Amazon Editorial Review:

How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility, (for a cat) and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most.

As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

I couldn't decide whether to register this under Bios & Memoirs or Pets & Animals... I may change my mind later...

I really enjoyed reading Dewey's story. It's amazing what the love of an animal can do for humans. Dewey was a strong character & he brought a lot of joy to a lot of people's lives. Myron also gives us a brief insight into small-town-Iowa life during the 20th century, & her own life as well. I found it amusing & touching, and the inevitable end of a beloved pet's life was handled with dignity & without excessive sentimentality. It did have me thinking of the two cats I had to put to sleep in 2006, Jeannie & Charlotte, which brought a tear to my eye & had me squeezing Leo a bit too tightly for his comfort. The fact that Dewey spent his life as a library cat made it all the more interesting... my idea of heaven really - books & cats.

Nice one!

Bookring instructions:
1. SIGN UP for this bookring by sending me a Private Message. Order of participants will be juggled between geography and date of request. Late additions may be added to the end of the list.
2. When the person before you on the list finishes reading the book, they will send you a Private Message for your postal address. If you are experiencing an RBC (Reading Backlog Crisis) or no longer wish to read it, let them (and me!) know and I will move/remove you down/off the list.
3. WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE BOOK please make a journal entry so everyone knows it has safely arrived.
4. WHEN YOU FINISH THE BOOK, make another journal entry telling us what you thought - did you like it? Did you think it was well-written?
5. CONTINUE THE BOOKRING by sending a Private Message to the person after you on the bookring list and request their postal address. Please check back here for the latest distribution list. If the person doesn't respond within 7-10 days (use your judgement), please PM the next person, and then me, so I can update the bookring list.

Please keep your journal entries up-to-date so we know who the book is currently with, or whether it is still in the postal system. Thank you and happy reading!

Participants:
sally906, NT
amberC, NT
briz-cowgirl, QLD
mcbeff, QLD
Tinina67, QLD
leeny37, VIC
goodthinkingmax, NSW
tqd, NSW
catsalive, NSW.

Sent to Sally on 14/1/9.

Back home on 15/10/9.

LOL - have forgotten I was on this.

Arrived today

I feel a bit of a monster for only giving this book an average score - but it honestly didn't enthrall me as much as some of the other true animal stories I have read recently (Marley & Me and From Baghdad, With Love) - I did cry at the end so I hope that redeems me a little.

Dewey (aka Dewey Readmore Books) has a horrible start to life - he is shoved through the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa, on one of the coldest nights of the year. Amazingly the little ginger ball of fluff survives the night and is discovered the next morning by Vicki Myron, head librarian. Vicki relates his story, intermingled with her own, from this point until his death 18 years later in 2006. Vicki formed a bond with him, as Dewey was not the only one who had endured hardship - Vicki was a single mother who had lost the family farm and survived an drunken, neglectful husband. The people of Spencer were going through tough times due to the farm crisis of that time; depression, both literal and mental, seemed to be everywhere.

Dewey's unconditional love of people, fun and rubber bands gives a new lease of life to the local people of Spencer after he is adopted as the Public Library cat, then the interest spreads outwards around the world. Visitors found it hard to be sad when Dewey wrapped himself around their legs - jumped in their laps for a sleep - and played hide and seek.

Dewey is a unique and well written story - I just kind of wished that the Author had kept herself more in the background - not that her's wasn't a tremendous story in itself - I just felt that a story about Dewey should have more Dewey in it.

Other than that it is a really good read and you will find yourself wishing that you had been one of the lucky few who actually got to meet Dewey in person.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Passing to AmberC at our meet-up today

Picked up at the meet-up. I have another bookring before this one, but will read ASAP.

A nice, sweet story about a very special cat.

I agree with Sally that I would have liked a little more about Dewey and a little less of the author's life story, and on my part a little less of the history of the town.

Posting to Briz-cowgirl tomorrow.

Received from amberC today, thanks! I will be starting this one later today as soon as I finish my current book...

I have finished "Dewey" but I made the mistake of leaving it out on the coffee table in the lounge ... and now both of my parents are reading it :)
I'm giving them over the Easter weekend to finish it and then I've told them I need to pass it on!
I loved Deweys' story, he ended up being one lucky cat. I quite enjoyed the story changes from chapter to chapter of Dewey and the author and the town's history. It is truly inspirational what animals can do to and for us.
I will be passing this lovely book on shortly.

