Cat Daddy by Jackson Galaxy

While there may be many books about cats out there, few are written by men. Especially a tall, balding, jewelry wearing man with a goatee, and arms covered in thick sleeves of tattoos. Now available to cat lovers everywhere is Jackson Galaxy’s new book, "Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean." I was super excited to read Galaxy's book, as I am a fan of his Animal Planet TV show, "My Cat From Hell."

               

Available on Amazon.com!

What can you expect to find in Galaxy’s book? How Jackson started working with Spirit Essences, that before he was bald he had dreadlocks (and read what he did with them when he cut them off), his food addiction, the Cat I Love You method and most important, the impact of his cat Benny, on his life.

               

When I interviewed Jackson Galaxy via email, Jackson told me: “Basically the cat in the book, Benny was dying and our time together was ending. I was just struck by how his presence in my life guided my knowledge about cats and the work I do with them and the techniques I have worked on and the theories that I have used.”

“And in our time together [Benny] was there to witness and help turn me around. I just told him at that point that I just wanted to honor him and would write about him. It’s our story about our life together and how the techniques became shaped by my life with him. It’s a memoir but there are a bunch of tips and how to’s with things inspired by him,” he said.

If you’re looking for a typical cat book, this ain’t your cup of tea. If you’re looking for the story of how cats can change people and shape our lives – then this book is for you.

Cat Daddy is available on Amazon.com here.

               

I started reading Cat Daddy the day it came in the mail...Henry enjoyed reading it too.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Jenny Han delights readers with her latest novel, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before." Han is the author of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" trilogy and has coauthored "Burn for Burn" and "Fire with Fire" with author Siobhan Vivian. Her novel is meant for girls age twelve and up.

The genre of this book is fiction with a touch of romance. The main character, Lara Jean, is like any other girl who has fallen in love with a boy. She is entranced by him at first, but eventually falls out of love. When she decides she no longer loves these boys, she writes them a love letter, addresses it and hides it away in her vintage hat box. Her five letters are to remain in the hat box and never be seen by anyone else but Lara Jean.

Lara Jean lives with her father, older sister Margot and younger sister Kitty. Her father has raised them on his own since their mother died. He tries to keep his daughters alight of their Korean heritage, and he often attempts to cook traditional Korean dishes for them. Readers can see Han incorporating her own heritage into this book.

One day Lara Jean goes to school and finds that two of her past loves have each gotten the letter she wrote to them. Once this event partakes, the rest of the book is a whirlwind of fake romances, confusing feelings and sisterly fights, break ups and make ups. 

The title "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" perfectly encapsulates the message of the text. The entire story truly comes together and creates a perfect beach worthy read.

Book jackets are like mini-reviews. The book jacket of "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" is eye catching and appealing. A girl lying on her bed writing is the perfect image of Lara Jean and it sets the tone for the book. Underneath the cover, readers will find a pink hardcover that just accentuates the fun girlishness of the book.

I have been a fan of Han since I read her first book in middle school. I knew that when "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" came out, I would have to pick up a copy. I had planned to save the book for the beach, but it looked so wonderful sitting on my nightstand that I couldn't resist reading it right away.

I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for a fun beach read for the summer - or even a book good for a rainy day stay-cation. Han is sure to delight with her laugh out loud worthy text. She may even make you shed a tear, laugh and smile all in the same page!

You can find "To All the Boys I Loved Before" on Barnes and Noble and other local bookstores. 

Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper

Gwen and Homer.

You know how when you're reading a really good book, you will find any excuse to sneak away and read endlessly for hours? Reading a book during TV commercials, reading in between class breaks, sneaking away to your room during dinner. Those are just a few of the things I did to read "Love Saves the Day" by Gwen Cooper.

"Love Saves the Day" is an amazing story about Prudence the cat. One day, Prudence's owner Sarah doesn't come home. Prudence goes to live with Sarah's daughter, Laura and her husband Josh. Prudence doesn't understand why Sarah left her and hopes she will come get her soon. This is a tale of love, hope and how animals help you heal.

The book is broken up into three parts, from the viewpoints of the kitty Prudence, daughter Laura and the mother, Sarah. I love books that are told in different perspectives because it gives the reader more than one way to look at the story being told. 

I especially love the fact that the majority of the book was narrated by the kitty, Prudence. Cooper really captivated how cats "think" and act. For example, Prudence is taken to the Bad Place, which the reader can immediately identify as the vet's office. 

Many things Prudence said had me grinning and thinking of my own cats.

