We finally have our Bookshop store up! It’s a work in progress, and I’m constantly adding new books I find or remember, but it’s finally up and running. If you like print books, please consider buying through our page there. All proceeds go back to the organization since we are a nonprofit. For readers who prefer audiobooks and ebooks, we will be setting up our partnerships with audiobook and ebook companies soon as well.
Also, since we are now a nonprofit, this website will soon be shifting over to MyCatJeoffryBooks.org. This site will soon re-direct there.
We are hoping to open in brick and mortar form in Spring 2021. We will definitely keep you posted!
Love, love, love this book! It’s an essential addition to any animal lover’s book collection! Naturalist Sy Montgomery is one of my favorite nonfiction writers, and this wonderful memoir is a collection of homages to animals she’s loved throughout her life – both those she’s lived with as family, and those she’s come to know through research for her books. Included are: a tarantula, an octopus, a weasel, a pig, a pair of kangaroos, and several dogs. She deftly illustrates the singular wisdom and beauty of each of these creatures and discusses the ways they’ve each forever changed her. Hearing her (I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author) detail the deaths of each of her dogs, and her beloved pig actually made me cry.
The book is one big celebration of the miraculous bond we share with all living beings. After my Rhea died, I searched for books about loss of beloved animals, so that I wouldn’t feel so alone. I found memoirs like Rita Mae Brown’s Animal Magnetism immensely valuable. This is definitely another one of those books that I will always turn to uplift me and remind me of my connection not only to non-human animals, but to other human beings as well.
I recently listened to the audio book version of this novel, after it won the 2018 National Book Award for fiction. It was billed as a book about a woman mourning the loss of her friend to suicide by caring for his Great Dane, whom she inherits. I often read big book award winners, as I am curious, but this book held more appeal than usual to me because of the dog connection, of course.
But I didn’t find it to be much about the dog at all, or the woman’s relationship with the dog. That’s fine, of course – not every book has to be about a dog – but this was the way it was marketed. Hence, the cover. Instead the book seemed mainly to be a meditation on MFA programs and the kinds of people they employ and produce; at least of a certain generation. The woman is an instructor in one such program in New York, the man who committed suicide, her former professor, whom she remained friends with. The man was a celebrated writer and a huge womanizer who played women against each other and who seemed to believe himself superior to others, especially his female students. I had a hard – actually impossible- time relating to this woman and her love for this immensely unlikable man. I couldn’t bring myself to care about him as a character, and, hence, for her, for even liking him. She never made me understand why I should be sorry that this man had killed himself.
Hard as I tried, I just couldn’t relate to the main character at all. Maybe it was the tone of the audio book’s narrator (Hillary Huber), but the character, and, hence, the author, just came across as so superior, so condescending to her readers, and so judgmental of her characters. And just out of touch with the world, and lacking in reason. At one point, she is in a cafe and she sees a young woman with a therapy dog and she ridicules the woman for having a dog with only three legs. She never explains why a tripod can’t be a therapy dog; she just assumes everyone’s as devoid of sense as she.
I found her behavior throughout inexplicable. For example, she goes to great lengths to keep the dog in her apartment, which has a strict no pet policy. She thus risks losing a rent-stabilized apartment, which as anyone who’s ever lived in New York City well knows, is often the only way anyone with less than a seven-figure salary can live there. I never really understood why she did this because she didn’t seem to much like the dog. I guess she just couldn’t bear the thought of disobeying the wishes of the condescending womanizer.
To me, the best parts of the book were discussions of other writings on grief. I took note of many of the works she talks about and I may even consult a print copy of the book for those alone. For me, this book did not add anything to that literature.
Last weekend I went to the Tucson Festival of Books and Nunez was supposed to be on a couple of the panels, which I planned to attend. I often get more out of a work when I hear a writer speak about it. Unfortunately, her flight was grounded due to NY weather. But I am always willing to listen to different viewpoints, so if anyone really liked this book, please do tell!
