Review: WE'LL PRESCRIBE YOU A CAT (+Friday56 LinkUp)

Title: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ichida, translated from Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda

Book Beginnings quote:

Shuta Kagawa stood at the end of a shadowy alley, gazing up at a multipurpose building. After getting thoroughly lost, he had finally arrived. The structure looked like it had been built to fill the narrow gap between two apartment blocks.

Friday56 quote:

"I see," said the doctor. Then he broke into another smile. "We'll prescribe you a cat. Let's keep an eye on your condition." 

Summary: In a multipurpose building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto is the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. It can only be found by people who are struggling and need help in their life. The clinic is unique for another reason, they prescribe cats and require the patients to follow through on the treatment for the required number of days. To stop taking their prescription early might mean less than desirable results.

All five of the patients who find their way to this odd clinic and are able to open the door to get in, find themselves leaving with a cat even though they didn't want one. Yet, the human-animal bond is strong and eventually all five find their way out of their inner turmoil with help from their feline companions.

Review: I decided to read We'll Prescribe You a Cat as one of the last Goodreads challenges of the year. It isn't the type of book I usually read but I had seen it at the bookstore and thought it looked cute. And it was cute, and funny, and poignant. The cats didn't do remarkable things, they were just cats, but the impact their presence had on the humans was noteworthy. 

Right now we don't have a cat. But I have had cats my whole life. Our last two cats died at age 19 each and we felt it was time to take a little break from cat ownership, but if I need a fix, I just need to visit one of my daughters. They both have two cats now. I know the therapeutic qualities of cuddling with a purring cat and how much fun and how silly they can be. This book captured both the cuddling and silliness. At one point in the story, when the patient came home with another cat to join the first prescription cat, the two animals got a case of zoomies and made an absolute mess of the house. I didn't realize the word "zoomies" was  a word used by anyone other than us. Ha!

One of the things I appreciated about the book was the peek it gave me into Japanese culture.

If you want a lighthearted book with an intriguing solution to problems, I recommend this book to you. And if you become a fan, there is a second book in the series already published.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Grandcats: Skimble and Sasha as kittens

Grandcats" George and Fred

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Memories from Past Christmas Seasons

Happy Christmas Season memories. Do you see my grandson looking for Santa behind the mailbox?

Top Ten Tuesday: 

Happy Memories from Christmas Seasons Past

These memories are not in chronological order. I am just writing them down as they come to me.

1. One year we bought an artificial Christmas Tree which had a motor which rotated the tree around in a circle endlessly. What were we thinking? I think the idea was to be able to see all the decorated sides of the tree (no back and front). Our cat, Demi, loved to get into the tree and would ride the tree round and round. I can still picture her tucked back in the branches as she floated by.

This is not the rotating tree, but the cat in the photo is the one who liked to go for rides on it.

2.  When I was a middle grade kid, my parents moved the family to Africa and we lived very near the equator. My mother still insisted on doing Christmas traditions as if we lived at home. One day she insisted we walk around the neighborhood, singing Christmas carols . When we got to one door and started to sing, the homeowner stopped us and insisted we sing the song correctly: 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas, just like the ones I've always known. With the palm trees swaying...." I can't sing White Christmas without thinking of this version.

3. We had a very dignified, standoffish cat, Ichi. He rarely hung out with us in his earlier days, preferring his own company. But the day we set up the Christmas decorations each year, he would always be underfoot. When we'd bring the 8 foot ladder into the house, to change out our wall-hanging, he'd take it as an opportunity to play king of the mountain, climbing to the top of the ladder and refusing to relinquish his spot even if our younger cat teased him and tried to dethrone him.

4. We hang up the Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantle and use them as decorations all December. One year I thought I'd get a jump on stuffing the stockings (helping Santa out!) by putting chocolate candies in them early. I didn't even think about how the stocking got warm (hot) as we had fires on those December evenings. Everyone had melted chocolate in their stocking on Christmas morning. 😕

5. We have a tradition to read two books every year, even now that my daughters are grown, they still want to us to read them when they come over: The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson and The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Miracle Christmas Dog by Dave Barry.

6. My husband, Don, grew up in Eastern Oregon. I grew up on the west side of the state. I wasn't used to COLD and SNOWY Christmas days. When we were first married, we spent Christmas with his parents and the next day planned to drive over the mountains to spend the rest of the holiday with my family. But when we woke up, the world had transformed into a snowy landscape with freezing temperatures. Our car wouldn't start. It was too cold. We tried to get it going by using a hair dryer on it.