-"I fix him with an icy stare and swish my tail to remind him of his manners." 

-"I think Laura's trying to trick me into not noticing, so that one day soon she can put down just the new food and none of the food I like. As if that would fool a cat!"

-"I learned that water that's been standing still for a long time usually tastes bad. Now I like to rattle my water bowl with my right paw before I drink from it, so I can see the water move and keep it tasting fresh. Sarah understood this and only filled my water bowl up halfway."

After Prudence said her piece about the water, I started to wonder if my cats thought that way! I asked my mom - she had just read Gwen's book - and she agreed, wondering the same thing. 

After reading "Love Saves the Day", it is evident that Gwen did a lot of research on the "Mitchell-Lama" buildings that a portion of the book is about. The events that happen in chapter 13 (I would love to write a summary but I don't want to give any good plot details away!) "are a fictional creation and not intended to accurately depict real events" as Gwen states in the Author's Note.

I wondered how Gwen knew about Mitchell-Lama buildings and the history of the building mentioned in the book. It turns out that Gwen’s husband Laurence moved into a Mitchell-Lama building when he first moved to New York, 25 years ago.

“Honestly, New York is such a crazy, crazy market for real estate (with such insanely high rents) that you always have a general awareness of people you know who've lucked into great deals, like something that's rent controlled or an apartment, like a Mitchell-Lama apartment, that participates in a City program to maintain affordable rents for middle-class tenants. Once I decided to work the program into the book, I did some research and also spoke with attorneys who specialize in both assisting tenants who live in Mitchell-Lama buildings and who represent developers that want to buy the buildings and opt out of the program,” Cooper said.

Readers who kept up to date on Gwen’s Facebook fan page for "Love Saves the Day" (which you can find here) knew that just three weeks before her deadline, Cooper changed a massive portion of her book.

It turns out that Cooper tossed out 80% of her book – which had taken her two years to write.  

(Reader Note: Before you read on, there will be a little plot detailed here that might give away parts of the story, so please read at your own risk).

“In a nutshell, I felt that I was over-plotting Prudence.  Originally I had a storyline that had her much more actively searching for Sarah.  The problem was that to translate that search into action had me writing behaviors for her that weren't really cat-like.  For a book like this to work, readers have to really believe that they're inside a cat's mind--and I felt that if I as the author didn't believe what I was writing, readers wouldn't either,” Cooper explained.

Cooper explained that ultimately, Prudence has three "jobs" in the book:

1) To be adorable and funny and "catty;"

2) To narrate the human action and the day-to-day lives of the other characters in the book

3) To heal over the course of the book from her loss of Sarah as she gradually bonds with Laura and Josh and comes to consider them her family.

After getting rid of 80% of the book, Cooper was excited that once she took Prudence out of her own head a bit, all these wonderful opportunities opened up for ways in which Prudence could engage the human characters.

For those who have read "Love Saves the Day," it’s needless to say that the changes Cooper made to the book ultimately changed it for the better. This novel is an amazing story that will help heal anyone with a broken heart, or is an enjoyable read for those who just love cats!

I am so glad that my mom had picked up "Homer’s Odyssey" that one fateful day in Barnes and Noble, otherwise I might not be here reviewing "Love Saves the Day"!

Cooper will delight readers with her new book, as it is really an inspirational story. When I asked Cooper if she had a new book in the works, she said: "I do have plans to write another book, but nothing concrete enough to talk about yet."

“It pays to remember as a writer that sometimes the most important part of writing is knowing when and what to ‘unwrite,'" said Cooper.

To visit Gwen Cooper: www.gwencooper.com 

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

Homer is blind, strong, and smart and has an…epic tail? No, not that Homer…I’m talking about Homer the Blind Wonder Cat! The story of Homer the cat is a very special and true story. Written by Gwen Cooper, Homer is a story about an eyeless cat, and how he changed Gwen’s life for the better.

Homer had “a virulent eye infection [that] required the surgical removal of both his eyes,” the reader learns in the first chapter of "Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat." However, Homer’s story is not a sad one – Homer lived with Gwen for sixteen years. Homer passed away in August 2013 of old age.

 Each chapter of "Homer's Odyssey" starts off with a quote from the epic tale "The Odyssey," written by the poet Homer. The quote is also followed by a picture of Homer the cat. The reader soon becomes enamored with Homer’s happiness and lust for life. Perching on the edge of the toilet seat and catching flies in his mouth, mid-air!

Homer in his glory.

Dog Eared Pages interviewed The New York Times Best Selling Author, Gwen Cooper via email.

