodall write these mystery articles in a men's magazine. Hmmm... In real life, how long till your editor starts digging into your magic plan? Was Ben such a moron who couldn't smell the scheme? Also, why did it take so long for Eddie to figure it all out? The ending is terrible. It sounds almost like the author was taking it easy and all of a sudden her agent called and told her the publishers wanted the book on their desk by tomorrow, so she frantically grabbed a pen and scribbled the final pages. So, there are worthy parts, towards the center, and there are worthless parts, at the beginning and the end. This makes it a bell-shaped book. Unless they've done some serious facelifting with the movie, i cannot foresee it being interesting either.
Rating:
Summary: Simple Fun for the Ladies
Review: For some reason, despite the book's tired and sexist premise that men are dogs who tend to switch partners once they get tired of the "Old Cow," and its general schlockiness, I still managed to enjoy it on a very simple level. It's very much a fluffy romantic comedy set amidst the same old New York upper middle class that always seem to be the backdrop for books such as this. Unlikely to provoke any minds, it should appeal to fans of Bridget Jones' Diary. One of those books that must have caught me at just the right moment, 'cause I bet if I reread it, I'd toss it.
Rating:
Summary: laugh out loud!
Review: This was such a charming and funny quick read. I read it back to back with Bridget Jones' Diary preferring this book. What's up with the formula of a best girlfriend and gay friend? I found the analysis of relationship behavior reduced to the cow theory so real and honest. It's scary how on target this theory is! I can relate to her obsessive nature and her drive to understand the always allusive male behavior.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read, entertaining
Review: I wouldn't necessarily call it a "male bashing book". Jane Goodale (no relation to the chimp enthusiast) has been dumped by Ray, a co-worker who still had a girlfriend from a long-term relationship while he dated Jane, and who allegedly dumped Mia (the g-friend) to tell Jane her loves her and wants to move in with her. After she gives notice to her lanlord, Ray begins to have doubts and eventually, with only days before Jane has to clear out of her apartment, he decides he just can't go through with it all. This particular humiliating turn of events prompts Jane to study male behavior in it's most primal form- animals. Particularly, the bull/cow theory. Apparently, no matter how they try, no one seems to be able to get a bull to mate with a cow he's already mated with- he wants "new cow". This provides Jane with the information she needs to research male behavior, not really for any noble cause, but rather, to try and explain the unexplainable- why can't men seem to commit? Additionally, it gives Jane a false sense of satisfaction in thinking that all men leave, and not that all men leave HER only. I don't see this as a "let's hate all guys" book, because Jane realizes, with the help of her new womanizing roomate Eddie, that not all men are bad, and that she used this experiment to try and nurse her wounded heart. Not one of my top 10 picks, but certainly worth reading (unless, of course, your an over-the-top feminist type who will take this to uneccessary plateaus in the name of sisterhood).
Rating:
Summary: How old does a book have to be to get called a classic?
Review: Because "Animal Husbandry" is just that. The mother of 'smart chick' reads that led the way for all those girls guides to Bridget. I just started re-reading this last night after seeing the movie (what was the name of it again?), and it was like having coffee with an old friend that always told heartbreaking stories in a way that made you laugh while you were choking on tears. Laura Zigman's writing captures the details of love and dumping without the frilly excess whining that most chick books seem to have. Still, at the same time it goes deeper emotionially. How does she do that?
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