7. My daughters love Star Wars and Yoda. One year they couldn't stop laughing at the midnight church service when we sang We Three Kings. One verse has an especially Yoda-like sounding phrase. And it really sets them off: "Frankincense to offer have I." That verse is followed by the fourth verse, which is all about death and dying. They can't stop laughing at the absurdity of this verse in light of the it being a Christmas carol!

[Verse 4]
Myrrh is mine
Its bitter perfume breathes
A life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone cold tomb

8. Speaking of church, our daughter was in charge of the Christmas play at church two years in a row. It was a a completely unrehearsed event. She just guided the children with her voice and according to what headgear they chose to wear. Our grandson, her youngest, was the donkey. She asked him to go sit by the manger, and he did. It was so precious. A little donkey boy sitting in adoration the whole rest of the service.

9. Horsing around with my daughter and grandsons with the filters on her phone. We all became reindeer, or elves, or Santa. Laughter abounded.

10. My father always read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to the assembled family on Christmas Eve. Now that Dad is gone, my nephew has picked up the mantle. I can't hear the story without smiling through my tears.

11. Our second daughter was born a week before Christmas. The day after her delivery the nurses at the hospital brought her dressed up in a Christmas stocking, ready to go home. The best Christmas present ever got.

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- End of November and First Sunday of Advent.

Thankful for family. Photo credit B. Powers

Weather: Cold with light rain. Feeling: chilly.

Thanksgiving gathering: we had a small crew with us this this, just our immediate family, a niece and her husband. But you know what? It was nice to have a meal where we all fit at the same table and we could just hang out together. Feeling: grateful.

November reading challenges are now complete: I've participated in Nonfiction November AND Novellas in November this year, a first participating in both. I spent this last week frantically finishing up all the back reviews that had piled up all month. Last Sunday I would have described my feeling as overwhelmed, but now I'm feeling: relieved.

Photo credit: A. Parr

Eugene: Last week-end we were in Eugene again, this time for the last home football game of the regular season. Our daughter and son-in-law drove down to join us for the game and to visit their grandma, my mother, who just moved into a retirement community recently.  Feeling: proud (and embarrassed at how silly I look all wrapped up in the blanket.)

My last Sunday Salon was November 9th: Since then we've been to Eugene twice, I've written 16 blog posts, and completed 13 books, many novellas, making the number a tiny bit less impressive. So as not to bore you to death listing all the books and hyperlinking all the posts, I will just list a few, which I think may be of interest.  Feeling: caught up.

• Ranked list of all the novellas I read in November.  On this post are links to all 12 of the novella reviews.
• Nonfiction November Wrap-Up post with hyperlinked reviews for all the nonfiction books from the month.
• The only novels not considered novellas this month: Persuasion by Jane Austen and Heart the Lover by Lily King. Both so good.
• And some Top Ten Tuesday lists:
• TTT: Books Outside My Comfort Zone
• TTT: Modern Classics
• TTT: Thanksgiving freebie
• Thanksgiving Feast of Books

End of the Year Project: I've been busy collating all the end-of-the-year-best-books lists I can find. So far I've found 30 major lists, like those from NPR, NYT, Oprah Mag. etc. So far almost 900 different books have been named. I have quite the long spreadsheet. I hope to publish my findings soon. Stay tuned. Feeling: geeky.

Photo credit: A. Bennett

Today is the first day of advent: What is advent? "Advent is a sacred period in the Christian calendar that calls believers into a time of anticipation and spiritual preparation for the birth of Christ. Marked by the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, it is a journey through themes of hope, peace, joy, and love that inspire deeper faith and meaningful reflection." Our church prompts us to ponder these attributes through a candle-lighting ceremony and singing at the beginning of the service. Feeling: peaceful.

Skimble (back) and Sasha. Photo credit: R. Adams

And so it begins -- the battle between Christmas trees and cats: Our daughter and her family set up their Christmas tree yesterday afternoon. By dinnertime, their cat, one of those sweet-looking things under the tree, had already knocked the tree over. Happy holidays and good luck to all you cat owners! Skimble (the cat) says he's feeling: mischievous. 

Closing the book on November.

