The Big Cat Book

Click on the orange link below to read a review of the children's book, Leo the Snow Leopard: The True Story of an Amazing Rescue.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/the-big-cat-book/

My Best Friend

Click on the orange link below to read a review of Do You Have a Cat?, a children's book by Eileen Spinelli.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/my-best-friend/

As Cute as a Kitten

Click on the orange link below to read a review of the recommended children's book, Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/as-cute-as-a-kitten/

Won't Come Back from Dead Man's Curve

Click on the orange link below to read a review of Cat Coming Home: A Joe Grey Mystery by Shirley Rousseau Murphy.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/dead-mans-curve/

Stray Cat Blues

Click on the orange link below to read a review of the almost purr-fect children's book, Ginger and the Mystery Visitor.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/stray-cat-blues/

I'm the Cat

Click on the orange link below to read a review of Frankie Works the Night Shift by Lisa Westberg Peters; illustrated by Jennifer Taylor.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/catting-around/

Cats Solve the Crime (Again)

Click on the orange link below to read about the feline detectives in Cat Striking Back.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/cat-striking-back/

A guest review...

Click on the orange link below to read a review of Eckhart Tolle's Guardians of Being. This review was written by Ingrid King, author of Buckley's Story: Lessons From a Feline Master Teacher.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/guardians-of-being/

Munchy gets his beauty sleep...

The Best Cat Story Ever?

Click on the orange link below to read this review of A Cat Named Darwin: Embracing the Bond Between Man and Pet by William Jordan.

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/one-fine-day-a-cat-named-darwin/

Those crazy cat people!

This is probably self-explanatory, but Munchy does love this action figure!

Munchy the cat

Munchy the cat
by Joseph

Munchy the cat leads
the good life
retired, on furlough
every day...

He owns the yard,
he owns the house,
He owns the beds
Everything goes his way...

Once he was a young
rebel
A fighter, the toughest
cat pound for pound
Battling all the time
And winning almost
every round...

Now these days he
relives in his head
the days when he was
hearty and hale
Living off the interest
on his priceless tales...

He's now the cat
emeritus
Ready to publish his
memories
When he finds a
ghostwriter
Who speaks Felinese.


Photo: Joseph (Munchy's Archives)

The tail of Ginger, the bookstore cat...

Earlier we told you about Orinda Books, the Munchy-certified bookstore in Orinda, California. In our review of the store, you saw the photographs of Ginger, the working cat. Some have wondered how Ginger came to be the official greeter at this bookstore, so she has given us permission to tell her true tail.

Once upon a time, in a land known as the East Bay, a book store in Orinda had no official greeter cat. Oh, at one time it did and the big black cat known as Fish did a great job until he went to Cat Heaven. So a year passed by with this key position left vacant...

Then one lucky day, as Dennis of Orinda Books (OB) left his early morning BART train he heard a kitten crying. Being a wise person, Dennis climbed over tall obstacles, found the kitty, and brought her to OB. She was all of five weeks young, with a collar and bell, but no name tag.

In less than a nanosecond, no-name kitty decided to make the shop her new purr-fect home. But where were her owner-parents? The search went on for more than 30 long days for the mom and/or dad of no-name kitty, but none was ever found.

Thus, the kitten was appointed the official meeter and greeter of OB. And everyone in the land was asked to suggest a name. After hearing more than 200 choices, the no-name cat said, "Rrrorrw!," which means - of course - "I'd like to be known as Ginger." So Ginger she became!

Ginger is not only a greeter, she's a book critic and seller who very carefully chooses books to recommend. These are the books that go on her special table, and they go quickly. When authors appear at OB, Ginger serves as host and master of ceremonies.

Naturally, Ginger is always there for young kids - just don't get her too tired - and for the older kids (some call them "adults") who come into OB just to pet the cat. So who is greeting who?

And now you know the very true tail of Ginger, the Feline Executive Officer (FEO) of OB!

post-script: "Yeowk!" says Munchy, which means "Would you pleaz tell me that story again!?"

Photos of Ginger courtesy of Beth Gallagher.

By Popular Demand...

OK, Ok, ok... We get so many requests to post new photos of Munchy the brown tabby Norwegian Forest Cat that we asked him to approve the release of this one. He said "yeowk!" (yes), so here it is.


Photo: Munchy Archives (cat-alogued); click on the photo to see a much larger version.

Note: Coming up on the weekend, if all goes as we hope it does, we will tell the tail of how Ginger came to be the book store cat!

Twitter: Doing 140 just right (a poem by The Web Laureate)

Unfrequently heard type,
Complexitudes the gripe,
Streaming in the pipe,
At twittering so snipe,
With words kept contrite,
Still 140 just right,
Structured more tight,
Usefulness more or slight?

