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Call of the Mild: Learning to Hunt My Own Dinner
by
Lily Raff McCaulou (Goodreads Author)
When Lily Raff McCaulou traded in an indie film production career in New York for a reporting job in central Oregon, she never imagined that she'd find herself picking up a gun and learning to hunt. She'd been raised as a gun-fearing environmentalist and an animal lover, and though a meat-eater, she'd always abided by the principle that harming animals is wrong. But Raff M...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
June 12th 2012
by Grand Central Publishing
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Surprisingly (to me) excellent book. Memoir by young person who grew up a Takoma Park, MD liberal, with a single prominent theme (her learning to fish and hunt after moving from NYC to Bend, Oregon for newspaper job) that concerns a sport in which I have zero interest. And yet it was fascinating to follow her story. Three hypothesized causes:
(a) She's a really good writer. I'll be curious to look up her other stuff.
(b) While a few of the details continued to strike me as gross (field dressing el...more
(a) She's a really good writer. I'll be curious to look up her other stuff.
(b) While a few of the details continued to strike me as gross (field dressing el...more
Aug 27, 2012
Jeff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
friends, family, environmentalists, conservationists, and politicians.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. When I first received it I was somewhat unenthusiastic because I am a hunter (at least I consider myself a hunter) and I have done it since I was able. At twelve years old I received a shotgun for my birthday and two years later I bought my own rifle. How could someone who was born and raised in the city and had a liberal background tell me anything I wanted to know about hunting?
I am blown away at the transformation that the Author went through as she mo...more
I am blown away at the transformation that the Author went through as she mo...more
Bea Armstrong mentioned your book on her Facebook page, and I bought a copy from Amazon to read.
I really liked your story of moving to Bend OR, and taking up hunting. You made a number of issues very interesting and thoughtful. Your discussion of the broad questions of gender, urban versus country, and especially our relationship to what we eat made your personal story much more than just a journal. Your book is entertaining at the same time as being very reflective on your experiences.
Your book...more
I really liked your story of moving to Bend OR, and taking up hunting. You made a number of issues very interesting and thoughtful. Your discussion of the broad questions of gender, urban versus country, and especially our relationship to what we eat made your personal story much more than just a journal. Your book is entertaining at the same time as being very reflective on your experiences.
Your book...more
I was given this book for Christmas by my husband who was a hunting guide. It was recommended to him by his mother. I wasn’t sure what to think about it as hunting is not really my thing, however I was pleasantly surprised with this book as it was fascinating and well-written and it made me think about my own choices in regards to where my food comes from. I have read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defence of Food” by Michael Pollan, both of which I also really enjoyed and this book belongs be...more
A fascinating book that is a good combination of informative, accessible, and thoughtful. It was an important book for me to read, I think: although I have many relatives who love to hunt, I have never done it myself and feel mildly uncomfortable about the whole thing. Also, despite being somewhat conservative by inclination, I am pretty anti-gun, and have often disdained hard-core gun-rights advocates.
Having said all that, the experiences of Ms. McCaulou felt like they were written just for me!...more
Having said all that, the experiences of Ms. McCaulou felt like they were written just for me!...more
This story really struck something deep within. However, there is a lot going on in this book. I can only imagine how difficult it was to bring this all together in a profound message, but at times McCaulou's voice is a bit souring. Having said that, I would like to read a book from one of the men she mentions in the book - I would like to hear from an experienced hunter, if they struggle with politics and ethics.
I agree with her feelings behind the difference in how things die, accidentally an...more
I agree with her feelings behind the difference in how things die, accidentally an...more
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Lily Raff McCaulou's "Call of the Mild: Learning to Hunt my Own Dinner" is actually a rather unusual memoir dealing with a time in her life that involved a move from New York City to Bend, Oregon in order to take a new job. There she learns how different life is from NYC & also how important the outdoors are to this area of the country. She decides to learn about hunting via a new beau & what it means to enjoy the process. As someone who is gun shy & not a fan of the sport, I found t...more
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would when I first picked it up. My sister and I have been reading through accounts of professional and personal cooking, hunting, and fishing for a couple of years now, and this got on my list somehow. McCaulou has a very tender memoirist voice, and her account of learning to hunt stitched together with the progression of her adult life was both lovely and relatable. Additionally, there was the added layer that she lives in Central Oregon, and so much of...more
My husband's uncle is an avid hunter. My husband hunts birds, and now my 10-year son is obsessed with hunting. He has taken--and passed--his hunting safety test, and will be joining his great uncle at deer camp in Oregon at the end of September.
Hunting is foreign to me, and we tend to fear that which we do not know.
The uncle is the one who recommended this book, and it was just the thing I needed to read. Not all hunters are a bunch of reckless rednecks. In fact, most hunters are ardent enviro...more
Hunting is foreign to me, and we tend to fear that which we do not know.