Sofia poses with our copy of the book’s Kindle edition.
We received a recommendation of this book from Amazon, who seemed to know just what we needed right now: a cute cozy mystery featuring an endearing animal co-sleuth 🙂 Cruel Candy is the first of many books in Mildred Abbott’s Cozy Corgi series.
Main character, 38-year-old Fred (short for Winifred), has just inherited a Main Street shop in the small mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado. After a failed business partnership in Pennsylvania, Fred decides to pack up and move cross-country, with her delightfully smart corgi, Watson, to open a mystery bookstore in her new space. Upon inspecting her new digs, Fred meets two eccentric sisters, one of whom owns a candy shop, the other a health food store, on each side of the soon-to-be bookstore. One sister is sweet, the other not so much so, and openly expresses her anger that Fred is taking over the space she had so wanted. Of course later that night, Fred finds the latter dead in an upstairs room of her own store, having been hit over the head with a rolling pin. The mean sister had made enemies with practically everyone, leaving a town full of suspects. But when police begin to suspect Fred’s beloved stepfather, it’s up to Fred to figure out which enemy is the killer.
This is a fun, quickly-paced whodunnit with endearing, relatable sleuths (both dog and human), packed with interesting, quirky townspeople. Abbott creates such a strong setting, I really felt like I was there, and her characters were so well-drawn, I felt like I knew them. I did foresee who the killer would be, but it was still a lot of fun watching Fred and Watson catch the culprit. But most importantly for a cozy mystery series – or any kind of series – I enjoyed spending time in the world Abbott deftly created and will look forward to devouring all of the books in the series.
As an end note: I’m pretty sure this book was self-published since it was featured on Kindle Unlimited and I couldn’t find a traditional publisher’s imprint. Many romance novels these days are self-published, and other genres and subgenres (such as cozy mysteries) are going that way too, since traditional publishers supposedly can’t make enough money on them (this was one big takeaway from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention earlier this year, and what I’ve heard several agents and editors say). I think in the future indie bookstore owners and librarians are going to be curating self-published books themselves if they want to maintain certain collections. So, imho, I found this book to be very well-written and entertaining and I think the series would make a nice addition to a mystery collection.
Lovely book we discovered the other day at the Chandler Public Library. LOUISIANA’S WAY HOME by one of our favorite middle-grade authors, Kate DiCamillo, tells the story of Louisiana Elefante, a young girl whose parents have died and who is living with her grandmother.
One day, her granny insists they must leave their home permanently as the day of reckoning has arrived. Granny has done this before but this time Louisiana knows it’s serious. They drive off, leaving behind everything Louisiana has ever known, including close friends, and a beloved dog and cat.
When Granny’s emergency need for medical care causes them to stop momentarily, Louisiana meets some new friends, namely a boy named Burke and his crow, who end up helping her discover who she really is and find home.
Granny, who seems mentally ill, though that term is never used, is irresponsible to the point of being borderline abusive, but somehow you can’t hate her. Louisiana’s voice is so original, so compelling and engaging, you can’t stop turning the pages until you’re sure she ends up well. Readers originally met Louisiana in another DiCamillo book I haven’t yet read, RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE, which of course I now must read.
A couple more beautiful picture books I picked up at the recent Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference in Arizona. LOST IN THE LIBRARY tells the sweet story of the lions who sit guard in front of the main library in New York. In real life, of course, they are statues, but here they are given names – Patience and Fortitude – and they come to life, particularly at night. One morning Fortitude wakes up to see Patience is not there. He must explore the vast library searching for his friend so that they are both in place by the time guests begin arriving. Sweet story by Josh Funk and beautifully illustrated by Stevie Lewis. This is one of my favorite places in the world and made me miss New York badly!