Notes: The cute cat pictured above is Chihiro Chan who has his own Twitter account at http://twitter.com/chihirochan. And don't forget to visit us at http://twitter.com/troybear07! Munchy says "Yeowk!" to Chihiro Chan.

Photo: flickr (fofurasfelines)

A Munchy-certified bookstore in the East Bay, No. California...

Munchy and I require just three things to recommend an independent bookstore. The staff should be friendly, the staff should be knowledgable and - a factor that adds a whole lot of bonus points - the store should have a working animal (such as a cat, dog or bird) to make the customers feel welcome.

Mrs. Bear and his Munchyness saw that these standards were met during a recent trip to a bookstore in Orinda, in the East Bay section of northern California. This bookstore is Orinda Books.

Mrs. Bear was looking for a copy of the book Inside the Not So Big House, and it was in stock; she also asked for a book for me, Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation. This book has just been released in paperback, and since the store did not have this edition they sold Mrs. Bear the hardbound version for the paper price. Very nice!

According to the Orinda Books website you can, "Come in and relax - there's plenty of comfortable seating inside. Browse our 14,000+ titles and don't hesitate to ask our well-read staff to help with recommendations for all ages and tastes. ... However, if it is (just) a friendly cat you want to stroke, Ginger is here too and will always greet you with her welcoming meow. We look forward to seeing you soon."

Ah, yes, Ginger... As you can see from the photographs above, Ginger was occupying a couch during her mid-afternoon break but was still performing her essential duties of greeting vistors and posing for photographs. Munchy thinks she's cute.

So the next time you're in the East Bay, think about stopping in at Orinda Books, which has been in business at its current location for 33 years. Orinda Books is located at 276 Village Square, Orinda CA 94563;(925) 254-7606. The store is open seven days a week, and possibly eight if Munchy is visiting.

Orinda Books - It's Munchy-certified! Yeowk!

http://www.orindabooks.com

Photos: Munchy Archives (cat-alogued)

Circles: An Interview with Jenny Dalton (part two of two parts)...

We're continuing our interview with singer-songwriter Jenny Dalton...

A number of music's best artists have created their best work after things have gone wrong - or not quite right - in their lives. Is this how you work?

JD: It's not how I'd like to work, but it is true that I go to my keyboard as a refuge. I always have. It's the thing that always makes me feel better. I can write a song about whatever I'm going through, and then the ickiness doesn't follow me around anymore. But, I don't think it's essential to go through rocky times to create good feelings. I do think it's essential to treat creativity as a re-usable resource. You can definitely over-draw from it, so I do things that inspire me to fill up the reserves again.

I recently heard the song Circles and it seems like a different type of song for you, almost country-rock. Is there a story behind this and, if so, could you tell us about it?

JD: That's funny because I think that the genre labels can only start to be put on the songs when I "dress them up" in the recording process. In that song, there is sax, slide guitar, and vintage organ songs that contribute to that feel. I suppose the core of the song's meaning can find its roots in country blues. I wrote it because my boyfriend at that time had just been sent off to war, and I was miserable. Incurably miserable. The only thing I could do was just wallow in it. So that's what the song is about. It's kind of a dusty loner cowgirl kind of song.

If the Jenny of today could talk to the Jenny of 6 to 10 years ago, what would you tell her?

JD: Huh, I think I'd tell her "don't be afraid." I still think I have to tell myself that. Risks are so hard to take, and it seems much, much easier to take the safe and comfortable route. I was so unsure of myself and misled as to what I really wanted out of life. It's a dangerous spot. A person can really get locked into something that isn't right for them, and that almost happened to me. I was so afraid to rip myself away from it though. The right thing is almost never the easier thing.

If the Jenny of 10 to 15 years in the future could talk to you now, what do you think she would say?

JD: I like these questions! I'd ask, "do you have any regrets?" And then I'd probably say "don't be afraid" again. I thought about what would be on my bucket list of things to do before I die... I take it as a good sign that I don't really have anything to put on that list.

Again looking forward... Let's presume that you're being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Who would - all things being possible - give your induction-introduction speech?

JD: Oooh. All things being possible?? Maybe my cat Midnight who died a few years ago. I'd had her since I was 9 years old. She was my first fan and my only audience member for a long, long time.

Thank you, Jenny. As always, I remain a fan, a supporter and an admirer of your talent.

JD: Thank you! It's quite lovely to have your support.

http://www.jennydalton.com

That's a good one, Munchy...!

Izzles the Norwegian Forest Cat laughs at a joke that Munchy sent to him via Twitter. Yeowk, yeowk...

Photo: flickr (basul22)

Munchy has released this photograph...

Although he earlier took a "no more photos" stance, Munchy has consented to release this recent photograph to his multitude of fans. He appears to be a gray tabby here due to the angle of the sunlight, but rest assured that he is still brown.

Photo: Joseph / Munchy Archives

Yes, Virginia, Cats Do Grow On Trees...

At least they do in Tokyo, Japan...