Our Next Choice: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

From Publishers Weekly: "One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ginger kitten was shoved into the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. And in this tender story, Myron, the library director, tells of the impact the cat, named DeweyReadmore Books, had on the library and its patrons, and on Myron herself. Through her developing relationship with the feline, Myron recounts the economic and social history of Spencer as well as her own success story—despite an alcoholic husband, living on welfare, and health problems ranging from the difficult birth of her daughter, Jodi, to breast cancer. After her divorce, Myron graduated college (the first in her family) and stumbled into a library job. She quickly rose to become director, realizing early on that this was a job I could love for the rest of my life. Dewey, meanwhile, brings disabled children out of their shells, invites businessmen to pet him with one hand while holding the Wall Street Journal with the other, eats rubber bands and becomes a media darling. The book is not only a tribute to a cat—anthropomorphized to a degree that can strain credulity (Dewey plays hide and seek with Myron, can read her thoughts, is mortified by his hair balls)—it's a love letter to libraries. " (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review: "Her first thought upon hearing a strange sound coming from the book drop one frigid January morning was 'this can't be good.' In fact, for both the tiny kitten found shivering in the metal box's corner and for Myron, director of the Spencer Public Library, the discovery was the best thing that ever happened to either of them, and to the tiny Iowa farming community beset by an unrelenting string of economic challenges. Filthy and frostbitten, the kitten was in dire need of massive doses of TLC; fortunately, the library staff, patrons, and townspeople had plenty to spare. The story of how a bedraggled orange fur ball became 'Dewey Readmore Books,' an enchantingly irresistible library mascot capable of bringing international attention to a small midwestern town and melting the heart of even the most curmudgeonly visitor, is uplifting enough; but woven among the cute-cat anecdotes are Myron's own inspirational stories of enduring welfare, the abuses of an alcoholic husband, breast cancer, and single motherhood. Myron's beguiling, poignant, and tender tale of survival, loyalty, and love is an unforgettable study in the mysterious and wondrous ways animals, and libraries, enrich humanity." --Booklist--Starred Review, August 1, 2008

Join Goodreads or Shelfari

And keep track of the books you've read online!

http://www.shelfari.com/o1518173610

http://www.goodreads.com/profile/khogan23

I just got started and it's fun and addictive!

Check them both out and see which you like best.

See you there.

Katie

Just a Post to Share a Couple of Tidbits

1) Check out http://www.shelfari.com ! Share the books you are reading and have read and your opinions on them. This is a great way to keep track of what you've read. I posted a quick link as well.

2) Amy - you promised me your paella recipe - cough it up, girl! Then I'll post it. It was really yummy!

3) Sounds like October 4 will be our next book club. I already have a suggestion for our next one : Anyone read "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova? It's excellent draw-you-in storytelling! I'm having a ball reading it.

4) Hope you are all enjoying the last weeks of summer.

Katie

Marie has a fabulous backyard!

Marie hosted our marvelous book club last Wednesday evening as we reviewed the selection: Three Cups of Tea. We got to enjoy her wonderful patio with waterfall and bubbling brook, outdoor music, wonderful food and drink and....guess what? The weather even cooperated. It was a beautiful night and we spent the whole time outside!

Update: We tentatively chose "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy as our next choice. (#1 book of the past 25 years, according to Entertainment Weekly.)

Kathy will be hosting our next gathering at her home in Burnsville. We were thinking the next one will be 3rd or 4th Friday in September.

Looking forward to it!

Thank you, Marie, for the wonderful food, drink and company.

Katie

Recipe Share/Swap

I have posted a featured recipe on the blog "Petit di Pollo alla Michelle" which we were fortunate enough to have prepared for us by Mike at the last book club.

I am going to post some featured recipes from time to time and also will start a page where we can have additional recipes to swap and share.

If you have any you want included, email them to me at: khogan23@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Katie

"Best 100 Books of the Past 25 Years"

Entertainment Weekly (just crown me now Princess of Pop Culture!) has published this list in their current issue. I will list here the top 10 and challenge everyone to read them over the summer with me (at least read the #1???!!!) :


10) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)

9) Cold Mountain (Charles Frazier)

8) Selected Stories (Alice Munro)

7) Maus (Art Spiegelman)

6) Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)

5) American Pastoral (Philip Roth)

4) The Liars' Club (Mary Karr)

3) Beloved (Toni Morrison)

2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (JK Rowling)

1) The Road (Cormac McCarthy)


Go Read!

Read on!

(I would have sucked as a cheerleader...)

Katie

What's our new selection?

Since I missed the last Book Club, can someone give me a heads up on the next book?

How was the last meeting?

Davis, CA was sunny and beautiful. Nice campus! But, since there was a letter waiting when we got home from the U of M offering to pay all her tuition costs, I think Jess is going to accept the U of M offer. I get to keep her around a while longer!

Talk to you all soon,
Katie

started reading....

awww...this book evokes such feeling from the very first page. wow. I have read the first chapter and so far, LOVE this character. Love the way the writer hooks you and you feel like you are experiencing things through the character's eyes. Simple prose that knocks you out with sucker punches to your emotional center.

Great choice of book, I'm loving it so far....!

(The Power of One)


Katie

Waiting for New Book to Arrive...

Since I've ordered "Power of One" and it has not arrived as of yet, I decided to pick up a book I have here that's been in a pile, waiting to be read. The title was intriguing - "Seven Lies" by James Lasdun. I was blown away. What a fantastic writer. "Every lie must beget seven more lies if it is to resemble the truth and adopt truth's aura." Martin Luther. And so the story begins....

It is a little political thriller, and little like a memoir, a little bit of confessional. I had a hard time putting it down, and it's not long. The paperback is only 204 pages.

So if you're looking to place a second book in your shopping cart, consider this one.

Here's to reading! Cheers,
Katie

New Settings Should Help

I have made a few changes that should help us be aware when new comments are made on the blog. Everyone should get an email notification now. Please let me know if you do NOT wish to receive these and I will take your email off!

Book Club was fun - the food was fantastic! Thanks, Amy!

Sounds like we have a book picked out - "The Power of One" and it was between Jarby and Sandy to decide who will host next.

Just so you know, too, I can post a "poll" on here and maybe that's a good way to choose books?

Also, I gave all those signed up so far "admin rights" so you should be able to sign in and edit comments, etc. Let me know if you need help figuring anything out.

Have a great weekend!
Katie

OK - This is Unique!

So I've never been accused of reading mainstream books or of reading one book at a time.  Lee "tossed" a book to me a couple of weeks ago and said I'd probably find it interesting.  Indeed!  In fat - it is a little disturbing and overwhelming at times.  BUT - REALLY INTERESTING.  

Noting like Salt!!!!!!!!   I promise.   LOL.

It is called "Garbage Land:  On the Secret Trail of Trash" by Elizabeth Royte.  It's about this woman in New York who one day decides to "follow" her home's trash.   I've learned more about environmental issues than I expected and I think you'd all enjoy reading as well.

Finding Rare Books

My great aunt Loretta Tyman passed away before Christmas. She was a children's book author and some of her books were published years ago. I had a copy of "Michael McGillicudy" which she gave to my daughter in 1998. But I didn't have a copy of "Julio" and couldn't find one. Then I came across bookfinder.com. In just a couple of clicks, I was purchasing a copy of it for only $9 from AbeBooks.com. It arrived 4 days later and I can't tell you how happy that $9 spent made me.
So, I put links up to both - plus a few others that may be helpful.
Happy New Year!
Katie