Dog Eared Pages (DEP): At what moment did you decide to write" Homer’s Odyssey," and what is the inspiration behind the title?

Gwen Cooper (GC): I first came up with the idea when I read about the sale of "Dewey" to Grand Central ("Dewey's" publisher).  I thought I have a pretty cool cat!  I wonder if I could write a book about him!  The title came to me instantaneously and I never considered any alternatives.  But it still took about a year until I had a proposal I thought could realistically be shown to anybody.

DEP: What made you realize Homer's story could be a book?

GC: I didn't know what the narrative through-line would be that would make it an actual book instead of just a collection of anecdotes.  When [my husband] Laurence proposed to me, I remembered that I had adopted Homer right after a major break-up, and then I realized that that would be the story. I wrote this book so it would begin with a break-up and end with a wedding, and in between would be the ten years of discovery and transition for both Homer and me between those two events.

DEP: Writers all have different processes they go through to complete their books. What is yours like?

GC: I don't write every day.  I've found that sometimes, when I'm stuck, the best thing to do is to get away from the computer and do something completely different.  On the show "Mad Men," there's a great scene where Don Draper, the creative director of an ad agency, gives advice to a junior copywriter who's suffering from writer's block.  He tells her, ‘Think about it deeply, and then forget it.  The answers will come.’  I've always found that to be true. Of course, the trick is knowing the difference between times when you really do have to stop writing for a few days and times when you're just procrastinating.  I can't say I always stay on the right side of that line, but I do always try!

DEP: Many cat bloggers and writers post every day about their cats’ activities. Was it (or is it still) hard for you to “share” Homer with the world?

GC: It's interesting how many readers have come to feel that Homer is ‘their cat’ too.  It means that when I write about Homer and things that are going on in our lives, I get deluged with advice and feedback.  Mostly, though, this has been overwhelmingly positive.  So many of my readers have a lot more experience with cats then I do, and they tend to have ideas that I wouldn't have. 

Still, it was odd sometimes to look at Homer napping on the couch and think that there are thousands of people all over the world who loved him.  He was just my little cat!  But, of course, since the book came out he became more than just my cat.  It's amazing to think about.

Homer is just Gwen's little cat, who made a big impact in her life.

DEP: Have you ever been recognized when you are out and about?

GC: Very rarely--maybe once or twice.  Being "author famous" isn't like being famous famous.  I have friends who've known me forever who occasionally say things like, "How weird is it that you're famous now?"  And I always say, "And yet, when I go to the grocery store, they treat me just like I was a regular person!"  That's my little joke, the point being, of course, that I'm really not famous at all. 

The only time I come close to feeling like I am is when I do a reading and a few hundred people show up--but, even then, I feel like they're there for the book and not for me, personally.

DEP: One of the wonderful ideas that have come with "Homer’s Odyssey" is taking the prejudice often found with adopting blind cats. What’s your advice for people unsure about adopting a blind cat?

GC: Blind cats do very, very well, and blindness by itself is no reason to either not adopt a cat or "put down" a cat who has gone blind.  I always say that, at the end of the day, a blind cat is just like any other cat, and just as capable of loving you and living a wonderful life.

Homer is like any other cat, when getting into mischief.

DEP: Being a successful author can be measured in many ways - how many copies of books have been sold, number of fans you have on Facebook or how many people show up to a book signing. How do you define your success?

GC: I'm still not sure that I feel successful!  It's a cliché, but it's absolutely true, that success is a horizon line that keeps receding no matter how close you think you're getting to it.  I never take it for granted that just because "Homer's Odyssey" had done well, my future books will also do well.  Success is something I get up every morning prepared to work hard for.

DEP: And of course, the best interview question is saved for last: is there a question that you've wanted to be asked in interviews, but have never been asked before?

GC: People never seem to ask about my husband, Laurence.  So I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge him and the amazing "cat dad" he's grown into since my cats and I first moved in with him seven years ago.  When Vashti and Scarlett became ill in their last years (Vashti with chronic renal failure and Scarlett with cancer), I literally couldn't have done everything I needed to do to take care of them on my own.  When we were dating, Laurence wasn't sure he could live with three cats.  But when things got bad and I was beside myself with worry and grief, Laurence was incredibly gentle and compassionate and never once complained--or was anything less than cheerful--about helping me out with some of the difficult and unpleasant things that had to be done.  He's a remarkable and loving man.

Make sure you find "Homer's Odyssey" on Facebook!  You can read Gwen’s blog here.