-Anne

2025 Novella November -- It's a Wrap

2025 Novellas in November is drawing to a close. I've ranked the novellas and short nonfiction I read this year for you.

1. Stay True: a Memoir by Hua Hsu -- 2022 short nonfiction (208 pages), my rating - 5 stars.

When Stay True won the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for Memoir or Autobiography in 2023 the committee had this to say about their selection:

Determined to hold on to all that was left of one of his closest friends—his memories—Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he’s been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging (Pulitzer).

2. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -- 1962 classic novella (182 pages), my rating 4.5 stars.

The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the early 1950s and features one day in the life of a prisoner Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Shukhov is sentenced to ten years of hard labor in a gulag. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn started writing One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in 1957 after spending nine years in a Russian gulag himself.  In 1962 this story was cleared for publication. It was the first thing published about the Soviet gulags. In 1970 Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for literature. Instead of being proud of their citizen, USSR had his citizenship stripped and exiled him from his motherland. At the same time all of his books and writings were removed from libraries across Russia. Not until Gorbachev came into power in the 1980s, did his books once again circulate freely.  "The Soviet Union was destroyed by information – and this wave started from Solzhenitsyn's One Day" (Wiki). 

3. Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri -- 2025 MG novella (192 pages), my rating - 4.5.

This guy can write! And here is the thing. He is writing about stuff I know nothing about, but should. Iranian-born, he brings stories forward that folks in the west know little about. For example, in Teacher of Nomad Land I learned that Iran was a point of interest during WWII because of its oil. The allies didn't want the Nazi's to gain a foothold there because the oil would just enhance their military prowess. Also, 1,000 Jewish children from Poland were given protection in Iran and eventually transported to Palestine. They were called The Tehran Children.

4. The Art Thief : A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel -- 2023 short nonfiction (223 pages), my rating - 4.5 stars.

The Art Thief is a well-researched tale of a psychologically complicated, misguided, narcissistic art lover who steals artifacts from museums, galleries, and castles throughout France, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland over several years. He steals the art not for financial gain but because he loves the art and wants to have it to look at and to touch. Over the years he and his girlfriend stole over 200 pieces, worth millions, possibly billions. Spoiler alert: to write a book about an art thief, they have to get caught!

5. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad -- 2025 short nonfiction (208 pages), my rating - 4 stars.

This National Book Award recipient has much to digest within its pages. Clearly the author is frustrated beyond words at the world's seeming disregard for the plight of the people in Gaza. But he places the lion's share of blame on progressives and left-leaning people who give lip service to being horrified by the atrocities in Gaza at the hands of Israel, yet take no action to go along with their words and objectively support Israel's right to exist and self-defense. 

6. Jane Austen in 41 Objects by Kathryn Sutherland -- 2025 short nonfiction (209 pages), my rating - 4 stars.

Back in October I read a wonderful review of this book by Brona at This Reading Life. She began her review confessing she had dilly-dallied (my words, not hers) writing about the book because she wanted to write something about "e v e r y-s i n g l e-o b j e c t". After reading the book I see why she felt that way. I, too, would love to gush about these 41 objects, some directly and others tangentially, related to Jane Austen. Never fear. I don't have it in me and why should I anyway? After reading this I hope you want to read the book, so you'll find out for yourself.

7. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood -- 2025 novella (176 pages), my rating- 4 stars.

Seascraper is one of the group-read books for this year's 'Novellas in November' challenge. I was pretty excited to read it as I'd noticed it was on the Booker Prize longlist, giving it literary cred. But as I started reading I thought, "oh no, I don't think I can read this if scraping for shrimp is all it is." But when Edgar comes to town, Thomas starts to imagine a different life for himself, the book became much more interesting to me.

8. Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser -- 2025 novella (197 pages), my rating - 3.75 stars.

The narrator of the book is a first-generation immigrant from Sri Lanka. She is living in Melbourne and is attending Grad School in English Lit. Her thesis relates to Virginia Woolf, specifically analyzing three of the author's works on feminism and the "generated self." The narrator says that Woolf single-handedly saved her during her teen years. But theory is one thing especially when it comes up against real-life experiences. Calling yourself a feminist is one thing but attending a school where the professors in the department are predominantly male is a whole other thing. As the narrator reads more about Woolf she realizes if she, a Sri Lankan female with golden-brown skin and from a humble background, was to meet the author today, Woolf would dismiss her on either a racial or a classist basis, or both. Theory is one thing. But the practice of that theory is whole other thing.

