Purr, Purr, Meow, Meow - It's The Cat Post You've Always Wanted

I am the mad cat lady.

Or I would be if I a) lived on my own or b) my lovely partner finally gave in and let me embrace all things catish.

Luckily for me and the world I haven't yet managed to persuade him to let me have free reign and adopt all the cats.  Because if he did we both know our house would soon be a feline paradise.... or hell and that we would quickly succumb to our feline masters and be their slaves for life. Until then I have to settle for reading all the cat books and dreaming of all things catish and Garfield related. Because Garfield is my life role model

Purr, purr, meow, meow.

A book with a one word title - Midnight by Erin Hunter

If I was smarter, I would've made this one 'A book with non-human characters', but I didn't think far enough ahead and have already crossed that one of the list. Anyway!

Midnight is the first book in the second part (The New Prophecy) of the Warriors series, by Erin Hunter - a popular Junior fiction author. A friend got me into this series in the later years of high school and I can't recommend it enough.

First, let me warn you - it's about cats. The main character is a cat, who lives, fights, eats with other cats. If reading from a feline point of view will bother you (or your children, or niece etc) then maybe put this one back down. It's also quite a large series. In the first 'part' (Into The Wild), you meet Rusty who leaves life as a pet and becomes Firepaw, a wild warrior adopted by a forest Clan leader who fights to be accepted in his new home.

Fast forward to the next series - Firepaw (now Firestar) is the Thunderclan leader, and one of his warriors, the new main protagonist Brambleclaw, receives a message from 'Starclan' (basically, their ancestors) that he and three other cats from the different clans must join together and travel out of their homes to save all of the clans from destruction. Tagging along with him is Firestar's young daughter, Squirrelpaw - though not by any choice of his.

It seems pretty straightforward, right?

The reason the Warriors series is so appealing (to me, at least) is the honesty and perhaps brutality of it. My friend calls it the anyone-can-die rule; much like Game of Thrones, where your favourite character could die any moment.
The cats fight, get injured, lose friends and family members - all in the name of their clan. For example, in the very first book in the first part of Warriors, one of who I thought was going to be a main character, dies. I don't mean to spoil too much, but they do - and it's not glossed over or forgotten, either. The character is mentioned various times as they reflect on it's life and what they had done while they were alive.
The cats have disabilities, they have illnesses that affect them continuously. They fight adversity, overcome differences, and teach you that no matter what you look like, or where you come from, you can live bravely and soldier on - and others will accept you. Gosh - one of the noblest cats suffers from PTSD and depression - she loses her kits even, and still she is one of the most powerful characters in the book. All the while making sure this series stays kid-friendly and never focussing on the losses - only overcoming them.

These aren't cats that are side-characters, that you hear about once and then never again. And I feel like that's an important part of what we have to deal with as adults, or teenagers - as the grandchild of a war veteran, the mother of a paraplegic, as the lover of someone you 'shouldn't be loving - and to see it portrayed so well in a junior book about cats is something fantastic.

Warriors deals with all these things in a much more gentle, sensitive and hopeful way that ten-year olds can deal with and think about. It makes it real - 'these things exist' - but also shows how the cats handle life, how they move on or get past obstacles and I don't know, continue living.

Maybe this is just me - maybe I love these books a little too much. I plan to write the other reviews or comments about the books from the challenge much quicker and together (this one is getting long), but I felt Warriors needed it's own post because I just seriously love these books. These are brave books for brave children (and parents) and I could never recommend this series enough.

If you want to try it out for yourself, check out Into The Wild and Fire and Ice - the first two in the series of Warriors. They've even had revamped covers which I particularly like.

Cats, books, love and eco-feminism.

I've been thinking a lot during the past few months about animals. How much they mean to me, and to us all. I grew up with one parent whose often very small flats were packed to the rafters with greyhounds and whippets, which accounts for the fact that most of my life I have been a dog person. Last year, my flat took in a cat that I immediately dismissed as 'rude' and 'snobby' (cat like) because she didn't leap into my arms immediately or respond to my meowing. However, tentatively, Lacey warmed to me and I to her. She was my first love of the cat world, and I became reliant on her companionship - I adopted her when our flat broke up and she moved house with me, and it became a source of pride to look after her well and see that she was happy, buy her the best kitty biscuits and make sure her fur was brushed. I felt like a grown up, and was glad to have a dependent. She was empirically and objectively the best cat to ever live, and when she was hit by a car the day before Christmas last year, her death really devastated me. I'm still heartbroken and I don't think I will ever be able to love another cat. I spend a lot of time looking at our pictures together, and watching the one video I have of her licking my eyelids.

