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mikathereviewer 's review for:
The Cat who Saved Books: A Novel
by Sōsuke Natsukawa
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quick recommendation
This quick read will leave the reader wondering how to truly enjoy a book. It's not about healing oneself or loving the cat, it's about learning the importance of reading books and its impact on the reader. Not only does it reflect on the reader itself but also on the books. This read can be both light-hearted and yet overly frustrating as the protagonist meets people who are very disagreeable and inconsiderate. It ends with a hopeful and inspiring note, which might ease the frustrating from the start of the novel.
Little fun reference to a different book and film adaption
O captain
My captain
Beware Tiger the tabby
He will punish you
For ripping pages off from books
Introduction
I wanted to read something light-hearted. It's now my second attempt and I failed miserably once more. Now all I feel is anger and frustration. No, not 'cause I was in the wrong headspace. No, it was 'cause this book made me remember something important about books.
I didn't expect to read something today that I emphasise with as strongly as I did with The Cat Who Saved Books. I didn't just agree to what the message behind this story was, but I have my own story to tell about this. I started reading books by my own when I started to learn the alphabet in school. The worst experiences regarding books I made were during my school years.
Personal experience with the topic
When I was younger, I met the most disagreeable people, just like in this book. They believed that they could cheat through book assignments by reading the summary and pretend like they read the whole book. It made me frustrated as I read the whole book even if I didn't like it. I had the patience and willpower, they didn't. While I do understand that reading books isn't for everyone and forcing it upon someone in school isn't the way to make them start reading books in their free time, I disagree to pretend to have read it even though one didn't. I wish they would have just admitted that they didn't want to read it instead of taking the shortcut. Throughout my school years I also met people who only read the books I read, they even tried to lend books from the school library with my library card instead of using their own. The worst experience I had though was how my own purchased books were stolen from me.
How to enjoy a book
So you see, there are indeed many ways to destroy a book (along with their owner). Books might not be living beings, but they shouldn't be treated as objects. Books are meant to be enjoyed, not forced upon. Books are meant to inspire, to make one cry or to feel joy after a stressful day. Books are meant to be so many things, but not to be destroyed.
This quick read will leave the reader wondering how to truly enjoy a book. It's not about healing oneself or loving the cat, it's about learning the importance of reading books and its impact on the reader. Not only does it reflect on the reader itself but also on the books. This read can be both light-hearted and yet overly frustrating as the protagonist meets people who are very disagreeable and inconsiderate. It ends with a hopeful and inspiring note, which might ease the frustrating from the start of the novel.
Little fun reference to a different book and film adaption
O captain
My captain
Beware Tiger the tabby
He will punish you
For ripping pages off from books
Introduction
I wanted to read something light-hearted. It's now my second attempt and I failed miserably once more. Now all I feel is anger and frustration. No, not 'cause I was in the wrong headspace. No, it was 'cause this book made me remember something important about books.
I didn't expect to read something today that I emphasise with as strongly as I did with The Cat Who Saved Books. I didn't just agree to what the message behind this story was, but I have my own story to tell about this. I started reading books by my own when I started to learn the alphabet in school. The worst experiences regarding books I made were during my school years.
Personal experience with the topic
When I was younger, I met the most disagreeable people, just like in this book. They believed that they could cheat through book assignments by reading the summary and pretend like they read the whole book. It made me frustrated as I read the whole book even if I didn't like it. I had the patience and willpower, they didn't. While I do understand that reading books isn't for everyone and forcing it upon someone in school isn't the way to make them start reading books in their free time, I disagree to pretend to have read it even though one didn't. I wish they would have just admitted that they didn't want to read it instead of taking the shortcut. Throughout my school years I also met people who only read the books I read, they even tried to lend books from the school library with my library card instead of using their own. The worst experience I had though was how my own purchased books were stolen from me.
How to enjoy a book
So you see, there are indeed many ways to destroy a book (along with their owner). Books might not be living beings, but they shouldn't be treated as objects. Books are meant to be enjoyed, not forced upon. Books are meant to inspire, to make one cry or to feel joy after a stressful day. Books are meant to be so many things, but not to be destroyed.
Books can give us knowledge, wisdom, values, a view of the world, and so much more. The joy of learning something you didn’t know before, and seeing things in a whole new way, is exciting.
One shouldn't read every day just 'cause they have to 'catch up' with all the books that are being published. Books aren't meant to be displayed, they are meant to be read.
One shouldn't write summaries and say that everyone just needs to read them to know everything about the book. One shouldn't read summaries and say that one read the whole book. Books aren't meant to be shallow, they are meant to be studied carefully.
Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Sometimes you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.
One shouldn't falsely market books so that one makes them selled. One shouldn't forget about books just 'cause they aren't selling. Books are meant to be memorable, they are meant to be impactful, no matter the price. A books value shouldn't be decided by its price or popularity, it should be decided by one's own reading experince.
One should highlight their books, bend them, draw doodles in them, collect all these beautiful and unique editions, listen to them, give them away, give them as a present to somebody else and much more — give them a soul to live on. One should love their books without destroying them.
Audiobooks are a way of reading a book. Book clubs are a way of reading a book. Only liking one single genre is a way of reading a book. Picture books are books too. So are children books. Children's is a genre not only reserved for children. Romance is a genre not only reserved for females, so are books based on videogames too. Read whatever you like, whatever you love. Reading is all about you and the book of your choosing. Reading should be enjoyable and not be a chore. And most importantly: Reading should make one not only understand oneself better but the people and the whole world around one too!
Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings. People suffering, people who are sad or happy, laughing with joy. By reading their words and their stories, by experiencing them together, we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves. Thanks to books, it’s possible to learn not only about the people around us every day, but people living in totally different worlds.