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ClareR (6250 KP) rated Cat Lady in Books

Aug 14, 2023

Cat Lady

Dawn O'Porter | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I loved this! We meet Mia at a pet bereavement group - but her cat, Pigeon, is alive and well. She lives with her husband, his son and her beloved house cat. Oh, and the ex-wife comes and goes as she pleases with her own key!

Mia’s life is very regimented, and this is apparent in every aspect. Especially work. She works for a socialite jewellery maker, who seems to have no business sense and asks Daddy for money for the business all the time.

And then everything seems to start going wrong at the same time, and Mia makes a lot of questionable, yet understandable, decisions.

There’s some graphic sex scenes (not a problem for me, but fair warning, as some of my fellow readers on The Pigeonhole didn’t appreciate them), and scenes where Mia struggles with her mental health, culminating in suicidal thoughts.

On the outside, Mia is all business and appears to be emotionally detached. On the inside, it’s clearly a maelstrom of feelings which are mainly caused by a terrible childhood and a stupid husband (I couldn’t think of a more appropriate word, and he is stupid).

I’ve read a couple of Dawn’s books now, and I should stop being so surprised at how thoughtful, emotional and funny they are. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I’m no cat lady (dogs all the way - but I do like cats too, so perhaps I’m a bit of both).

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Catwoman (2004) in Movies

Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Feb 15, 2018)

Catwoman (2004)

2004 | Action, Drama

4.0

(11 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Kitty Litter

Wretched misfire of a superhero film proving that DC were quite capable of making bad movies before Zack Snyder was even on the premises. Attempt at a story of feminist empowerment ends up coupled to repeated spectacle of Halle Berry bending over in a leather bra while wearing jeans with holes in the bum cheeks. Dowdy wallflower discovers corruption, is flushed into harbour, given mouth-to-mouth by passing magic cat, wakes up with feline powers (including ability to stick to walls, unlike any cat I've ever seen).

It's not just that the story is poorly told, it's poorly conceived: around the same time Catwoman came out, Spider-Man was saving New York from a nuclear disaster while the X-Men were stopping psionic genocide. What case is Catwoman dealing with? Someone is trying to sell some dodgy make-up. Not just a really shoddy film, but an offensively patronising one, too.

Kudos

Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Tails of Wonder and Imagination in Books

Mar 1, 2018

I finished it, but I didn't read every story. I couldn't. This is not a collection for cat-lovers, and I am an unabashed ailurophile. I appreciated the introductions, as the helped me avoid some stories, and I regret reading others—most particularly "Not Waving" by Michael Marshall Smith. It was a very well-written story, showing first-hand knowledge of bulimia and the way it can twist those who have it and those who love them. I was nauseated, though, and hated the twist even though I knew how it would end.

I strongly recommend that people who seek out every cat-related collection avoid this tome. If, however, you simply enjoy good writing, go for it. Datlow has, as always, selected fine pieces, every one. I didn't find one piece that rang false. I would have chosen a darker title, as I found less of wonder than the macabre, but what do I know?

Kudos

Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Crime and Catnip (Nick and Nora Mysteries, #3) in Books

Feb 21, 2018

International intrigue, false identities, and a very clever cat will keep you guessing right up to the last moment of this cozy mystery. While meeting with a museum director to discuss a catering job, Nora finds herself also tasked with finding the directors long lost niece and heir. When she isnt running her sandwich shop, Hot Bread, Nora also spends some of her time looking into the disappearance of her cat Nicks former owner, a detective who has been missing for some time. As cryptic messages come in, she eventually realizes that the two cases may be connected in some way. She just has to find the connection before the killer finds her!

Crime and Catnip is book #3 in the Nick and Nora mystery series, but even without having read the earlier two installments, I had no trouble figuring out who was who or what was going on.