A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Ove is a fantastically detail-oriented person and it drives him crazy that no one does things the right way. Signs are meant to be read. Rules are meant to be followed. Also, schedules are very important.

It took me twice to make it through this book - the first time I picked it up at the recommendation of a Swedish friend, when it was first released in English, but I put it aside after about 40 pages because Ove is just such a bitter crab ass. Since then I've had about 27 library patrons tell me how good this book is and now we're discussing it at the library, so I had no excuse not to sit down and read it.

Now I finally understand the book's popularity!

Ove's a complex man, but it's hard to see past his persnickety nature. As the story goes on, the reader starts to see the man behind the scowl and to better understand his situation. You start to feel sorry for him and to care about his well-being. Just like his new neighbor, Parvaneh.

This book currently is being made into a movie - I've watched the trailer, and I'm curious about the project. So often good books are ruined in the film translation, and this book has such a delicate balance. We'll see how it goes. One good sign - it's being done in Sweden, not in Hollywood!

Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss

In her first foray into fiction, punctuation expert Lynne Truss brings us an absurd, completely horrifying novel about the evil inner lives of cats. I'd forgotten how subversively funny Truss can be, but her nonfiction books were both informative and hysterical. This novel sneaks up on you with the laughs ... and the cold heebie jeebies.

A man on a grief sabbatical gets bored and begins reading a document emailed to him by a former colleague. What starts out fantastical and unbelievable begins slowly to make more and more sense until you're scared of your own housecat and can't put the damn book down.

It's a gothic horror premise: Let me tell you my tale of death and immortality. But it's told in a more contemporary manner, in a shifting variety of forms: sometimes it's straight narrative, other times it's transcripts of oral recordings, descriptions of images, email correspondence and more.

I love horror, and I have a cat. That said, I had to put this down for a bit in the middle because I made it half-way through after dark and I got the creeps. I finally got up the guts to finish, and I loved it - but I'm still giving my cat the side-eye treatment.

Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte

I found this book when I was looking for cat psychology. This is NOT the help I was looking for ... but it is an entertaining, light look at the six (yes, 6) cats in the Tarte household: their personalities, their eccentricities, and their interactions.

If you're a "pet-person" you know every critter has a personality - some adorable, some annoying, a few terribly independent and others needy and attention-starved. Somehow, Tarte thought he knew what he was getting into with each of their cats and yet each time he's amazed and thwarted by the actual animal.

Tarte is making himself a writing career about the crazy goings-on of his critters. Not a bad gig if you can get it - and his giant brood of cats, ducks, geese, chickens, parrots, parakeets, rabbits and more provides plenty of fodder for his self-deprecating humor.

Binky Adventure series by Ashley Spires

If you've ever lived with and loved a feline, you'll appreciate Binky's cat-ness. Binky thinks he's a brave, adventurous, hero cat - which means in reality, he's a sleepy, crazy, and utterly normal kitty with a rich fantasy life. Much of his time is consumed by napping, eating, stretching, and chasing bugs - when he's not building rocketships, digging secret tunnels, and generally saving mankind. Holy fuzzybutt!

Each of these graphic-novel style books are only 64 pages long- but each page packs a wallop with anywhere from 3-10 panels in evolving and continually shifting configurations.

While they books are generally marketed to children, there's no way you adults won't find a few grins at Binky's expense. Great for reluctant readers of all ages!

Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

Have you read the other 2 books in Moore's vampire series? If so, skip the whole first disc of the audio - it's just review. I was a little annoyed by the length of "previously, in Bloodsucking Fiends & You Suck" summary that started this book. Sheesh. If you want to know all that, just go read the other books!

Past that, this is pure Christopher Moore genius: a new challenge for San Francisco's vampires, a couple wacky new characters, and the truly incomparable narration of Abby Normal - backup assistant mistress of the Bay Area darkness.

Narrator Susan Bennett does a notable job with the enormous range of voices and characters in this story: ancient multi-cultural vampires, angsty American goth teens, cops, kooks, several dogs, and even a huge vampire cats. And Moore's rapid-fire dialog can't be easy to record - sometimes I have to rewind and listen a couple times to catch it all.

What will fat cat sit on?

by Jan Thomas

Fat cat is looking for somewhere to sit. Unfortunately, he looks at each of his friends first. Who will find a reasonable solution before someone gets squished? This book ends with another question about the next thing fat cat is looking to do.

A humorous look at the adventures of a few select animals that every child will know. The illustrations are simple enough to make this a great choice for a toddler story time.

Scaredy-cat Splat

by Rob Scotton

Splat is back for another raucous adventure in his newest picture book. This time his goal is to be the scariest cat at school during the Halloween party. It looks as though his plan may be ruined though when he needs a last minute costume change. Tag along for this adventure to see if Splat can best his friends.

The Trucker by Barbara Samuels

I don't often blog about picture books, but I really love this one for its unexpected viewpoint.

While it at first seems to be a typical boy-book about loving all things truck, it's actually a story about a boy and his beloved kitty. Yup: I said BOY and CAT! How rare!

Leo has loved trucks from the time he was a tiny baby, so when Mom says she's brought him home a surprise, he just KNOWS it's the fire truck he wanted. Quickly, it appears that Lola the cat loves trucks as much as Leo. Eventually, she wears down Leo's resistance and they become best trucking buddies.

Pete the Cat - I love my white shoes

by Eric Litwin and James Dean

A completely fun new picture book. My first encounter with this was through YouTube. Check out two charming young ladies singing the text of this book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpZ9mOQ6iSU

Kids will truly enjoy learning color concepts with silly Pete who just can't seem to keep his shoes clean. This is truly one cool cat. He strolls along completely cool with everything that happens to his stylin' high tops. Simple illustrations with lots of negative space.

Cat the cat who is that?

by Mo Willems

Meet the newest character in Willems' repetoire of great children's books. For kids who have begun reading on their own, this is a great way to keep going with a fun author/illustrator who is probably already a family favorite. This book has simple repetitive text. It's also a nice story about friendship. Cat the cat already has many friends, but what should she do when she meets someone new?

Dewey

Dewey. The small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron

Unlike my colleague, I enjoyed this book. Dewey enchanted me, yes, but so did the community of Spencer, Iowa. This book is about more than a sweet, beautiful cat. It's about all the people who knew that cat, and how they interacted with him.