This post is dedicated to her, and to all animals domestic and wild. At about the same time that Lacey entered my life, I had my job interview at Parnell Library and while I was there I borrowed a book which caught my eye, and which started something of a breadcrumb trail of fiction and non fiction, which fit very well with my romance with Lacey. That book was A New Zealand Book of Beasts, which is a wonderfully absorbing overview of the myriad roles of animals in the lives of New Zealanders. Covering animals in farming and agriculture, domestication and companionship, and representation in literature, art, and mythology, I found this book to be a very rewarding and compelling lesson in our cultural history. There are thrilling facts about the relationship of ancient Maori to our bird-life which blew my little mind, some adorable anecdotes, a look at the work of such beloved names as Janet Frame and Witi Ihimaera, and most importantly the ethical aspects of human-animal relations offer significant insights to some of the political characteristics of New Zealanders as a people. I would recommend this to vegans and vegetarians, agriculturalists and art historians alike, and it is a book that has had a lasting impact on my imagination and critical bearings.

Second in line in my breadcrumb trail of books about animals was The Postmodern Animal by Steve Baker, a treasure I found shelving in the basement not too long after finishing A New Zealand Book of Beasts, drawn in by the very appealing of a shark with a crudely executed painting clamped between its jaws (very cute). A more specifically art-focused collection of essays, Baker explores the animal via the lens of Postmodern theories of identification and creativity in a variety of mediums, including performance art, sculpture, and fiction writing. For fans of Derrida, performance art, body politics and so forth - another effectual and enjoyable collection of essays.

Thirdly, as I was growing weary of the academic and conceptual, I turned to the work of Megan Mayhew Bergman on a recommendation from a library patron. Not only was it like a soothing balm to my brain after my non fiction binge, to my delight (I do love serendipity) it tied in with everything I had been reading and thinking about, and perhaps because it is Mayhew's craft, everything I had been feeling. Birds of a Lesser Paradise is a collection of short stories which focuses on the inner lives of a handful of women, each with reference to their relationship with the animal world. A woman compelled to visit the once loathed pet parrot of her now dead mother. A woman affianced to the landscape and wildlife of the swamp but divided by her father's deteriorating health and dreams of capturing an endangered species. A recovering alcoholic who searches for redemption volunteering in an animal shelter. Mayhew traverses companionship, independence, motherhood, identification and subjugation in a way that is deft, simple, yet rarefied and almost spiritual. Birds of a Lesser Paradise reveals, as do A Book of New Zealand Beasts and The Postmodern Animal, the complex and profound relationships we have with animals, and the interweaving strands of political, historical and cultural relevance that make them up but often go unnoticed. Beneath the subtle prose lies encouragement of radical ecological and feminist theories, and I was not surprised to learn that Mayhew is married to a veterinarian and lives on a small farm in Vermont (a dream existence if I were ever to picture one). I was also not surprised to discover that her latest collection of short stories published January of this year, Almost Famous Women is just as exquisite to read. A glimpse into the private lives of extraordinary women who were nonetheless only a footnote in the lives of larger personalities, it is just as touching and attentive as Birds of a Lesser Paradise.

So! Go forth, read, and give some extra attention to your animal friends. And here is Lacey, R.I.P

Libraries and Lolcats - a puuuuuurfect match

We all know that the Web was created so that physicists could share their research papers, right?  Well, Web 2.0 was developed so that people could admire the antics of cute cats. Like this cool kitty from Coolangatta.

Forward thinking physicists knew the value of cat memes well before they became a thing. You may have heard of the paradox of Schrodinger’s Cat. Sadly, Schrodinger didn’t know about lolcats. In fact, Schrodinger needs a serious image makeover, or at least a visit from the SPCA.

Cats feature heavily in library lore. Dewey the library cat is one example. He was rescued by librarians in the middle of a freezing winter in Spencer, Iowa and went on to live a long, happy life in the library, doing wonders for the town’s economy along the way.

An example of a cat who loved Auckland Libraries was the late Xena, the St Heliers library cat. She was well known in the suburb and is deeply missed by staff and customers.

Here are some other cats who generously lent their time and presence to libraries around the world.

Kitties have pretty much taken over Twitter in recent times too. They seem quite suited to it: maybe it’s because they are creatures of so few words, who knows? Check out @BlindCatRescue for some truly heart-warming tweets.

