BLOGOSPHERE BOOK REVIEW - OCTOBER

October Book: Dewey: The small-town library cat who touched the world
Author: Vicki Myron
Non-fiction
Synopsis: (Courtesy of Dewey's website)
Vicki Myron was a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm and an alcoholic husband. But her biggest challenge as the new head librarian in Spencer, Iowa, was to raise the spirits of a small, out-of-the-way town mired deep in the farm crisis of the 1980s. Then, on the coldest morning of the year, Vicki found a tiny, bedraggled kitten almost frozen to death in the night drop box, and her life—and the town of Spencer—was never the same.

I like cats. We have an almost 18 year old one. We are cat people (OK and we have a dog but the cat is higher up the pecking order).

I don't like the way people who are obsessed with cats treat them as human.

I loved the story about small town America. I loved the little glimpse into life there. I hated the sickening-sweet relationship the author described with her cat. The cat who liked her better than it liked everyone else. I found this a bit pathetic to be honest. I also though the cat's name was strange - our pronounciation of Dewey is different to our US cousins who say "Doo-we" - somehow to this Kiwi ear the name was just wrong.

It was a sweet read but to me it was over the top. That said thousands will disagree. 'Dewey Readmorebooks' has his own website and thousands of people round the world visited or contacted the Spencer library about him.

Each to his own.

I've read quite a few books this month (I think the Book Club has spurred me into action). One I can highly recommend is "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I couldn't put this down. Probably my best read of the year to date. Beg, borrow or steal a copy if you can.

I've also just started "My Bum Looks Brilliant in This" by Wellington psychologist Karen Nimmo (she is a new addition on the morning TV Breakfast panel). Some really good stuff here. Take a look if you're interested in the psychology of weight loss.