W is for Who

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.

I chose the books this year quite randomly from my Goodreads Want to Read page. Some are quite creatively added to letters.

If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.

You can read reviews for from previous years for this letter here, here and here, and my year-end reviews here, here, here, here and, most recently, here and here.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

The Cat Who Saved Books (The Cat Who… #1) by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator)

Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?

Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.

After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone…

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. Sosuke Natsukawa’s international best seller, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

A soothing and interesting book about a young man dealing with the death of his grandpa with the help of a talking cat who takes him through different challenges to save books. Not only does he learn how to be more self-assured, he learns that he is not alone in the world.

A wonderful book about dealing with loss, growing up and the importance of books.

About the Book I’ve Read

The Cat Who Saved the Library (The Cat Who… #2) by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator)

The long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books—a delightful and heartwarming celebration of books, libraries, cats, and the people who love them.

A chronic asthma condition prevents thirteen-year-old Nanami from playing sports or spending time with her friends after school. But nothing can stop her from one of her favorite activities. Nanami loves to read and happily spends much of her free time in the school library, cocooned among the stacks.

Then one day, Nanami notices that, despite the library being as deserted as ever, some of her favorite books, including literary classics like Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar and Anne of Green Gables are disappearing from the shelves. When she alerts the library staff, they dismiss her concerns. But just as Nanami is about to return to her reading, she spots a suspicious man in a gray suit. Eager to discover what he’s up to, she follows him. The chase is cut short when Nanami suffers an asthma attack. By the time she catches her breath, the man has disappeared and all that is left behind is a mysterious light filtering through the library’s familiar passageways.

That’s when Tiger, the talking tabby cat who saves books, comes to the rescue.

Are Nanami and Tiger prepared to face the dangerous challenges that lie ahead? Why are faceless gray soldiers burning books in a stone castle? And what happened to Rintaro, the socially withdrawn hero who helped Tiger save books in a second-hand bookshop?

At a time of increased book bannings worldwide, Sosuke Natsukawa urges us not to underestimate the power of great literature—and to be prepared to defend our freedom to choose.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

It’s good, but not as good as the first book. Some of the dialogue reads more like blunt statements instead of written for readers who love books (a manifesto of why books and libraries are important, instead of character development as in the first book flowing with the message).

Perhaps because Nanami is treated like an invalid by everyone, even the talking cat, it’s hard to see her as the heroine – asthma doesn’t have to define who you are and what you can do, as long as it’s managed properly, but Nanami seems to have taken on “asthma” as her main identifying feature, hiding in books to avoid the real world. The cat doesn’t push her as he had done with the hero in the previous book, even urging her to flee the labyrinth before accomplishing anything. And though Nanami learns to see past her asthma to be a fully functioning person by the end, something is missing. Perhaps because this bookworm constantly says that the Gray Man, her father and others speak of things she doesn’t understand?

This book is timely in an era where book bans, book burning, library closures and more are in the headlines. But it falls short of the promise from the previous book.

My Book

A Way Back Into Love (Irascible Immortals #9)

Remember that you can request all of my books from your local library!

I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?

You can now support my time in producing book review posts (buying books, reading, writing reviews and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*