Cat Girl's Day Off by Kimberly Pauley

Being able to communicate with cats would make life so much easier. Who would not want to know when their cats are actually hungry, when the litter box needs really should be cleaned, or when someone is not giving their kitty enough attention. Kimberly Pauley's "Cat Girl's Day Off"  tells the life of teenager Natalie Ng, who has a talent that allows her to communicate with cats.

Set in present day Chicago, "Cat Girl's Day Off" begins with Natalie and her cat Meep discussing the Class A Talents of Nat's family. Nat's dad has super smell, her mom has laser vision and the ability to retain extraneous information, her twelve year old sister Emmy has the highest IQ in the Western Hemisphere, and her older sister Viv has truth divination, levitation and X-ray vision.

Viv and her dad work at the Bureau of Extrasensory Regulation and Management (BERM). All Nat can do is talk to cats, which is classified as “Class D – as in totally dumb – talent,” as she puts it. However, Nat’s talent comes in handy when a well known blogger, Easton West, goes missing and the only one who can help Nat find Easton, is Easton’s cat, Tiddlywinks.

Being a huge reader, and a fan of Kimberly Pauley’s "Sucks to be Me" series, I ordered "Cat Girl’s Day Off" when Amazon emailed me a recommendation for it. After finishing the book and absolutely loving it, I emailed the London based author, Kimberly Pauley, and picked her brain all about "Cat Girl’s Day Off"!

Dog Eared Pages (DEP): "Cat Girl’s Day Off" has a plot line based on the movie "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," what inspired the Ferris Bueller take?

Kimberly Pauley (KP): Um…my random brain? Seriously, the original nugget of an idea didn’t have anything to do with Ferris Bueller or movies or anything. It went through several iterations until I finally chanced upon the idea of working in Ferris (which is one of the most awesome movies of all time). Then it really took off.

“I was living in the Chicago suburbs (like Ferris) at the time and knew I wanted to set the book there and then once I figured out how Nat (the main character) was going to get pulled into this crazy madcap adventure, the movie led me to the locations where the action was going to take place. Most of it wound up at Wrigley Field, but I’d thought about incorporating some of the other movie locations as well originally.” She said.

DEP: I love the idea of “Talents.” Did you always wish you could understand what cats think?
KP: The talent was actually the first thing I had. The original idea was to think up some “useless” super powers and then go from there. I was thinking about a whole series of books, each told from a different person’s point of view and all of them having a really “stupid” power. I would actually love to be able to talk to cats. I think they’d have lots of things to say about…well, about everything.

My cat Pearl wishes she could hang out with Meep and Rufus.

DEP: "In Cat Girl’s Day Off" because Nat can talk to cats, the readers learn that the cats have an actual name as well as the name given to them by their people. How did you come up with the idea of Easton’s cat, Tiddlywinks having the name Rufus Brutus the Third?
KP: I can’t say I came up with that originally. It was T.S. Eliot that said that cats had three names: one everyday name, one particular/peculiar name and lastly:

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,

   And that is the name that you never will guess;

The name that no human research can discover -

   But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,

   The reason, I tell you, is always the same:

His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation

   Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:

       His ineffable effable

       Effanineffable

Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

That’s from the poem "The Naming of Cats from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats." You know the Broadway play Cats? It’s based on that collection of poetry. Definitely worth a read for cat lovers.

DEP: The main cats in the book always have great, witty banter between them. Did you find it hard to write in the voice of the cats? Is there anything you did to prepare to write in their voices?
KP: Perhaps sadly (just ask my husband), I had no trouble being cat-snarky. I’m probably part cat myself.

DEP: It seems that all authors put a part of themselves in their books, so which character do you most identify yourself?
KP: Well, like Nat, I am also half-Chinese. And short. And a bit quirky. So probably her. Though I do SO love Oscar. He’s based on a few friends of mine that I knew in high school and college. Some people will probably think he’s a bit over the top, but he’s actually pretty tame compared to some of the friends I had…

DEP: Is there a question that you have wanted to be asked in interviews, but have never been asked before?

KP: Yes. “Would you like to have dinner with Johnny Depp?” I’m sure you can guess what the answer to that question would be. Only kind of kidding…always seemed like he would be an interesting guy to talk with (at least based on his choice of movie roles and you gotta love a guy who’s not afraid of eyeliner and wears so many hats so well). Though I did have dinner once with Harry Harrison (one of the grand masters of science fiction) at a convention and I’d love to do that again. He’s awesome.

Find Kimberly Pauley on her website, Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to her newsletter, here.