2 comments about Grace Coddington & Didier Malige: The Catwalk Cats.

1. Coddington and Malige would be up to their ears in catnip offerings. The authors have donated large sums to cat rescue (and convinced others to do the same). The illustrations are zany, artful fantasies that will make you laugh while the photos capture those deep cat feelings that make us fall in love with our pets over and over again. The text is sheer delight--& I promise you that you'll give it more than one read. You couldn't choose a better gift for yourself or anyone who knows what it's like to live with a little cat hair on their clothes, in their food--and wouldn't have it any other way!



2. Grace Coddington and Didier Malige have written a wonderful book that is both entertaining and moving. While all pet owners imagine the "secret" adventures of their pets, Ms. Coddington and Mr. Malige have created an enchanting version of urban cat life - with charming parallels to their city-dwelling owners. More importantly, this book is a moving tribute to the real importance of companion animals in our lives, to their ability to transform our perspective with their (feline) mystery and inscrutable kitty intelligence. This book is a must-read for any cat lover! - Karen Leslie, Executive Director, The Pet Fund

2 comments about Cat People (BFI Film Classics).

1. The BFI Film Classics series is a welcome little set of essays on singular films. Some are better than others (Camille Paglias take on The Birds is a hoot.) but this one is right in the middle as a pretty average entry.
   
   Generally they are a trifle light (Night of the Hunter, It's A Gift, etc.) and feel like they didn't undergo too many revisions or feel the guidance of a particularly strong hand. Maybe the editor thought their job was about spell-checking and confirming dates.
   
   Here Kim Edwards relives the films narrative while anecdotally cataloging the film's lore, earlier influences and creative descendants. I would have really enjoyed an overarching text for the film and or a tightly written codex for one strong reading. i.e. Rear Window is a film that has a number of astonishing essays written about it. For me Cat People remains a near-junky pot-boiler that surprisingly has some remarkable sequences.
   
   If there's one thing the 21st Century does not need anymore of though, it's another person describing classic sequences from classic movies (here the pool and Alice walking home sequences) and adding their "Me Too" voice of approval. And for the record I disagree with Stephen Kings remarks in the book. (He finds the nightwalk sequence unfrightening because it's obviously filmed on a fake set.) Realism is nice but it isn't everything.
   
   I return again and again to Cat People, but I wish this book could have helped me mine deeper, more substantive reasons for doing so. It would also be nice to see the BFI books candidly acknowledge the faults of the movies in question (Night of the Hunter is teeming with mis-steps). The individual volumes are a boon for investigating films further with, but insight would really be appreciated and would make me treasure them. In their currrent state they are more something to be passed around to friends, and you're not especially put out if they don't make it back.



2. The author entertainingly provides interesting historical notes, analytical facts, and personal impressions while he summarizes the film. By choosing to organize the book this way, rather than collating the material into chapters such as "Symbolism," "Lighting", "The Director", etc., the information comes across more like asides which is easily absorbed by the reader. However, for those wanting a more analytical approach, the ideas come across watered down by this method. The author's rhetorical impressions which are in keeping with the book's informal, conversational style adds to a hazy, indecisive feel rather than an analysis with a biting edge. After all, one reads the book for answers, not more questions. Nevertheless, this deceptively easy read, with lots of stills and a few posters, is informative, insightful and obviously a labor of love for the film. I would only want to add my impressions, such as the birdcage-shadows throughout the film, especially in the ship-designing office which is perched high in a building (as Hitchcock does in "Suspicion") where our 2 "lovesbirds" are stalked by the cat woman. Or expand on the fundamental tensions of why the film is worth repeated viewings - how Irena is a tragic heroine destroyed by her own nature which she is aware of and cannot change. Who hasn't felt this kind of alienation? - yet it's ignored in most pop culture. In generic terms, it is the clash between the old country(eastern Europe) vs. the new(America), superstition(original sin) vs. science(psychology), nature vs. nurture.

1 comments about Where Cats Meditate.

1. I have to say I was very disappointed in this book. The whole layout design is cold and dull. The pictures and quotes are average as well as the printing quality. I have a lot of cat books and all kinds of them. This is one I would not recommend to others.

1 comments about Your Incredible Cat: Understanding the Secret Powers of Your Pet.

1. The author reports on several experiments which demonstrate that cats have an intelligence that rivals that of chimps. The book itself is very readable.

No comments about Cats: 500 Questions Answered.

1 comments about A Visual Introduction to Wild Cats (Animal Watch).

1. I bought this book for a 6th grader who is in love with cats. Before I wraped it I read through it. This book is a wonderful read for all generations. I certainly learned more then I ever knew about cats. The pictures are stunning and Beautiful and sure to keep cat lovers of all kinds entertained. I would recomend this book for anyone 6th grade and older.

5 comments about The Book of Jones: A Tribute to the Mercurial, Manic, and Utterly Seductive Cat.

1. This book is great. It is so beautiful. I think this book is sweet. I am fond of the author/artist.



2. Jones was the cat of Hunter S. Thompson. Ralph Steadman, the artist for many of Thompson's books, was at his house on numorous occasions and made various scetches of the cat. After jones had been dead for some time and Ralph famous, this slim volume was published as a tribute.

