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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Crying so hard during that last 10% I could barely make ot the lines. Definitely in the top 5 books ever read.
"The most important thing is having someone there to scoop you up, to hold you tight, and to tell you everything is all right."
"The most important thing is having someone there to scoop you up, to hold you tight, and to tell you everything is all right."
A heartwarming memoir about a cat who was abandoned in a library dropbox and the head librarian who cared for him. Nothing monumental here -- just a good read! Cat-lovers, book-lovers, and those who love small-town America will enjoy this one.
I hated this book, I'm sorry to say.
Firstly, Dewey's story, while touching, didn't touch the world, since most people had never heard of him before this book.
Secondly, this book isn't really about the cat. Oh, the cat features, but mostly the author is talking about herself. I didn't want to hear about her and her problems, particularly not with the whiny, self-righteous tone she often took when discussing them. According to her, she's always the victim and always the hero.
Thirdly, the end, discussing in detail his declining health and eventually his death, ticked me off royally. Talk about blatant emotional manipulation. I realize that death is a natural thing, and of course Dewey had to die sooner or later, but considering how little she'd talked about the cat overall, it was pretty plain that this was tacked on to the end to try to wring a few tears out of you. Well, it didn't work with me, it just made me mad!
Firstly, Dewey's story, while touching, didn't touch the world, since most people had never heard of him before this book.
Secondly, this book isn't really about the cat. Oh, the cat features, but mostly the author is talking about herself. I didn't want to hear about her and her problems, particularly not with the whiny, self-righteous tone she often took when discussing them. According to her, she's always the victim and always the hero.
Thirdly, the end, discussing in detail his declining health and eventually his death, ticked me off royally. Talk about blatant emotional manipulation. I realize that death is a natural thing, and of course Dewey had to die sooner or later, but considering how little she'd talked about the cat overall, it was pretty plain that this was tacked on to the end to try to wring a few tears out of you. Well, it didn't work with me, it just made me mad!
This ended up being a little bit more about the authors small town experience than I would have wanted but I found it very interesting. I obviously fell in love with Dewey like the rest of the town. It seemed like he really enjoyed living in the library and I was a little jealous of him, to be honest. There was one small section about another cat who passed away that left me speechless. I was expecting Dewey’s death to devastate me (no worries, he lived a long, beautiful life) but I found the story about this other cat so sad.
This book is a delight for anyone who has ever given their heart to a cat. I, myself, have 3 1/2 cats and deeply love 2 1/2 of them. So I was a ready audience for this book. You have to wonder why kind of a sick person would put a tiny kitten into the book drop of the public library in Spencer, Iowa on one of the coldest nights of the year. Of course, that turned out to be a bit of luck for the hapless kitten because he spent almost two decades as the "library cat" in that small northwestern Iowa town. Dewey captivated everyone--from the library staff, to patrons, the disabled children who were brought into the library for story time. Dewey ultimately serves as a metaphor for the bad times and eventual recovery of both Spencer, Iowa and the author. In the process of looking after the library, Dewey became famous--in fact his obituary ran in the New York Times. I guess that I should have put a spoiler alert on that--yep, this cat doesn't have nine lives. Wish that he did. I also wish that my library had a cat.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This is a fun, feel-good story about a cat who lives in a library. Definitely worth the read if you need a pick me up.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
So many tears at the end of this one!
An extremely moving story that sets time and place incredibly well. As much about the town of Spencer as it is about Dewey and it all weaves together beautifully.
All hail Dewey the Library cat!
An extremely moving story that sets time and place incredibly well. As much about the town of Spencer as it is about Dewey and it all weaves together beautifully.
All hail Dewey the Library cat!