9. Audition by Katie Kitamura -- 2025 novella (197 pages), my rating - 3.5 stars.

Two people meet for a lunch. She is an accomplished actress. He is young man, young enough to be her son. Who are they to each other? Audition is a story in two parts and those two parts don't seem to be connected. They are just confusingly next to each other but they both can't be true can they? My head swam as I read Audition, trying to make sense of the puzzle I was presented. Confusion reigned and then the book ended. I was desperate to talk in person to anyone else who had read the book.

10. Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino -- 1972 Classic novella (165 pages), my rating - 3.5 stars.

As I listened to the audiobook I was aware that there was structure to the book. There were 55 different cities described by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan as each chapter had a title that seemed to have a repeating pattern. But audiobooks don't allow the eyes to play with patterns needed for understanding. Think of those kid books where the reader gets to choose-your-own-story, making decisions along the way which alter the outcome. This book is just quite a bit more complex than those. The puzzle and the form are just as important as the stories in this one. It is very mathematical and a genius work. However, its genius was lost on me, an audiobook listener. I did appreciate the beauty of the prose and at some point I told myself to quit trying to figure out what was going on and just let the words flow over me.

11. We the Animals by Justin Torres -- 2011 novella (128 pages), my rating - 3 stars.

I'd describe We the Animals as a boy book. It reminded me of a cross between The Clockwork Orange (violence and destruction); Catcher in the Rye (lost/confused boy(s) on the loose in a city); and Lord of the Flies (boys left to their own destructive devices). The three brothers, written in the incantatory royal "we", are growing up almost feral.

12. White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- 1849 Classic novella/short story (62 pages), my rating - 2 stars.

The story is set in St. Petersburg and opens with the unnamed narrator walking around the city in the summer, dejected and alone. One evening he happens upon a woman who is also alone and he ends up fighting off her would-be attacker. The two strike up a friendship, of sorts, meeting several more nights for conversations where they share their stories of loneliness and woe. The narrator falls in love with the woman but she is promised in marriage to another. 

Honestly, I do not recall how or when I heard about White Nights but what I heard made me want to read it. Reviewers gushed about the beauty of this love story. I had high expectations, which were quickly dashed as soon as I started reading. I love a good love story as much as anyone but it fell flat for me.

It's a wrap! Now I start amassing my list of novellas I want to read in 2026.

What were the favorite novellas or short nonfiction books you read this month?

-Anne

Reviews for Three Novellas: WE THE ANIMALS; SEASCAPER; TEACHER OF NOMAD LAND

I'm wrapping up 2025 Novellas in November by reviewing the last three short novels I've read for the challenge.

We the Animals by Justin Torres

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. 128 pages.

This short novella is set in upstate New York. Three mixed-race boys tear through their childhoods both wild and imaginative. Their parents love each other but often do battle or disappear in a myriad of ways, leaving the three on their own for food or supervision. There is a euphoria to belonging to others like these boys belong to each other. The youngest of the three is unnamed throughout and the narrator of the story. He realizes throughout that he will eventually have to leave this bound as he views the world differently than his brothers. Described as "a coming-of-age story that is sly and punch-in-the-stomach powerful." 

I'd describe We the Animals as a boy book. It reminded me of a cross between The Clockwork Orange (violence and destruction); Catcher in the Rye (lost/confused boy(s) on the loose in a city); and Lord of the Flies (boys left to their own destructive devices). The three brothers, written in the incantatory royal "we", are growing up almost feral. When I checked other ratings and reviews on Goodreads, males rated the book generally higher than female readers (an observation, not scientific) which makes sense to me. I couldn't even begin to relate to these boys and how they kept themselves busy. For example, in one scene the boys sit around the table wearing raincoats and smash tomatoes with a hammer. (The mess!) I appreciated the writing techniques, which were quite unique, and the story under the story about trying to find oneself (LGBTQ) but I still didn't care for it.

This book came to my attention when it was listed on the NYT Best Books of the 21st Century last year. My recommendation, however, is lukewarm with a rating of 3 stars.

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

Scribner, 2025. 176 pages.

