loopyker's #CBR4 Review #02: Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

This review is for the audiobook only. When looking for “Dewey” books it can be a little confusing, so to clarify - this is the juvenile adaptation (grades 3 and up) of the original adult version, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. There are also international versions simply called Dewey by other publishers. In addition to those, there are illustrated children's books Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library! and Dewey's Christmas at the Library for the kindergarten to grade 2 children. All, of these are about the same cat, Dewey Readmore Books, who brought joy to many people of all ages.

Dewey the Library Cat begins with the discovery of a sad, frozen, little grey kitten in the book return box of a small-town public library. After being brought back from near-death with a warm bath, it was discovered he was actually a sad, frost-bitten, little orange kitten. The librarian, Vicki Myron, who found him bonded instantly with the little guy and, with the approval of the City, he became the official “library cat” and lived in the library, except for when it was closed for holidays.

The book has many sweet stories of how Dewey impacted the lives of many of the staff and patrons of the library. It takes a special cat to have the personality to welcome so many different people! Many accounts tell how he did this while entertaining and comforting many people during his 19 years of life at the library, leading to world-wide fame. A satisfying, heartwarming book for those who enjoy cats and/or animal-human bonding stories. It just makes it better that it is also a true story.

As an audiobook listener, I missed out on the photographs, but there are photos and videos available on the Dewey web site and the Spencer Public Library. The narrator, Laura Hamilton, sounds like she would be right at home in a library reading this to juvenile aged children, but not so much that adults can't enjoy this audio version too.

My only little problem with the book, even as a cat-lover who constantly talks to her own cat, is that the anthropomorphism of Dewey's motivations and actions by Vicki can be a bit much to take at times, but they weren't enough to take too much away from the book. And, just a warning if you are getting this for a tenderhearted young person, Vicki does describe how Dewey gets ill in his old age and is put to sleep. A very emotional part of the book for readers of any age.

Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook and Dewey for a light and entertaining read. I listened to much of it with my own cat sleeping on my lap. It left me wanting to know more about Dewey, and from all of the information I see up on the web site, I'm guessing that many others had the same response. I've already added the next book to my list for future listening.

You can find more about Dewey, Dewey products and the newer book, Dewey's Nine Lives at the Dewey website. There is also a the Facebook Page, Dewey .

Deweythe Library Cat: A True Story

Author: Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

Narrator: Laura Hamilton

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Duration: 4 hours, 13 minutes (unabridged)

ISBN: 9781441885517

Release date: Oct 12, 2010

PrintVersion

Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (May 3, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0316068713

loopyker's #CBR4 Review #01: Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters

My very first book review ever!  This review refers to the *unabridged* audiobook version of Audition: A Memoir narrated by Bernadette Dunne.  There is another audiobook available - an abridged version, read by Barbara Walters herself, which I have not listened to.

I really knew nothing about Barbara Walters' personal life and hadn't thought too seriously about her work, besides irregular watching of 20/20, her interview specials (Oscar Night Specials and 10 Most Fascinating People) and even less often, The View.  But, I've paid enough attention to know that she is a well-respected broadcast journalist who has interviewed, not only celebrities, but many important political personalities as well, so I was interested to learn more about her life and personal feelings about the people she interviewed.  I wasn't disappointed.

This was one of the longest audiobooks I've listened to at 26 hours and 46minutes  (624 pages in the print version), but it kept me interested much more than I expected.  Bernadette Dune does a wonderful narration job, sounding similar enough to Barbara in maturity to have the same feel, while leaving out the quirks of Barbara's voice and speaking style which I think I would have tired of well before the end.   Bernadette is also a talented voice actor for reading the quotes from a variety of different well-known people from Barbara's personal and professional life.

Barbara begins by introducing her mentally challenged, older sister Jackie - a subject she has been very private about before.  This sets the tone of the personal aspects of the book with Barbara looking at her family-life from her earliest memories forward with the maturity of hindsight and the courage to reveal her own faults and, at times, selfishness.  I found the the stories of her father's great successes and failures and the toll on the family interesting and revealing.  And to me, the details of Barbara's marriages, other relationships with men and the challenges of motherhood vs. career, made her seem more human than her TV persona. 

Since Barbara's career was already well-established during my childhood, I hadn't thought much about a woman's difficulties in entering a broadcasting career.  I found the stories about her struggles to get taken seriously professionally, for herself and for women in general, to be enlightening.  It was a big deal for a woman to finally be recognized as a "co-host" and not just a decoration beside the male host.  Women today often forget that it really wasn't all that long ago when things were so different.

Audition then touches on details of many of the interviews that had the biggest impact for Barbara, personally or professionally.  For myself, I found this interesting even though most of the political figures were before my time (or age for me to have have noticed).  One problem, for me at least, with an audiobook - it can get a little confusing hearing foreign names in different sections and remembering exactly who is who.  Apparently, the print version of Audition has a comprehensive Index and list of interviewees to help interested people follow this better.

