Elif Shafak. Island of Lost Trees (№ 439335)

People find mice and rats disgusting and hamsters and gerbils cute. Pigeons symbolize world peace, although doves are just carriers of urban contagion. Pigs are considered adorable, but wild boars are shot. People admire nutcrackers, but they can't stand crows - noisy relatives of these cute birds. Dogs evoke warm feelings, while wolves become characters in scary tales. People have a weakness for ladybugs, while they are happy to crush soldier bugs. Bees enjoy a special favor with humans, which cannot be said about wasps. Horseshoe crabs are admired, but spiders, their distant relatives, are a completely different story ... I tried to find at least some logic in all this, but in the end I gave up, realizing the futility of this lesson.