A Cat Like That by Lester L. Laminack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
5:45 pm 26 April, 2025
There, this is my fifth back and white cat book for the day. It's coincidental that the cat on this cover is positioned very much like the cat on
, but I like the coincidence, because both of these are stories about unusual cats. Both are living their best lives under different circumstances.
I particularly enjoyed seeing this cat's adventures on the streets of the island where it lives. Stories about what cats get up to are appealing, and one can't help but admire this cat-about-town. Charming. I particularly like the two page spread in a maneki-neko sort of pose. The rhythmic cadence should go over well in storytimes, and the detailed art gives lots to examine.
Library copy
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Saturday, April 26, 2025
Review: A Cat Like That
Review: Oh No! Look what the Cat Dragged In
Oh No! Look what the Cat Dragged In by Joy H. Davidson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read it as a very sad story of a family with some sort of genetic brain damage and a lesson in fat accepetance from a cat who remains rotund despite seeming to get loads of exercise.
A child however might find it amusing to see what the cat drags in every night, and to read along with the refrain.
Library copy
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Friday, April 25, 2025
Review: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't remember if I read this before Readerville, or if that's where I heard of it. Fadiman writes perfect little essays about various aspects of being a reader; the one on Odd Shelves stuck with me particularly, since that became a Readerville staple.
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Review: The Eyre Affair
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The concept appeals so strongly to me. Even though this is the weakest book in the series I must love it for the dodo, the numerous Shakespeare jokes, the alternate history. It's a series that makes a lot of jokes about cheese and has professional croquet and airships. And, of course, the classic public domain novels we all love.
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Review: Three Plays: Our Town/The Matchmaker/The Skin of Our Teeth
Three Plays: Our Town/The Matchmaker/The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
original readings:
The Matchmaker & The Skin of Our Teeth May, 1982 and January 2018
I was on a kick looking for monologues in his short plays and got into reading the longer ones as well.
Our Town June, 1982, June, 2015
(I was Emily Webb. I can still remember a hell of a lot of those lines)
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Review: The Best of Roald Dahl
The Best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
1999 Jul 16
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Thursday, April 24, 2025
Review: The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!
The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
7 December, 2022
We should all be the Pigeon, living in optimistic anticipation of good things to come.
Though with perhaps just a titch less volume. Willems excels at conveying emotion and, if you will, how the lines should be delivered. Whether reading quietly in one's head or reading aloud to a group of kids, his ability to suggest tone is a boon to the reader.
***
27 February 2023
Not even three months later I had to pluck it off the New shelf again. But it's good to be able to point out ways in which Willems' books excel, in light of other reviews I've made this morning.
Original endpapers which reward examination and comparison with one another. A note on fonts, a good bio, a mock copywrite page, and a nice range of emotions. No note on the art, sadly. Perhaps the lengthy acknowledgements in novels these days will spill over into other genres. People derive satisfaction when their contribution is public, especially when their pay is kept artificially low, she wrote, looking askance at the big five publishing companies, and their failure to create a more diverse and equitable workplace.
Now I'm dreaming of Don't Let The Pigeon Cross the Picket Line.
Library copy
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Sunday, April 20, 2025
Review: Cold Colors
Cold Colors by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Free Gaiman download and a preview of his next novel. Click!
***
I've finished the story, which I enjoyed, and am now listening to the preview of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I'm very eager to read this, but listening to Gaiman read his work is a whole other kind of delight.
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