As we follow Barbara's career through 20/20 and The View we can see how the American audience moves more and more towards celebrity culture and gossip at the cost of political awareness.  This is then the ultimate reason that Barbara gives for deciding when it was the right time to leave 20/20.  (Another problem with doing reviews from library editions of audiobooks, is that I can't find the quote I really wanted for this since I no longer have access to it - but, IIRC, she had a scheduling conflict between a President and a reality TV star - the producers chose for her to interview the reality TV star.  I found this telling.)

Overall, Audition was one of the few books where I found myself wanting to discuss it with others afterwards.  I think a big part of why I found it compelling was that I really had no expectations of who Barbara was as a "real" person.   If you are expecting Barbara's book to be a shining example of professionalism and virtue, you are going to be sadly disappointed in her.  She is human and she has faults, but I think Audition gives you a real feel for her motivations, whether you agree with her choices or not.  She is not always the best writer, but she has lived an interesting life and met a lot of interesting people and is not afraid to give her thoughts and opinions on much of it in this book. 


Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
Unabridged Audiobook narrated by Bernadette Dunne.  (not to be confused with the abridged version read by Barbara Walters)

Duration:  26 hours, 46 minutes
Publisher:  Books on Tape (a division of Random House Inc.)
ISBN:  9781415943687
Release date:  May 20, 2008
Category:  Nonfiction, Autobiography

Getting Started

OK, so I think I've set up the new layout here now and we'll see how it goes once I start with the book reviews.  :)  Suggestions are welcome if I've left out a useful gadget or the layout gets over-crowded or confusing.

If I understand things correctly, it will be OK for me to start my CBR4 reviews in January (tomorrow!  Eeek!) with books I've read/listened to recently.  I listen to more books than I read to give my hands a rest from holding a book or e-reader, so I will specify which I am reviewing and comment on the quality as an audio book too, when appropriate.  The voice actors can really make or break a book sometimes, so YMMV if you encounter the book in a different format.  

This will be my first time actually writing book reviews -  I don't think we even did them in school!  And perversely, since I'm doing this, I don't really like reading reviews before I read a book. lol  I don't like spoilers.  So, I will probably be a little more vague on the plot vs some other reviewers and leave it for you to discover. But if you prefer more, please let me know.

The one thing I do like to know about books is their level of sexual violence and torture.  I have a very low tolerance for that kind of thing - probably because I get so into the books and seem to live them for awhile after they are finished.  I want my books to be an escape, not cause psychological trauma!  In short, I wish books had ratings like movies right on their covers.  Since they don't, I generally stick to young adult titles, especially in the fantasy and historical fiction genres, to avoid nasty surprises.  But, I'm not missing out.  There are a lot of great young adult authors, and I'm constantly discovering more. :)

I also enjoy autobiographies and some other types of non-fiction, so hope to review a little bit more of a variety than young adult fantasy and historical fiction - but those are still my favourites. 

Happy New Year and Happy reading to everyone in 2012!

Cannonball Read IV

I figured it was about time to use this blog for something.  :)  So, I just signed up for Cannonball Read IV  (CBR4) - where you read (or listen to) books and post reviews.  I signed up for the half-goal of 26 books in 2012.  I normally read or listen to more than that in a year, but I'm not sure how tough it is going to be to write reviews - and the full goal of 52 seems like a lot!  (I really do need to be working more on my Zazzle products too! lol) 

Anyways, for now, this will be mainly the home of my book reviews for 2012.  I've never really written a book review before, but figured it was about time I try!  My BF gets tired of me going on and on about a book that really excited me - so you guys can now have that joy instead.  :)

So, right now, I'm still waiting for the e-mails after I signed up and hopefully they will include a more details on the rules  - like if I can use the books I listened to this week and get started right away or if I have to wait until books finished after Jan 1.

Oh, and you can also follow Cannonball Read info. on FB: https://www.facebook.com/cannonballread . 

Products on Zazzle

I've been working hard on some new photography products and now have my first calendar on Zazzle!

For product updates and images please visit my business blog: http://kerstitch.blogspot.com/

Checking in

Just a reminder, that I have been posting more on my business blogs at Livejournal and Myspace.

I do also have a business blog here which gets updated when I remember:
http://kerstitch.blogspot.com/

I am also on Facebook and will soon be adding a KerStitch Designs fan page.

KerStitch Designs

I've been busy with my starting up my business and haven't had time for much else. I've been using Livejournal as my primary business blog. Please keep track of KerStitch Designs' progress at kerstitch.livejournal.com

Through this past Fall and Winter, I've added a line of jewellery and beaded accessories and several new photography images available on a variety of merchandise.

You can see all items available for sale at: Products

Items include stitch markers for knitting, zipper pulls, bracelet helpers, scissor fobs, eyeglass holders and necklaces, ID holders and more!

Photography images include beautiful winter scenery and Spring and Summer flowers. These images are available as prints and also on merchandise such as mugs, greeting cards, magnets, coasters and more!