Seascraper is described as a "mesmerizing portrait of a young man hemmed in by his class and the ghosts of his family's past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment." The story is set in Longferry, a fictional coastal town in northwest England. It is based on the author's hometown of Southport. Thomas lives with his single mother on the edge of abject poverty. He dutifully goes to the beach with his loyal, working horse every day to scrape up the few shrimp he can find. He does this work because it is what he was taught to do by his grandfather. But his heart isn't in his work. What he wants to do is write songs and, hopefully, perform them in public some day. When Thomas is hired by a Hollywood director, Edgar, to show him around the beach, he starts to see his life through a different lens. The confidence he gains from his interactions with Edgar creak open the doors to another life for Thomas.

Seascraper is one of the group-read books for this year's Novellas in November challenge. I was pretty excited to read it as I'd noticed it was on the Booker Prize longlist, giving it literary cred. But as I started reading it I thought, oh no, I don't think I can read this if scraping for shrimp is all it is. But when Edgar comes to town, Thomas starts to imagine a different life for himself, the book became much more interesting to me.

In the end Thomas even sings and records a song he writes after having a very real dream about his father. I listened to the audiobook and was treated to the actual song, sung beautifully by the author. Lovely.

My rating, 4 stars.

Teacher of Nomad Land: a World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri

Levine Querido, 2025. 192 pages.

The year is 1941. Though Iran is a neutral country in World War II, both the British and Soviet armies are occupying the land and Nazi spies are lurking about.

Bakak and his little sister, Sana, are recently orphaned. Their father, a teacher among the nomads, was killed accidentally by the military, mistakenly thinking the nomads were the enemy. The two children, trying to devise a plan where they can stay together, decide Babak should to take up his father's old job but first they will have to intercept the nomads as they trek toward winter ground. Bakak straps his father's blackboard on his back and carries the textbooks in his arms that he will need. Sana, more resourceful than her brother, is prepared to forage for food.

After being rejected by the nomads, the siblings need to return to their hometown and hatch a new plan. Along the way the meet a Jewish boy who is hiding from a Nazi Spy. Suddenly all the children are in a race for survival. At one point, hungry and afraid, the children seek the help of a British soldier. Can children from different parts of the world find a way to communicate what they need without a common language?

I'll tell you what. I am a Daniel Nayeri fan. This is my second book I've read by him and both were excellent. Three of his published books have won an award: Everything Sad is Untrue won the Printz Award in 2021; The Many Assassinations of Samit, Seller of Dreams won a Newbery Honor in 2024; and this book won the National Book Award in 2025 for best Young People's Literature. The guy can write! And here is the thing. He is writing about stuff I know nothing about, but should. Iranian-born, he brings stories forward that folks in the west know little about. For example, in Teacher of Nomad Land I learned that Iran was a point of interest during WWII because of its oil. The allies didn't want the Nazi's to gain a foothold there because the oil would just enhance their military prowess. Also, Jewish children from Poland were given protection in Iran and eventually transported to Palestine. They were called The Tehran Children. 

Nayeri writes for children. This book's audience is for those kids in middle grades, 5-8. I initially thought the book was targeted at young adults until I started reading, then I realized it was aiming for a younger set. That explains the relative quickness of the action along the way. My husband listened to the audiobook with me and we both enjoyed the story a lot but noticed that we weren't the target audience. I actually think, with a little tweaking, it would make a very good adult book. The story is so illuminating. Though a middle grade book, it still qualifies as a novella at 192 pages.

Don's rating: 3.5 stars, mine: 4:5 stars.

-Anne

Nonfiction Review: ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS

Title: One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

Books Beginnings quote:

Friday56 quote (from page 22, the last preview page):

Summary:

On Oct 25th, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This tweet was viewed over 10 million times. 

One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This chronicles the deep fracture which has occurred for Black, brown, indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to a thread of faith in western ideals, in the idea that their countries, or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the values they espouse. (Publisher) 

Review: This National Book Award recipient has much to digest within its pages. Clearly the author is frustrated beyond words at the world's seeming disregard for the plight of the people in Gaza. But he places the lion's share of blame on progressives and left-leaning people who give lip service to being horrified by the atrocities in Gaza at the hands of Israel, yet take no action to go along with their words and objectively support Israel's right to exist and self-defense. Conservatives don't bear the brunt of El Akkad's disdain because they are who they say they are -- hard-liners, racists who generally hate anyone who is brown-skinned, reflexively supporting Israel no matter what. I guess he is saying the right has no answers and he doesn't expect their help. Since I'm a progressive, I felt chastised as I read. But it was a wakeup call, too. I'm glad the book received the award so it will receive some attention and hopefully wake up a bunch of us "slacker left-leaning progressives" (and hopefully others) with this call to action.

