5 minute book review: The Cat Who…

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New feature: 5 minute book reviews.  No, not how long it takes for you to read it, it’s how long it takes me to write it 🙂  That being said, without further adieu…The Cat Who…

I started reading this series because my Mother-in-law talked my wife into reading it, and since she(the wife) leaves her books laying about, I usually pick them up and read 10-20 pages so I can get a feel for the book, and whether I want to read it further.  I initially thought the books were dated and rather quaint (the first 3 were written in 1966, 1967, and 1968 by Lilian Jackson Braun).  But, something about the book kept drawing me in.  Oh yes, it’s because it was a mystery! The books center around an investigative reporter (60’s style) named Qwilleran, and his cats Koko and Yum-Yum.  In each book, murders and nefarious happenings abound, and Qwilleran and the cats discover the killers.  Formulaic, of course.

Whats funny to me about these books is that I don’t generally like mysteries, I’m not nostalgic for the old days, and I most certainly am not a cat person.  However, I find myself enjoying reading them, and have a hard time putting them down once I start.  I’m guessing its because most of the other reading I do is either technical or school related.  Since these are generally entertaining, and a light read, I think I am enjoying them as an alternative.  Perfect for some time wasting and light entertainment value without suffering through TV watching or something less stimulating than reading.  I’m currently on the 6th book, demolishing a book about every 3 days so far.  With 30+ in the series and counting, looks like I’ll be busy for awhile.

The list of titles in order and year of publication:

  1. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, 1966
  2. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, 1967
  3. The Cat Who Turned On and Off, 1968
  4. The Cat Who Saw Red, 1986
  5. The Cat Who Played Brahms, 1987
  6. The Cat Who Played Post Office, 1988
  7. The Cat Who Had 14 Tales, 1988
  8. The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare, 1988
  9. The Cat Who Sniffed Glue, 1988
  10. The Cat Who Went Underground, 1989
  11. The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts, 1990
  12. The Cat Who Lived High, 1990
  13. The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal, 1991
  14. The Cat Who Moved a Mountain, 1991
  15. The Cat Who Wasn’t There, 1992
  16. The Cat Who Went into the Closet, 1993
  17. The Cat Who Came to Breakfast, 1994
  18. The Cat Who Blew the Whistle, 1995
  19. The Cat Who Said Cheese, 1996
  20. The Cat Who Tailed a Thief, 1997
  21. The Cat Who Sang for the Birds, 1998
  22. The Cat Who Saw Stars, 1999
  23. The Cat Who Robbed a Bank, 2000
  24. The Cat Who Smelled a Rat, 2001
  25. The Cat Who Went up the Creek, 2002
  26. The Cat Who…Companion
  27. Short and Tall Tales: Moose County Legends Collected by James Mackintosh Qwilleran, 2002
  28. The Cat Who Brought Down the House, 2003
  29. The Cat Who… Cookbook
  30. Private Life of the Cat Who…, 2004
  31. The Cat Who Talked Turkey, 2004
  32. The Cat Who Went Bananas, 2005
  33. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell, 2006
  34. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, 2007
  35. The Cat Who Smelled Smoke, 2008

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