The Cat Who Saved Books

 

Translated by: Louise Heal Kawai

If my cat could talk, I’m not sure I’d want him leading me on a fantasy adventure. Even if it was to save books? Well, maybe. 

A teenager on an adventure of self discovery. A talking cat. An unlikely ally. A dusty old used book store.

But, beyond the fantasy, there was something to be learned…

”In our stifling daily lives, we’re all so occupied with ourselves that we stop thinking about others. When a person loses their own heart, they can’t feel another’s pain. They lie, they hurt others, use weaker people as stepping stones to get ahead - they stop feeling anything. The world has become full of those kinds of people.” (P 146)

”Books teach us how to care about others.” (P172)

”I think the power of books is that - that they teach us to care about others. It’s a power that gives people courage and also supports them in turn…Empathy - that’s the power of books.” (P 174)

These are the questions I am left with: If books show us ideas outside of ourselves. Other ways of living. Other ways of feeling and doing things. Then why aren’t more people empathetic? How are those lessons not learned? Or are they just ignored? If one doesn’t read, are they at a distinct disadvantage in understanding the people around them? 

If my cat could talk, what would he say about the world we inhabit today?

“The Frozen River”

To be a midwife in the late 1700s. Post Revolutionary War. What a gift to be able to read and write. To keep a diary, that still exists to this day.

So many pieces that speak to women’s rights today. Fighting to be heard. Qualified to do her job, her calling. Someone to be respected. The patriarchy battling a woman who was a force of nature. 

Twists and turns. I almost shut the book at one time because I was afraid of what was going to happen…

Never underestimate the power of a determined woman. Strength. Resilience. Empathy. Righteous. Caring. Love. Hope.

Christmas Reads 2025

 

 

 

NO reviews. Just the books that kept me off my phone and helped to preserve my sanity…

1. “Studmuffin Santa” - Tawana Fenske
2. ”Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret” - Benjamin Stevenson
3. ”Murder at the Snowed Inn” - Imogen Plimp
4. ”Christmas in Paradise” - Brittany Larsen
5. ”Unlucky Christmas” - Melissa Baldwin

“What if the President is an Idiot?”

I know that I will be sitting with this book for a long time. Pondering. Thinking. Sorting out my feelings. Here are a few things that jumped out at me…

A perfect storm. A car wreck you can’t look away from.

”…when people stop demanding leaders of integrity, they start worshiping leaders of spectacle.” ( p 47)

”In a democracy, accountability depends on courage - the willingness to speak truth to power, even when the truth is unwelcome. Under Trump, courage became career suicide.” ( p 52)

”…the death of accountability wasn’t just Trump’s doing. It was collective. America stared into the mirror and chose entertainment over ethics, volume over virtue.” ( p 53)

”…[Trump’s] Ukraine missteps revealed the core flaw of his presidency: he didn’t see the world as a map of nations, but as a stage of characters, some to flatter, some to insult, none to truly understand. And when admiration for a tyrant replaces allegiance to a principle, the cost isn’t just diplomatic confusion. It’s human lives.” ( p 71)

”The lines between journalism, entertainment, and propaganda have blurred beyond recognition. Politicians now campaign not for votes, but for viral clips.” ( p 101)

”…accountability isn’t vengeance; its preservation. It’s the system reminding itself that democracy without consequences is just aristocracy with better marketing. Trump’s America tested the immune system of democracy. The cure, as always, lies in vigilance.” ( p 105)

Resilience. Hope.

“Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry”

 

I felt as if I had rolled up on a train wreck…I knew the outcome would be horrific, yet I couldn’t look away. I had to slow down, peer into the ugliness, walk away, and yet continually look over my shoulder.

Segregation. Hatred. Power. Jim Crow. Survival.

In a world where one group of people looks down on another group of people, simply to feel superior, no-one wins. It’s like playing a game where only one team knows the rules. You’re kept guessing. Trying to participate. Trying to succeed. Yet always falling short. You can only turn a blind eye to the truth for so long. But how do you react? How do you tip the table to make things fair? Is it even possible?

Community. Hate. Rage. Lies. Conflict. Jealousy. Humiliation. Pride.

We can’t erase this chapter in our history. But, we can only learn from it. Resolve to never slip back in time; to be decisive and hate filled. We need to plow forward. Seeing the future as the great equalizer. Vow to value and respect all life.

“Fahrenheit 451”

 

Where to start to unpack this novel…

Superficially: the dog at the fire station reminded me of the automata from Rachel Caine’s series “The Great Library”

A little deeper: alternative history “facts”…”Established in 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.” (32)

This hits a little closer to home in 2025. Trump’s administration stripping history to tell his version of the past, using DEI as a weapon against our collective memory.

Thought provoking: when we stop asking “why” we lose the threads of our past, our heritage, and ultimately our future. Our memories preserve the past. Our collective records make those memories visible to all. Viewing the past through rose colored glasses serves no-one.

Lesson learned: history should be objective, without bias, without a clouded vision of the future.

“The Personal Librarian”

HISTORICAL FICTION

Belle daCosta Green (aka Belle Marion Greener)

Personal Librarian to JP Morgan

I’m not sure what hit me the hardest…the fact that a woman in 1908 was entrusted with seeking out rare manuscripts for JP Morgan, or the fact that she was African American and “passing” as white.

What a delicate balance her life was. Socializing with the “robber barons” all the while looking over her shoulder to see if she’d been found out. Secrets. Love. Shadows. Jealousy. Trust. High Society. Family. Responsibilities.

Not only did she earn Morgan’s trust and respect, she shouldered the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner for her family. Working tirelessly. Being ruthless in her pursuit of rare antiquities to fill the library. Seeing the bigger picture in creating a library open to the public, and not just the privileged few. All this before women even had the right to vote.

There were pitfalls to her life choices…primarily the loss of a relationship that would have included marriage and children. How did her mother and siblings, who also “passed” but managed to have traditional lives, view her? As a beloved sister, daughter? A meal ticket? A means to an end? What price did Greener truly pay for her professional successes?