LADYBUG GIRL AND THE RESCUE DOGS is a wonderful addition to the popular LADYBUG GIRL series by David Soman and Jacky Davis. This one focuses on rescue animals. Ladybug girl and her friends are in the park one day for a farmers market when she sees some tents off to the side bearing “adoption” signs and lots of fun-looking dogs. She wanders over to meet the dogs and rescue workers and wonders why no one else is coming over. Ladybug girl is clever and devises a way to get more people to see the animals, and even gets a few of them adopted! She and her friends, Bumblebee Boy and Grasshopper Girl determine to come back to the park every week to help with more adoptions. Love!
We absolutely loved this book, and were so happy to be able to meet W. Bruce Cameron at the Best Friends National Conference over the summer, which is where we got a copy of A Dog’s Way Home. Above, our very dog-like cat, Rhea, who is always at my feet 🙂
This is a wonderful, very well-told story. And, even though a dog – Bella – is the protagonist, there are lots of cats! Lots of cats. Bella is separated from her mother early on and is taken in by a group of feral community cats who live in a building that is on the verge of being demolished. A cat who’s just had kittens takes Bella in as one of her own. Bella always thinks of her as Mother Cat, and the kittens as her siblings. A young med school student who cares for the community cats, Lucas, finds Bella and takes her in. Lucas lives with his mother, an Army veteran recovering from PTSD.
Unfortunately, Lucas lives in Denver and Denver has a pit bull ban. One of the things this book does so well is show the odious and irrational nature of such a law, especially given that there is no official recognition of pit bull as a breed. That gives power-hungry animal control officers the ability to declare any dog they don’t like a pit bull.
Which is exactly what happens here. Lucas has had run-ins with one such local animal control officer over his insistence on getting the community cats out of the condemned building before it is bulldozed. He works hard with a local animal rescue to do that, but it takes time and the landowner is eager to demolish the building regardless of whether cats are inside. The landowner threatens Lucas with taking Bella away if Lucas doesn’t leave him to his destruction.
As you can see, the dog on the cover of the book looks nothing like a pit bull – and many of the animal control officers in the book question whether Bella is a pit bull. But the landowner is friends with one animal control officer, and that’s all it takes – an officer deeming a dog a pit bull. Bella is banished from town, with Lucas promising he will find a home outside of Denver and will come get her from the foster as soon as possible.
But Bella doesn’t understand since she is a dog. She only knows that she has been separated from her human. So once she sees a means of escape from her new foster, she traces Lucas’s scent back home. The story is her journey, which is quite treacherous given that she is several hundred miles away and there are mountains and wild animals and horrid weather now separating him from home.
Along the way, Bella meets many colorful characters – most of them good, but a few rotten apples. My favorite of the characters is Big Kitten – another cat! Big Kitten is a mountain lion cub who is orphaned by trophy hunters who illegally shoot her mother. Bella mothers Big Kitten the way Mommy Cat mothered her and for a time they pal around together, hunting and sharing food. You know Bella will eventually make her way back to Lucas and his mother but you just don’t know how. There are so many twists and turns you remain on the edge of your seat until the last page!
There’s so much I left out. There are so many memorable characters and scenes. Every animal lover has to read this book. It’s just packed with gems! The movie comes out early next year and will star Ashley Judd and Edward James Olmos. I really can’t wait!
Another pic of me meeting Cameron at that wonderful conference 😀
The first, Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship, written by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes is based on a true story. In the book, Rescue, a service dog, befriends Jessica, a double-amputee. The real-life Jessica (Kensky herself) is a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing, though the Jessica of the book is based on a younger version of herself. Co-writer Downes, Kensky’s partner, is also a survivor of that bombing. Rescue is the dog who assists Jessica and brings her back to life and happiness after tragedy.
I was amazed at all the things Rescue can do. Aside from barking for help if Jessica falls, he can open things hard for her to reach, make a phone call, and help her cross a busy city street by tapping on the “walk” button with his paw. But, ultimately, the most important thing Rescue gives Jessica is love, and vice versa. Sweet, and very informative story about the remarkable talents of service dogs with realistic, detailed illustrations by Scott Magoon.
Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts is a sweet story about a boy who adopts a rescue dog. The boy wonders all kinds of things about his new little pup, such as what kind of family he had previously, why they gave him up, and whether he ever slept on cold streets and in dark alleys – things anyone who’s ever adopted a shelter animal thinks about. But, ultimately, the boy realizes – as we all do – that none of that really matters. All that matters is that they belong to each other now. Charming watercolor illustrations by David Walker bring to life this touching tale encouraging adoption.
Picture books are among our favorites since they teach children to love, understand, and respect animals 🙂
Just got back from the Best Friends National Conference and I am so invigorated and inspired and amazed at all the good work being done out there on behalf of animals! It was my first time at this convention and I met the most wonderful people.
Photo above: I got to meet author / screenwriter W. Bruce Cameron at the members only opening night party. Do become a BF member, by the way: it’s one of the best ways you can spend $25. And I was so excited to meet Cameron. He is one of my favorite “dog authors.” I can’t wait to read his latest – A Dog’s Way Home, and see the movie, which comes out in January!
I also got to meet the adorable and very cuddly internet sensation, Sunglass Cat! What a sweetie. She was born without eyelids so her mom has to give her frequent eye drops and she wears little sunglasses for protection. She really loved being held, and passed around from person to person 🙂
The excellent Jackson Galaxy was there, giving a very informative and entertaining lecture on his Cat Pawsitive program. His discussion of the awesomeness of cat cafes and how they are helping to get people to adoptable cats in new ways really inspired me to get my own bookstore / cat lounge open.
As did a little bookshop the conference had set up. So many books, and the store area was ALWAYS packed. Animals and books just go together! Above are all the ones I bought. Funny, but I listen to the Our Hen House podcast (excellent podcast about animals, with an emphasis on veganism, by the way!) and the second book from the left in the top row – The Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World by Stephanie Feldstein – was the subject of their latest podcast, which I listened to after the conference. Now I’m all the more excited to read that one!
After the conference, we took a little tour of the Best Friends’ NKLA adoption center in West LA. What a beautiful place filled with wonderful adoptable cats and dogs.
Our tour guide mentioned that they have a “read to cats” program at their Mission Hills location up in the Valley, whereby parents can bring their kids just learning to read to read to the cats. It helps both kids with their reading skills and the cats, many of whom love to be cuddled and read to! I signed up to receive information about their program since I definitely want to do that here as well.
I’m a bit overwhelmed with all the information I received – grant writing, fundraising, marketing adoptable animals, building an organization, networking with other nonprofits, promotion, etc. etc. etc. – combined with all the info I’m receiving from the American Booksellers Association on opening a bookstore. But I really want to do this, and the conference made me all the more excited about it!
So no time for lazing around, as this little cutie was in the NKLA kitten room 🙂
This is a time when I wish I had a good book club for animal lovers because I’d so love to discuss this one with others! GOOD DOG is a middle-grade novel by well-regarded author Dan Gemeinhart. The book begins with Brodie having died and gone to a place between earth and heaven. He senses that the boy he has just left down on earth, Aiden, is in trouble and he wants to go back down and help him before going off to the Forever. But in doing so, he risks losing his soul and living in darkness forever. It’s a risk he has to take to save his boy.
Along the way he meets Tuck, a lovable pit bull, and Patsy, a tough-talking but deep down goodhearted tabby, who are both in the same situation but decide to help Brodie instead of focusing on their own humans. To find Aiden, they have to battle the hellhounds, dark dogs who’ve lost their souls and now need to feed on the light of others. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through their search for Aiden.
The stories of how each animal died are all so sad and overall this was a real tearjerker. But the expressions of love between each animal and their human and especially between Brodie and Aiden are so beautiful, so moving. I think this is a book kids – and adults who love a good story! – will cherish.
