The Cat Who Saved Books

 

Blurb:

A celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heart-warming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the second-hand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for—or rather, demands—the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and Tiger and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, Tiger and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge—the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter...

Thoughts:

Rintaro Natsuki, the 17-year-old protagonist of The Cat Who Saved Books, inherits a bookshop when his grandfather dies. He is preparing to close it up and go live with an aunt when Tiger, a talking ginger tabby cat, appears in the shop and demands that he help it save books.

Tiger takes him inside four labyrinths filled with books. Sayo, Rintaro's classmate who visits him frequently, also accompanies them from the second trip onwards.
In the four mazes, they meet people who the author, Sōsuke Natsukawa, represents as people who misuse, mistreat, or misunderstand books:

• The first person is only interested in the number of books he reads. He wants to read the most books possible in his lifetime; he no longer derives any pleasure from reading.
• The second one thinks that the only way to keep people interested in reading is to shorten/summarize or cut books.
• The third does not care for great books—he is interested only in popular books, meaning those that sell well.
• The fourth person, one whom Tiger calls the most dangerous, makes Rintaro question the meaning/purpose of literature and books.

If you love books and agree with the author's opinions, you may enjoy this. I did, especially because I love cats and books. However, it left me wondering about many things:

• Why are the characteristics of Rintaro, Sayo, and Tiger described repeatedly?
• Where did Tiger come from? What does it represent/symbolize?
• The title says the cat who saved books. Then why is Tiger only taking Rintaro to places where books are being mistreated and Rintaro doing the actual saving?
• Are the villains actually evil or just representatives of the changing times?
• Are classics disappearing? Aren't they more accessible these days? Does everyone who loves books need to read classics? If readers find them difficult, isn't it all right if they read condensed versions or summaries?
• Don't readers' tastes or neurodivergence count?
• The grandfather, the bookshop owner who left it to Rintaro, was a former university professor. He has supposedly imparted a lot of wisdom, especially about the 'power of books'. However, that is not clearly explained in the book.
• How will Rintaro, a high school student, manage to run the shop?

That said, the book emphasizes the general importance of books and the joy of reading. It talks about books making you aware of other people and places and helping develop compassion, tolerance, and empathy.
Rintaro tells Sayo that if you find a book difficult, it's because it contains something new to you and that it offers you a challenge. This is true not just of books but a lot of the things you encounter in life.
I can't comment on the translation by Louise Heal Kawai. I liked her note about the hows and whys of it at the end of the book. 

To summarize, a simple story with a touch of magical realism that makes you think.

How to read a book

Blurb:

An award-winning novelist reveals the books that have captivated her and the influence they have had on her life and writing. Highlighting a true love affair with books, this story emphasizes the transformative power of the written word.

Thoughts:

I wanted to get a less serious (or maybe a writer’s) perspective of how to read a book to balance Mortimer Adler’s book of the same name that I am reading.

However, this book is certainly not about ‘how to read a book’. It is about the reading and writing experiences of Kelly Ana Morey.

Reading it felt like being in a one-sided conversation with a learned writer friend who had definitive opinions on literature and books. Boy, did she have interesting things to say! Here is a sample.

I liked the book because it is informal, funny, and most importantly, realistic about everything. For example, the last two sections were a reading diary and a list of 100 good books. The diary shows how often Morey abandons books in favour of more interesting reads, even magazines.

More a memoir than a how-to book, this may not be for everyone.

The Reading List

Blurb:

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.

Thoughts:

In her debut novel, Sara Nisha Adams talks of the magic of books and the human connection that they can forge. I believe in both.

I often think that books find readers rather than the other way around. Many a time, I find myself reading something and thinking that is exactly what I wanted to hear right now.

Similarly, readers are considered introverted and unsociable, preferring the company of books over people. Of course, some of us probably are. Yet, you may find so many of us referring to books that led to great decisions, charitable acts, and good civic sense.

Adams tells you a story of books bringing about healing and comfort during devastating loss. She also manages to remind you why reading books is important without being preachy.

An old widower Mukesh, who visits the library for the first time in his life, and a teenage girl Aleisha, who reluctantly takes up a summer job there, bond over books. These books are from a handwritten list that she finds tucked inside another book. They have nothing in common.

However, their plots align subtly with the lives of the people who read them. The readers find things that resonate with their circumstances and learn from them. I liked the idea of introducing plots of other novels into the plot of the book.

Adams does not discuss the books in detail. You don’t need to read any of them either. She gives you a general idea about them and how Mukesh, Aleisha, or someone else relates to them.

The opinions of those of you who have read them may differ from those of Adams. This is quite natural because your experiences influence your perceptions.

A few questions remain unanswered. For example, what is Aleisha’s mother suffering from? Why did her brother make such a drastic decision?

This did not bother me as the story did not revolve around these two main characters. Adams expertly weaves in their families, friends, and a larger circle of people with whom they interact.

All of them have their own stories of loss, trauma, or loneliness. Although there are potential romances, the emphasis is on friendship and compassion.

I love to read anything about books, libraries, and reading. I chose this book because of its title. I am glad I did.