As Don and I discussed after finishing the audiobook, he was more critical ranking it with 3 stars. His biggest complaint was how the book -- he called it a long opinion piece -- called us out for our apathy without many constructive suggestions of ways to help. Call our congresswoman? She's a Democrat and her party isn't in power? Then what? 

As we listened we found ourselves going back in time since the book was clearly written during President Biden's term. The book was already in the publishing stages when the 2024 election went to Donald Trump. We couldn't help wonder whether the author has any different feelings toward the Biden administration's approach to Israel's war on Gaza since things have certainly gotten no better under Trump. There was no postscript to the audiobook to answer this question. One thing so many people don't seem to understand about politics: when you are frustrated by the party in power (especially one you largely agree with) and kick them out, the other side is going to be worse. At least Democrats have been advocating for a two-state solution and self-determination for Palestinians for decades. Trump and his acolytes only want tough talk in support of Israel, and want to raze Gaza to redevelop the coastline with luxury resorts for the rich and powerful. 

Clearly there are no easy answers and this conflict has been going on for thousands of years. Sigh.

The audiobook was narrated by the author, El Akkad, which I really appreciated. A bit about the author is probably warranted: Omar El Akkad was born in Egypt. He and his family were forced to leave their home due to the politics in the country. His father relocated the family first to Qatar for a few years. When he was 16 his family moved to Montreal, Quebec, where Omar finished high school. Eventually he got an entry-level job at the Globe and Mail newspaper and worked his way up to an investigative reporter. Often he received assignments because he was a Muslim or because he was an Arab, as if he would be the only one to understand the issue. Now he and his family live in Portland, Oregon.

Our ratings: Don -- 3 stars; Anne -- 4 stars.

Challenges: Nonfiction November and Novellas in November (for short nonfiction, 208 pages.)

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

A Thanksgiving Feast of Books

Thanksgiving Bookish Tag -- 

Originally created by Becca and Erica @Fangirlscity on Youtube.

I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day on Thursday!

A Feast of Books. Enjoy.

(I've read all these books. I liked some better than others!)

 1. Bread - What book is purely fluff, and has no real plot line?

Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of Cats
A purrpurri of the literary legend's quirky and winsome cat poems, mediations, and drawings.
(My grandcats, Fred and George, insisted I include this book.)

2. Turkey - What book made you want to fall asleep?

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
It not only made me want to fall asleep, I did fall asleep when we were listening to this tome on a car trip. At 600+ if would have been a long nap. It is a good book but so soporific.

3. Gravy - What book makes the whole series worth reading?

Lirael by Garth Nix, #2 Old Kingdom 
The series has six books dribbled out for publication over 26 years from first to last. I loved them all but this one I loved the best. Could it have something to do with the Disreputable Dog?

4. Stuffing - What book is stuffed full of action scenes?

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The setting is the Texas-Mexico border. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. The action, disaster, and horror is none-stop.

5. Mashed Potatoes - What book looked good, and then wasn’t?

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke.
Bah, Humbug!
My note after I finished it -- "Not my idea of a mystery. The book is good if you want/need new cookie or cupcake recipes. Otherwise, I don't recommend it."

6. Cranberries - What book has the sweetest romance?

Princess Bride by William Golden
Princess Buttercup and Wesley,of course, and a sweet love story alongside a swashbuckling tale all in one.
If you've seen the movie and not read the book, you are are missing a delight. 

7. Corn - What’s the corniest book you’ve ever read?

Three Men In a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
So many groaners and slapstick situations. Corny, very corny.
(We always have Crazy Corn Casserole with our turkey!)

8. Green beans - What book is too long and needs to be shortened?

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 
I love the series but this book is just too long at 898 pages. It needs a good editor to slash some of those pages.

9. Pumpkin Pie - What book do you read to get out of a reading slump?

Any book by John Green
The Anthropocene Reviewed is full of essays, so it would be a good choice to break through a reading slump.

10. Dog/Cat - What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food that you would steal from the table?

Dog here. I vote for turkey and gravy.
I'll even eat a few green beans, if I must.

Have a lovely day wherever you live, even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Just eat good food today and be grateful for all you have.

-Anne