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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I started this book because I love cats and I love books; it seemed like a no-brainer. I knew it wouldn’t be an amazing piece of literature, but I’m ok with a feel-good book set in small-town America from time to time. But ugh. Dewey started out promising and then about halfway through it dawned on me just how annoying I find this book.
Most animal stories are less about the animal specifically and more about the people around them: their owners, their towns. Dewey attempts to do this as well, telling the story from Vicki’s, the librarian’s, perspective and including anecdotes about her life. But the book became an odd mish-mash of tragic anecdotes about Vicki’s life, history lessons of Spencer, and Dewey stories. We don’t get to know anyone besides the librarian in depth (and I never connected with her either)—not any of her fellow librarians, none of the patrons, and none of the other members of the town. On top of that, the town of Spencer is presented as a perfect mid-west utopia. I love small towns, but no place is perfect.
Dewey is also way WAY too saccharine for me. Though we all tend to anthropomorphize animals to some extent, Vicki Myron takes it to the extreme. Yes, I can believe Dewey was good at sensing when people were sad or stressed (hey, I had a cat too) and I realize he was a friendly cat, but I do not think he was as all-knowing as Vicki portrays him. She repeats the same Dewey stories many times in only slightly altered states: he is constantly praised for his wonderfulness, patrons are constantly ogling him, and he is constantly attributed with being the beating heart of the town.
Though Dewey was a lovely cat who touched many people’s lives, I would not recommend this book. There are many superior and more impactful animal books out there.
Most animal stories are less about the animal specifically and more about the people around them: their owners, their towns. Dewey attempts to do this as well, telling the story from Vicki’s, the librarian’s, perspective and including anecdotes about her life. But the book became an odd mish-mash of tragic anecdotes about Vicki’s life, history lessons of Spencer, and Dewey stories. We don’t get to know anyone besides the librarian in depth (and I never connected with her either)—not any of her fellow librarians, none of the patrons, and none of the other members of the town. On top of that, the town of Spencer is presented as a perfect mid-west utopia. I love small towns, but no place is perfect.
Dewey is also way WAY too saccharine for me. Though we all tend to anthropomorphize animals to some extent, Vicki Myron takes it to the extreme. Yes, I can believe Dewey was good at sensing when people were sad or stressed (hey, I had a cat too) and I realize he was a friendly cat, but I do not think he was as all-knowing as Vicki portrays him. She repeats the same Dewey stories many times in only slightly altered states: he is constantly praised for his wonderfulness, patrons are constantly ogling him, and he is constantly attributed with being the beating heart of the town.
Though Dewey was a lovely cat who touched many people’s lives, I would not recommend this book. There are many superior and more impactful animal books out there.
fun book about a cat who endears a small town Iowa library.
It did combine my 2 favorite things . . . .libraries and cats!
A sweet story that I enjoyed reading. I found some of the information shared in this book to be somewhat irrelevant though.
Great story of a cat who touched so many lives. I cried (ok bawled my eyes out) at the end.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Look at that face on the cover! Every chapter has an accompanying picture of Dewey Readmore Books doing adorable cat things. "Dewey" is a true story about a cat who was found in the library drop box on the coldest night of the year in small-town Spencer, Iowa, and how he unites both the library staff and the entire town of Spencer. It chronicles both Dewey's life and that of the library's director, who is able to better deal with her family and life circumstances through the cat's love. While the writing is quite simple, it was still a cute book and a good autobiography of the librarian and how her life — and many others — changed for the better because of Dewey.