When it comes to cat rescue, who really benefits? I have often wondered this. When I rescued my blind cat a couple of years ago, I think in a small way he may well have rescued me. Author Gwen Cooper's blind cat Homer changed her life (even saving her from an intruder in her apartment), as she surely changed his. And James Bowen had a much more profound experience with his new feline friend Bob helping him beat homelessness and drug addiction: the resulting book has been a best seller.

Summer Reads Just For Us Chicks

There are times when I almost hate my job or, more accurately, regret my job.

Just when I think I've got my reading list under control I start browsing through web pages and book lists hunting for new titles to blog about and suddenly I find myself adding more and more titles to my own reading list.

It's a bit like the finger in the dyke story only the idea of being flooded with books actually sounds quite nice.  Though if they were to come all at once it could, I think, be quite painful.

Death by book avalanche anyone?

There is, I fear, no hope for me and my never ending reading list.

Even if I wasn't a librarian my reading list would still be out of control.  There's just something about their glossy covers and blurbs that tempt me with whispered words that I can't resist.

I'm an addict I know and it's an addiction that I hope never leaves me however much I sometimes regret my endlessly long reading list.

This year there seems to have been particularly busy year in the book world with a plethora of new titles streaming out or perhaps it's just that my reading has reached epic proportions, either way I know that I'm going to be having a very busy summer working my way through an increasingly large pile of books.

From fashion to murder to romance hopefully there is something here for everyone.

5 ways in which dogs are better than cats

"I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance."
- James Thurber

Title: Why dogs are better than cats
Author: Bradley Trevor Greive (photographs by Rachael Hale)
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Pub.
Published: c2009

I'm not a cat person. Nor a dog person. Or, in truth, a child-friendly person. This isn't to say that I'm UNfriendly to any of the above. I just don't have strong feelings about them either way. I can take or leave animals and/or kids. Weirdly, this makes them like me more. It's like they can sense my feelings - or lack of them - and want to squish me that much harder (children I meet for the first time), jump on me that much more (dogs and cats I meet for the first time), and find ways to sneak into my room and put their mark all over my things. (Yes, Mr2, I'm talking about YOU). So do I truly believe dogs are better than cats? Irrelevant! The point is, this book's author does :) And here are 5 reasons (from the many) for why Monsieur Greive believes that dogs have oh so much more awesomeness than cats.

Are you a dog person? Or a cat person? OR a child person?

Dogs want love. Cats want fish
Dogs offer us such vast amounts of help and happiness and yet seek almost nothing in return.

Dogs have helped us explore our world and our universe
The heroic actions of dogs are the stuff of legend. Can you even imagine a cat saving you from drowning? How about dragging you out of a burning building? Or digging you free from an icy avalanche? I don't think so. Cats don't rescue anybody - they just get rescued. And they never ever say, "Thank you." (pages 168-171)

Dogs see you as a parent, partner, best friend, and soul mate
Cats see you as a source of warmth and food. (page 71)

Dogs are social, cats are sociopaths
The reason dogs surpass all other species is quite simple: They get people - they really do. It's been this way since dogs and humans first bumped into one another and thought, "Hey, this could work!" (page 61)

There is a dog for everybody
Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and most important, dispositions - from gentle giants to little dogs with big personalities. This canine cornucopia means that the perfect dog is out there to complement every single human being's personality and lifestyle. Regardless of where you live, no matter how noble your endeavours, or how twisted and shameful your secret quirks, there is a dog that is just right for you. I guarantee it. (page 29)

Letting the fur fly

This piece is not about WEREWOLVES. Fans of vampires and WEREWOLVES should read no further.

No, honestly, this isn't about paranormal stuff, so stop reading now if you really just saw the word WEREWOLVES in capitals and got excited. (Oo, I'm naughty.) It's about books starring animals, which seem to be popping up like meerkats on Viag - er, a phone advertisement.

Yes, they've been around a while, since Beatrix Potter and The Wind in the Willows, in fact. Aesop, if you're going to be like that about it. However, few aside from William Horwood's Duncton chronicles (talking badgers), were actually for adults. No longer. Rita Mae Brown is guilty of the long-running Mrs Murphy series, starring a cat. Stories about a small-town library cat called Dewey, and destructo-dog Marley, caused a non-fiction explosion. Suddenly it was raining cats and dogs. And it still is.

For you animal lovers, here's a special treat.

Sit.