This book includes many of the animals that share his home in London. His stories meander a little as he writes about his early memories as a five year old, then as a young adult, living on a houseboat on the Thames which include writing about the dogs he owned.

Bill drops in many stories about his life on the road, touring as a comedian all over the UK as well as in many countries throughout the world, including New York, Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. 

These tours, over a period of 30 years, included one tour on which he embarked, nursing a backache due to an injury from a heavy prop that the made which he was helping to manoeuvre at home, just before he was due to depart on his journey to his first stop in Singapore.

I was amazed at the many facts Bill presents about his home menagerie, including that adult chameleons don't change colour. He knows... he has a family of them in his home. How about his three foot high rooster, or his giant bunny rabbits, who were actors in the early '70s B movie " The Night of the Lapin" - which I saw in the 1970s. 

Bill's writing is superb, it's almost as if he's right there talking to you. His anecdotes and comments are so funny, I found myself laughing raucously. He uses some English slang words, like 'khazi' and 'fizzog' but I'm sure if you haven't heard these words before, you can grasp the meaning from the context.

Bill Bailey also discusses a large number of animals that do not live with him, some are on the 'endangered species' register. He has presented several television documentaries about such animals, like the Otter and Badger in the UK, the Jaguar in Brazil, the Baboons of the Cape (they are found near Cape Town) and, although not a documentary, but still worth a mention, the fruit bats in a cave on the island of Boracay in the Philippines.

Towards the end of the book, I realised that Bill Bailey’s writing is similar to that of Michael Palin, another fabulous writer, in a previous book I reviewed, "There and Back, Diaries 1999 to 2010" and I had to remind myself that this was indeed, Bill Bailey’s book.

My Animals and Other Animals is a joy to read, It is humorous, interesting, educational and, especially if you are an environmentalist and/or naturalist, a must-have for your book collection.

Reviewed by Ken.

The Author

Bill Bailey is a comedian, musician, actor and presenter. He is perhaps most well known for his live shows, including Larks in Transit, Qualmpeddler, Limboland, and The Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra. His work on television includes programmes such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Black Books and QI. He is also the author of Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds and Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to Happiness. He lives in west London with a small menagerie of animals and humans.