Books and Cats
What is it about books and cats that go so well together? This can apparently be tracked back to Ancient Egypt. While mainly used to keep rodents and snakes away, cats were also trained to keep pests away from the papyrus rolls that contained texts! Most indie bookstores today have an in-house cat. Famous writers like Charles Bukowski, Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway have expressed their love for cats in their poetry and prose. You'll also usually find a cat present in Japanese literature, often being portrayed as mystical creatures with protective powers...
Whether you're a bookish bibliophile, a feline friend—or both—you'll find these books witty, enchanting and special.
Following the phenomenal international success of Big Panda and Tiny Dragon and The Journey, this is the tale of a cat who longed for peace, acceptance, and a way to make sense of the world. One day he hears of a solitary ancient pine, of which infinite wisdom can be found. So begins a journey of discovery, and along the way he meets a vivid cast of animals, from a curious hare to a terrifying tiger, each with their own stories to tell. But it is only through a surprise encounter with a playful kitten that he realizes the journey has never been about a tree... Told in a gentle, calming style, The Cat Who Taught Zen offers timeless wisdom wrapped up into a tale of beguiling beauty.
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What You Are Looking for is in the Library
What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian to the visitors in her library. For Sayuri Komachi is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it. We meet five visitors at a different crossroads: from the restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills, the mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave, to the gifted young manga artist in search of motivation. After reading Komachi's unique book recommendation, they will soon discover what they need to achieve their dreams. This book is about the magic of community, libraries and the discovery of connection.
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It’s safer for Mia to play the part that people expect. She’s a good wife to her husband Tristan, a doting stepmother, she slips on her suit for work each morning like a new skin. But beneath the surface, there’s another woman just clawing to get out... When a shocking event shatters the conventional life she’s been so careful to build, Mia is faced with a choice. Does she live for a society that’s all too quick to judge, or does she live for herself? And if that’s as an independent woman with a cat, then the world better get ready. Fresh, funny and for anyone who’s ever felt astray, this novel will help you belong—because a woman always lands on her feet.
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Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners' lives... A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby; a colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature's way; an elderly cat, Kota, hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever... Bursting with empathy and love, The Goodbye Cat explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.
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It's not the journey that counts, but who's at your side. Set against the backdrop of Japan’s changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and humour, Nana’s story explores the wonder and thrill of life’s unexpected detours. It is about the value of friendship and solitude, and knowing when to give and when to take. The Travelling Cat Chronicles has already demonstrated its power to move thousands of readers with a message of kindness and truth. It shows, above all, how acts of love, both great and small, can transform our lives.
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This beautifully illustrated graphic memoir combines the existential musings and the everyday realities of sardonic over thinker Penny—a cat. Told through a collection of stories, readers wander through Penny's colorful imagination as she recalls her humble beginnings on the streets of New York and waxes poetic about her sheltered daily life in her apartment. Filled with ennui, angst, and vivid dreams, Penny proves that being a cat is more profound than we once thought. A unique blend of high art and humor, Penny perfectly portrays one cat's struggles between her animal instincts, her philosophical musings, and the lush creature comforts of a life with human servants.
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Awkward high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookshop he inherited from his beloved grandfather. For this bookworm by blood, shutting down Natsuki Books is no easy task—it’s been his sanctuary and hideout from the demands of school and the world. But before the bookshop’s doors are shut for good, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline needs the teenaged bookworm’s help in saving books from abusive and negligent owners, and it won’t take no for an answer. Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey to set books free.
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Paige Danvers has a rough track record with romance and a tendency to stumble into drama. As her relationship drama spills over into her job at the Whitman Street Cat Café, Paige feels like she might be on thin ice with her boss and close friend, Lauren. Looking for a distraction, she signs up to volunteer for a feral cat organization, where she meets a cute guy named Josh. Too late, Paige realizes that Josh is Lauren’s brother and that this could be a spectacularly awful idea. Only now they’re in too deep, and neither wants to just walk away…
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Pastry chef Brad Marks is the new hot thing at the Whitman Street Cat Café; he makes tasty desserts for both the human and feline guests at the café. All the patrons love him, and freelance writer Lindsay Somers understands why; five years ago, she was smitten by his charms too—until Brad broke her heart. Lindsay is happy with her new gig at a trendy weekly magazine, so when her boss assigns her to do a story on the cat café, she grudgingly agrees. But Brad hasn’t stopped thinking about Lindsay in the years since they broke up. Then things with Lindsay’s job begin to unravel in a wave of lay-offs. She needs to cook up a clever story idea quickly—and Brad is just the person who can help her.
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The novella and two short stories in this lucid translation reveal Tanizaki at both his best and his most bizarre. Shinako has been ousted from her marriage by her husband Shozo and his younger lover Fukuko. She's lost her home, status and respectability, but the only thing she longs for is Lily, the elegant tortoiseshell cat she shared with her husband. As Shinako pleads for Lily's return, Shozo's reluctance to part with the cat reveals his true affections, and the lengths he'll go to hold onto the one he loves most. A small masterpiece, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women is a study of Japanese society and manners, and an oddball comedy about a love triangle in which the only real rival is feline.
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On the outskirts of Tokyo, in a neighbourhood crossed by a commuter railway, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times. A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship; a manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside; a woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat. Against the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, this book explores the gentle magic of the everyday.
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