The uncle is the one who recommended this book, and it was just the thing I needed to read. Not all hunters are a bunch of reckless rednecks. In fact, most hunters are ardent enviro...more
It is hard to imagine making the decision to hunt, to track an animal or wait for birds, rabbits, or deer to happen by and be prepared to shoot. I have long believed, however, that it is admirable and ethical to do so, to know and appreciate the animal one consumes. Lily McCaulou does just that. She attended classes to learn how to handle her guns, how to hunt for birds then mammals. She considered the environmental impact of her decision to hunt and balanced that with a green life-style. Call o...more
I am happy to say this was one of my most enjoyable reads so far this year. The biographical story is of a young urban journalist who decides to choose adventure over comfort zone. She moves to the great Northwest for a job, and finds herself learning more than I think she planned on. While I found myself amused repeatedly by her prejudices (truthfully afraid that a gun will spontaneously go off) she also repeatedly made me think. I happen to be comfortable around firearms because I was raised a...more
Call of the Mild was SO much better than Girl Hunter by Georgia Pellegrini. Lily McCaulou moves from New York City to Bend, Oregon to work for a small newspaper. She expects this to be a pit stop in her career where she can get experience before moving on to bigger and better things. But, then she meets Scott, falls in love, and decides to stay in Bend permanently. While working for the newspaper in Bend Lily interviews and meets lots of hunters. Not growing up around guns Lily always assumed hu...more
I am so glad I came across this book.
I loved this book. Though I was drawn to it because of the "new hunter" aspect, there is so much more to this story. I did not want to put it down, and I did not want it to end. The author does a great job explaining how and why she got into hunting. As someone who is learning to hunt as an adult, I could relate to so much of what she talked about, especially all the emotions that go into your decision to hunt. This story is thought provoking, funny, and inte...more
I loved this book. Though I was drawn to it because of the "new hunter" aspect, there is so much more to this story. I did not want to put it down, and I did not want it to end. The author does a great job explaining how and why she got into hunting. As someone who is learning to hunt as an adult, I could relate to so much of what she talked about, especially all the emotions that go into your decision to hunt. This story is thought provoking, funny, and inte...more
I really liked this book and I'm excited to talk about it at book club. The author ruminates on many of the same problems and feelings I have about food production and consumption, conservation and environmentalism. I told my husband I might be interested in going pheasant hunting, maybe, after reading this book and he was so excited, he offered to take me to the trap range TODAY to practice.
I thought this much better than The Mindful Carnivore; I may just have to go back and drop that book a star. I am not quite sure why - I think it is because most of the book is her examining, then re-examining her conflicting emotions about hunting. I also found it interesting how it affected her decision to have children. Her experience at her Oregon Hunter Safety class seemed quite different than Cerulli's New England one. Cultural differences between the east and e west of author differences...more
A memoir about a young, urban, eat-coast raised journalist who moves cross-country to Bend, Oregom, and in the course of acclimating, learns to hunt. It covers her introduction to firearms, her thoughts about hunting and wildlife conservation, and her feelings about hunting in the circle of life.
Excellent read!
Excellent read!
I think I liked this book the most because it was about a girl learning how to hunt, which was nostalgic for me. There were interesting details about how we get our food sources here in America and how distanced we are from it. I didn't care for all of the political thoughts behind hunting.
I saw the author at the book festival and picked up this book on a whim, which worked out very well indeed. Lily Raff McCaulou is an east coast liberal who moves to Oregon and learns to hunt. This memoir is about her experience, but the beauty of it is in her thoughtful meditations on what it means to be a responsible part of the food chain. Compelling, sometimes surprising, and definitely thought-provoking.
Really enjoyed the progression of Lily's hunting skills and more importantly, where she learned them. I also enjoyed the environmental implications of hunting and how we are wrong to demonize hunters. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Bend and the forays into the wilderness.
Perfect in so many ways. Insight into personal development of really smart caring 20 something. Learnied alot about central Oregan, hunting philosophy and environmentalism. Much much more thought provoking and much less preachy than J.S. Froer's book.
It was written well, the story was good. I enjoyed hearing about her first time hunting experiences since I'm hoping to get into hunting as well.
Loved it! It made me think about some of my own thoughts and opinions. It opened the door to new ideas for me. Enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Thought provoking. Like, I kind of want to try hunting now. Except I don't think I could rip the chestskin off a pidgeybird. OR COULD I?
Interesting take on living as a carnivore in a world where we don't literally kill what we eat.
I could see myself in her shoes as this is similar to what my mind has been realizing. That in order to eat meat, I should appreciate "getting" my own. I learned quite a bit through her experiences and appreciate her sharing with us.
I enjoyed reading this. I wasn't sure about it, woman from the city takes up hunting. "yawn" But she has a light breezy writting style that is enjoyable and draws you in.
Some family dies
guilt swells over her hunting.
This reader rolls eyes.
guilt swells over her hunting.
This reader rolls eyes.
I won this book through a goodreads.com giveaway and I LOVED it! Wonderful book! I enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend :)
Aug 27, 2012
Matt English
added it
I haven`t read it yet.
Interesting read and perspective but it was hard for me to get through.
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