cat book

Review and giveaway: Cat Girl’s Day Off by Kimberly Pauley

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Cat Girl's Day Off cover

I read a lot of different books from a lot of different genres, but I had never read anything in the Young Adult Fiction category. Which is actually kind of surprising, because one of my guilty pleasures is watching trashy young adult dramas on tv. Shows like Dawson’s Creek (oh, the teenage angst!) and Gossip Girl (of couse, I watch that one strictly because it’s set in my favorite city in the world. Okay, and the glimpse into the “scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite” is fun, too. ) But I digress.

When the publicist for Kimberly Pauley’s latest novel Cat Girl’s Day Off asked whether I would like a review copy, I was intrigued. This is how she described the book:

“Nat Ng has always tried to keep her “talent” of being able to converse with cats a secret. Continue Reading

Book review: File M for Murder by Miranda James

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file-m-for-murder-miranda-james

File M for Murder is the third in the Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James.  Set in Athena, Mississippi, the series features kind-hearted librarian Charlie Harris and his rescued cat Diesel.

Diesel is no ordinary cat. The 36-pound Maine Coon was named for his rumbling purr. He is a gregarious, outgoing, laid back cat who wharbles and chirps at the humans around him. Charlie is convinced that Diesel knows exactly what humans are saying to him, even if the humans can’t always understand his responses. Needless to say, Diesel is my favorite part of this book.

But File M for Murder is also a highly entertaining mysteryContinue Reading

Book review: Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

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Animal-Attraction-Jill-Shalvis

Okay, admit it: is this book cover totally cute? Not to mention hot? When this book caught my eye at my local Barnes and Noble store a while back, I just had to buy it. I do enjoy a nice romance novel every once in a while, and if there’s a cat in it, so much the better.

I did read the back cover before I bought it, just to make sure there really was a cat in the book, and yes, right there, it said “There’s nothing like working with animals, having a forlorn, grumpy stray kitten make its home under your desk…”Continue Reading

Book review: Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do, That You Should, Too! by D.C. Blackbird

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childrens-book-cat-cover

Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do, That You Should, Too! was written for the author’s feline companion, Jekyll. “We did not want him to be forgotten,” says D.C. Blackbird. “He deserves more than that. He was special and there are lessons that cats and humans can learn from the fine examples he set in his life.” The author, an American poet and songwriter, is an advocate of animal welfare as well as a proponent of veganism. “Our mission is to teach children, teenagers, and adults about extending compassion for all living beings, as well as values and principles that encourage them to be more just, kind and considerate in their relations with others, and how to live simpler, happier, and healthier lives.”Continue Reading

Review and giveaway: I’d Rather Be a Cat by Allia Zobel Nolan

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I'd rather be a cat allia zobel nolan

I’d Rather Be a Cat: The Official “Better Than Dogs” Cat Book confirms once and for all what most of us already know: cats are better than dogs. Bestselling author and ailurophile Allia Zobel Nolan provides inexorable proof, with a little help from her three feline children, why cats are leaving their canine competition in the dust.

Consider the following:

  • Cats don’t have self esteem issues. They don’t jump all over their humans for approval.
  • You’ll never have to douse a cat with tomato juice, because cats are smart enough to know that skunks are not to be messed with.
  • Cats don’t beg. It’s not their style.Continue Reading

Book review and giveaway: The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts

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Every once in a while, I like to read a romance novel. I also enjoy reading Christmas themed books. And I really love it when there’s a cat in a Christmas romance novel, which is why I was delighted to discover The Nine Lives of Christmas.

Of course, the cover had me hooked right away. I was somewhat familiar with the author. I read Sheila Roberts’ On Strike for Christmas a few years ago. I bought that book because it, too, had a cat on the cover, and I enjoyed it, even though there wasn’t a cat in the actual story. Apparently, publishers have caught on that people will buy books with cats on the cover – or else, they just have my number.

Rest assured, there is a cat in this book.Continue Reading

My 10 favorite cat books of 2011

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I read and reviewed a lot of great cat books this year, and it was really hard to pick just ten favorites, especially since the books cover such a wide range from murder mystery to memoir to childrens’ book. Here are my ten favorites, in no particular order:

Grey Zone by Clea Simon. I had eagerly anticipated this third book in Clea’s Dulcie Schwartz series, featuring Harvard graduate student Dulcie Schwartz, Mr. Grey, the spirit of her beloved feline, who offered wise advice and comfort to Dulcie in the past, and Esme, her mischievous and sometimes destructive kitten.  Once again, Dulcie finds herself drawn into an increasingly complicated tangle of possible suspects, motives, and murder.Continue Reading

Book review: Urban Tigers by Kathy Chisholm

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I first heard about Urban Tigers: Tales of a Cat Vet when a friend forwarded me an e-mail about the book. She had received her e-mail from a cat vet friend, and it included endorsements by two of the premiere feline veterinarians in North America, Dr. Susan Little and Dr. Margie Scherk. Dr. Little called it a “must-read for all vets, vets-to-be & cat lovers”. Dr. Scherk called it “a delightful read.” I had to know more. When my copy arrived, I could hardly wait to get started.

I wasn’t disappointed. Urban Tigers is the story of Dr. Emily McBride’s first year at the Ocean View Cat Hospital in Nova Scotia, Canada. Under the guidance of the flamboyant Dr. Hughie Doucette, Emily encounters a wide variety of cat loving clients, ranging from the retired history professor whose cherished felines only drink bottled water to the self-proclaimed cat psychic whose cat has a lot to say about just how he’d like things to be. At first, Emily is treated as the “new kid on the block” by Dr. Doucette’s clients, but she quickly earns the trust and respect of the colorful and entertaining residents of the small town the clinic is located in.Continue Reading

Book review and giveaway: Forever Paws by Christine Davis

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Forever Paws cover

I first came across Christine Davis’ books when a friend gave me a copy of For Every Cat an Angel  after Virginia, my first office cat at the animal hospital I ran for eight years, passed away. That was ten years ago. To this day, the little book lies on an end table in my living room, a lovely reminder of a cat who took a little piece of my heart when she left, the way they all do. I have since given a copy of this little book, and of For Every Dog an Angel, to friends who lost beloved pets. Both books celebrate the love we have for our special pets.

And now, there’s a new book by Christine Davis, Forever Paws, a book that will help heal the heart after saying good bye to a special friend. Just before Christmas last year, the author unexpectedly lost her beloved cat Dickens to a cancer noone even knew he had until a few hours before his passing. Chris had barely caught her breath when she learned that Dickens’ brother, her forever cat Pippin, also had cancer. He died a few days after Dickens.

The last thing Chris wanted to do after suffering so much loss so close together was write another book.Continue Reading