DEWEY

It’s the story of a cat.

It’s the story of a town–a small town.

It’s the story of a librarian who loves books and cats.

AND, IT’S TRUE!

I began this book knowing it was going to have a “sad” ending, but I was surprised and inspired by the ending as well.

Vicky Myron, with assistance from Bret Witter, subtitled her book: “A Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.” Indeed, “touched the world” is no exaggeration. The cover describes it as a” universal tale of love, hope, and friendship.”

Abandoned in the local book drop, a three-week old kitten worked his way into the hearts and lives of Library Director Vicki Myron and an entire town. As the story unfolds, the reader follows Dewey (named after the Dewey Decimal System) from a straggly, half-frozen, pitiful castoff to an international celebrity. One of the best parts of the book is the visit of Japanese filmmakers, who make a documentary about Dewey, endearing him to people worldwide. Not only is the story and its anecdotes of those who met Dewey inspirational, but it is also engaging. Dewey instinctively seemed to know the needs of each library patron who met him, providing comfort and love to all. Filled with humor and charm, this true story was a darned good read!

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This and That/Here and There

My two weeks off from blogging extended into much longer than two weeks, primarily because I couldn’t remember how to “get back on the pony!”  With the assistance and kindness of my former student/”grandson”, Andrew, I am back.

I have read many books in my “absence”.  For starters, The Art of Grace, by Sarah Kaufman,was an excellent, engaging non-fiction read which kept me wanting to turn the page or start the next chapter throughout.

One of the best reads during my hiatus was In the Shadow of the Banyan a novel by Vaddey Ratner.  It was recommended by a book club friend and was as good as she described. It was horrible and yet beautiful, at the same time,thanks in part to the author’s wonderful writing.  I knew nothing of Cambodia during its civil wars and horror during the years 1975-1979 but had a connection to them in that I was teaching 7th graders who were refugees brought to Alvin by a local church.  Since they spoke no English and I spoke no Cambodian, it made for some interesting “aha-teaching experiences”.  The takeaway of the book, the indomitable human spirit ,was so uplifting that this reader came away moved and encouraged rather than sad and depressed.

Two others out of the dozen or more books that I finished were Bill Bryson’s The Road to Little Dribbling (“Adventures of an American in Britain”), a NY Times bestseller, and Ann Tyler’s A Spool of Blue Thread . The former I read along with my brother in Virginia in a two-person book club.  He sent the book,printed in large print (which added to my reading pleasure). Ann Tyler is one of my favorite authors, and I believe I may have read everything she has written. I’ll just comment that she lived up to the high expectations I always have for her novels–a great read . Whenever I read in the newspaper she has a book coming out, I drop everything and read her latest.

So much for my reading here of late. What recommendations do you have to add to my lengthy To-Read-When-I-Can- Work-It-In-List?