   What can I say? I like cats and I like Ralph Steadman's art. It works for me.




3. As one who loves good literature and cats, I was eager to own this book after reading the reviews. I was disappointed with each and every page! I found the story and the 'characters' lacking both depth and interest. I am not familiar with the author, but closed the book wishing he had allowed someone else to put his sketches to word.



4. This was a very enjoyable book, especially for cat lovers. As a person who has nine inside cats, I really understand the personality of Jones and can see how he got under Ralph's skin. The drawings are wonderful, and even though I personally didn't know Jones, I felt like I did. I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who likes cats.



5. This book was given to me for my birthday by my wife after we had seen it in a bookstore. I've always found Steadman's work to be amazing, and he doesn't disappoint this time. From all accounts, Jones was a typical cat: supremely disdainful of everyone around him, and yet more than willing to take advantage of Hunter, et. al., when necessary. The bond between a cat and a person is never easy to describe, and yet Ralph does so with surprising ease. Those of us who are familiar with Dr Thompson and his works can easily see how he and Jones were perfect for each other. A must read for cat lovers and Hunter fans alike.

3 comments about Cats of the Masters.

1. I'm allergic to cats, but I love famous paintings, and these parodies of famous paintings are great fun. I gave the book to a cat owner, and she said it was the best gift she had received. I especially cracked up at the explanation of why Mona Lisa has no eyebrows!



2. I found this book very disappointing. I expected a book about paintings of cats, and what it ended up being was poorly-inserted cats set into famous paintings. I didn't find the prose very funny at all, either. I caught mine on sale (there is no way I'd have bought this 5" square book at full price), but after the first glance, I didn't bother further with it. I'm sorry I bought it. I'm still waiting for a good book about cats in art history.



3. Very enjoyable reading, lots of humor relating the cat's side of life to the artist's side of life. Can read straight through or skip around and go back to parts and laugh again! The artists are famous as the cats will soon be!

5 comments about The Mythology of Cats: Feline Legend and Lore through the Ages.

1. Not a scholarly compendium, The Mythology of Cats is more an engaging collection of folkloric stories, drawn from history, literature, and religion. Organized into 25 sections by various breeds and filled with pithy quotes, this book covers such ideas as feline aloofness and self-containment, the portrayal of this mysterious animal in works by such notables as Steinbeck, Twain, and Yeats, and the role of the cat in various times and cultures. The evolution of breeds old and new, wild and tame, is briefly but informatively discussed, as are such traits as clairvoyance, intelligence, and loyalty. This is a book for readers who have experienced satisfying relationships with these wonderful creatures, informative and entertaining at the same time. Enjoy!



2. Or, to be more accurate, "new age" huggy-kissy rubbish.
   
   From the introduction: "All cultures have such mundane, yet mystical cats, and they are role models of a very positive kind, unlike the more popular archetypes of disaster, demonology, darkness and depravity. For though these are also founded in mythology, we believe they are demeaning and do not bear further publication."
   
   So, there you have it. A mythology of cats book that proceeds, because of serious author bias, to ignore all the dark myths about cats and only give the reader the good ones. This is akin to writing "the mythology of wicca", say, and ignoring all witch burnings and dark magic, or doing the mythology of the Aztecs and ignoring the human sacrifices. In other words, it's a waste of your time, to say nothing of being poorly laid out with no rhyme nor reason to the collection of anecdotes that fill it.
   
   I paid $2.50 for this book. What I learned was that I am never buying a mythology book again without reading a few chapters of it first to see if it's this kind of bowdlerized pablum. And I want my $2.50 back.



3. I enjoyed this book, immensely! I'm an avid book swapper, but this book is definately a "keeper" and will not be leaving my bookshelf!



4. an absolutely delightful overview of the wonderful world of feline.

   This book is written in a very friendly style that starts off as a light read but moves into deeper territory akin to Joseph Campbell. Explores the rich life of cats with highly interesting forays into unexpected realms.

   While I love this book, I was distracted from time to time by statements that I suppose were misprints, "This cat, though small at around eighteen pounds." I wondered why these were not caught and rectified for later editions.

   Anyway, the two authors write with much authority, wisdom and respect that renders other books about cats inferior.

   A great read in many ways!




5. I'm a big fan of cats, believing them to be superior in nearly every way that counts to dogs. But a love of cats is not enough to get one through this poorly crafted book. "Poorly crafted" is precisely what I mean. The Hausmans appear unable to decide whether they are relating anecdotes, myths, popular culture, vetrinary science or something else altogether. The narrative tone varies from pedantic to pseudo-scholarly to mind-numblingly pedestrian - sometimes in the same sentence. There is an appalling lack of structure, as well. The Hausmans thought it would be cute to section the book into chapters by cat breeds, but are unable to stick to their own plan. Each chapter itself is supposed to be divided into a "lore" section and a "fact" section, but, again, the division is truer in name than reality. Ultimately, the whole thing reads somewhat like Robert Graves' analysis sections in The Greek Myths without the scholarly impact. I can think of more succinct summary of the book than "lame."

No comments about Cats Are Smarter Than Jack: 89 amazing true cat stories, connecting animal lovers and helping animals worldwide (Smarter Than Jack).