With a new movie opening called "The Two Popes," and a new version of the musical "Cats" being reviewed this week, Simon Goodfellow is very happy.
Who is Simon Goodfellow, you ask? He's the main character in my book THE CAT WHO CONVERTED THE POPE, a wise, well-spoken cat who speaks perfect English and reads; he even advises the fictional American pope in the story, then offers advice on being calm, taking time to meditate, and staying in the present moment.
So if anyone out there is looking for a gift, Simon would agree with me that cat books make great gifts. The book is available on Amazon. He joins me in wishing my readers a Merry Christmas and good new year.
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Who-Converted-Pope/dp/0974553115
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Friday, August 30, 2019
Keeping bookstores alive
As part of our campaign to keep traditional bookstores alive, we go, my wife and I, to our local Barnes & Noble once a month at least, enjoy a cup of coffee, and peruse a selection of books, some of which we buy.
Today, I was happy to spot two new novels by authors I have long admired: Pat Barker, whose Regeneration trilogy about World War I and shell shock, is a fine writer from England. In her latest work of fiction, "The Silence of the Girls," she looks at the Trojan War through feminist eyes, specifically, and with graphic detail, at what a woman sees and thinks of the male world of war and violence. Barker has kept her literary focus on the effects of war, this time seeing Achilles not as a god-like hero but a butcher. Innovative and written with her great intelligence and sensitivity.
The other book is by Richard Russo, whose American novels of the middle class and academia combine great humor with memorable characters. His latest, "Chances Are," chronicles the lives of three men in their sixties as they remember their college years and all that followed. I recall laughing out loud at "Straight Man" and admiring "Nobody's Fool," and now, having read the opening of Russo's latest, I look forward to savoring every page.
As we left the bookstore, we couldn't help wondering how many more years it would be still standing, given the online sale of books by and to people like me. Do I feel guilty keeping Amazon profitable? No since the convenience of home delivery for dozens of items is unbeatable; but when I buy books, I want to see and feel and hold a book in a bricks and mortar store in a cozy café with coffee and other readers. . . .Wait a minute: isn't my new cat book* available chiefly on Amazon? Where else?
*The Cat Who Converted the Pope, a comic tale with a moral about mindfulness, by Gerald J. Schiffhorst, just published this month.
Today, I was happy to spot two new novels by authors I have long admired: Pat Barker, whose Regeneration trilogy about World War I and shell shock, is a fine writer from England. In her latest work of fiction, "The Silence of the Girls," she looks at the Trojan War through feminist eyes, specifically, and with graphic detail, at what a woman sees and thinks of the male world of war and violence. Barker has kept her literary focus on the effects of war, this time seeing Achilles not as a god-like hero but a butcher. Innovative and written with her great intelligence and sensitivity.
The other book is by Richard Russo, whose American novels of the middle class and academia combine great humor with memorable characters. His latest, "Chances Are," chronicles the lives of three men in their sixties as they remember their college years and all that followed. I recall laughing out loud at "Straight Man" and admiring "Nobody's Fool," and now, having read the opening of Russo's latest, I look forward to savoring every page.
As we left the bookstore, we couldn't help wondering how many more years it would be still standing, given the online sale of books by and to people like me. Do I feel guilty keeping Amazon profitable? No since the convenience of home delivery for dozens of items is unbeatable; but when I buy books, I want to see and feel and hold a book in a bricks and mortar store in a cozy café with coffee and other readers. . . .Wait a minute: isn't my new cat book* available chiefly on Amazon? Where else?
*The Cat Who Converted the Pope, a comic tale with a moral about mindfulness, by Gerald J. Schiffhorst, just published this month.
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Cats, books and forgiveness
I have neglected my blog lately, mainly because of I am finishing a new book about cats, specifically, a sequel to my "Writing with Cats" (2003). I am picking up the theme of feline spirituality from that earlier production--of the cat as a model of mindfulness--and going a bit further, having fun creating a fictional story as well as an essay that I hope will be entertaining as well as enlightening.
So, as I watched the 2018 movie last night, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" I was glad to see that the main character, an unhappy New York writer down on her luck, has a cat.
What interested me in this film was the way a totally repellent, anti-social character, whose anger, sloppiness and alcoholism make her a totally unpleasant person, nevertheless comes across as a believable, almost sympathetic character. We can't feel sorry for the abrasive Lee Israel, on whose life the story is based, but because of the intelligent screenplay and the memorable performance by Melissa McCarthy, we tend to care about this lonely woman, who turns to literary forgery to make ends meet. She doesn't turn us off the way she turns most people off. We sense the cause of her grouchiness.
Can we forgive this crooked, abrasive woman? Well, we can forgive the character McCarthy plays so well: she is lonely and very human and worth our attention. This is a book lover's movie, a New York movie, a cat lover's movie and a very original piece of work.
So, as I watched the 2018 movie last night, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" I was glad to see that the main character, an unhappy New York writer down on her luck, has a cat.
What interested me in this film was the way a totally repellent, anti-social character, whose anger, sloppiness and alcoholism make her a totally unpleasant person, nevertheless comes across as a believable, almost sympathetic character. We can't feel sorry for the abrasive Lee Israel, on whose life the story is based, but because of the intelligent screenplay and the memorable performance by Melissa McCarthy, we tend to care about this lonely woman, who turns to literary forgery to make ends meet. She doesn't turn us off the way she turns most people off. We sense the cause of her grouchiness.
Can we forgive this crooked, abrasive woman? Well, we can forgive the character McCarthy plays so well: she is lonely and very human and worth our attention. This is a book lover's movie, a New York movie, a cat lover's movie and a very original piece of work.
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