New releases

“Uncle Dave’s Cow and Other Whole Animals My Freezer Has Known” by Leslie Miller(Skipstone, $18.95). Seattle-dweller Leslie Miller gives a lesson on bringing a bit of farm life to urban homes, starting with meat. She details, in a funny, friendly manner, how to pick, store, prep and cook a whole animal’s worth of meat.

“City of Ravens: The Extraordinary History of London, the Tower and Its Famous Birds” by Boria Sax, introduction by Tony Angell (Duckworth Overlook, $22). In this compact, elegantly designed book, Sax writes about ravens in general and some very famous ravens — those that live in the Tower of London — in particular. Angell, Seattle’s renowned wildlife artist and a raven expert in his own right, writes the introduction.

“Daylighting Design in the Pacific Northwest” by Christopher M. Meek and Kevin G. Van Den Wymelenberg (University of Washington Press, $45). Focused on 14 sustainable-design projects in the Pacific Northwest, the book looks at the use of natural light as a means to conserve energy and as an aesthetic tool. Large photos and floor plans of the schools, community centers and other buildings make this paperback‘s visual elements stand out.

“Badlands Bride” by Adrianne Wood (Pocket Books, $7.99). In this Western romance, set in the Colorado badlands, a wealthy heiress meets a journalist who has writer’s block. The author lives in Seattle.