I hope your parents enjoy it too. The more the merrier :0)

*Finally* grabbed this book back from the parents - they both loved it as well, especially the portrait of Dewey on the front cover. He just looks like he was made to pose :)
If I can get them to put any thoughts down on paper, I'll add their comments to this journal entry. I think I am going to have to buy a copy of this book for myself as I'm sure I will want to read it again!
Will be posting to the next participant today, many thanks catsalive for this wonderful bookring.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending on to mcbeff today, hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Received today. Thanks for sharing Catsalive, looking forward to reading it.

An inspirational book that describes perfectly the meaning that animals can bring to a persons life. I enjoyed the background information about Spencer and how Dewey impacted on the towns people. I have more to say but I am too sleep deprived to even think.

Awaiting Tinina67 mailing details.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On it's way to Tinina67. Enjoy!

Arrived today safe and sound. :-) Thanks for including me. Cute cat!

What a beautiful story about a cat. I really enjoyed it, but would have preferred less author's memoirs and more Dewey.
(My cat wouldn't qualify for a library. She doesn't like people. ;-) )

I will send it on asap.

On the way to the next on the list.

I received this today, thanks! :)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Unfortunately, I have a lot of catching up to do with life in general so I will have to pass this on without reading it. Maybe I'll borrow it one day from the library. This is now on its way to goodthinkingmax.

Dewey has been here for a few weeks but I neglected to journal. I have quite a few bookrings with me but this looks like a quick read so hopefully won't be too long. It's been a while since I have read a cat book!

A quick read. Like some of the others here, I was more interested in Dewey's story and I skipped over a lot of the paragraphs about the author and the town's history. Perhaps a little self indulgent at times but I can forgive that because we all know we are the special ones to our cats! I also enjoyed looking at some coloured photos of Dewey in Google Images. Off now to cuddle Max and 99. I will pass this on to tqd soon.

I'd completely forgotten I was on this ring until goodthinkingmax gave it to me tonight at meetup (bookdrinks!). Thanks, gtm! Looks like a nice quick read, I'll get onto it asap.

I do have to say that Dewey (excellent cat name, by the way) looks suspiciously like my Jimbo...

Yes, I am a cat lover. Who else would pick up a book like this?

One wintry January morning, in a small town in Ohio, the librarian discovered a small, bedraggled, and very cold kitten in the returns chute. He survives (and thrives), gets dubbed "Dewey" and becomes a focal point for the town, during the financial crises that hit the American mid-west in the 1990s.

I found the background to the agricultural financial crisis very interesting - while I lived through the era and remember it happening, I never realised what started it in the first place.

However, reading about another cat lover's cat isn't as much fun as hanging out with your own cats. (Yes, Dewey is wonderful with kids. Has Ms Myron met my Jimbo? Yes, Dewey is a special cat. What about my Little Jim? Yes, Dewey is spoilt rotten. Just like my Stumpy. Although I never slipped down the cat worshipping slope far enough to think that Jimbo was part Persian. Just like Dewey, he's got good alley cat genes.)

And what is with the throwaway line about library cats having a well-established tradition? I needed to know more about that! They even have their own publication, society, and organisation (if Google is anything to go by), yet there's no history provided on this wonderful institution. (And why doesn't the City of Sydney provide a cat or two to each of their branches, hmmm?)

Finally, the upbeat style of the book wearied me. Ms Myron has been through hell and back in her personal life, but she's just so positively cheerful that it all got a bit much after a while.

But Dewey was a wonderful cat (if a whisker short of Jimbo level perfection). I hope he inspires many more libraries to have library cats of their own!

I shall pop this back in the post to catsalive asap. Thanks for sharing!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Popped this one (finally!) back in the post to catsalive. Thanks, cats!

Dewey's back. I'd forgotten what a cutey he is. Thanks to all, & glad you enjoyed him.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to LadyIndigo, February 2010 Southern Crosser.

Opening Southern Cross Exchange books on my birthday - coffee and books - what more does one want in life!?!

thankyou cats for the wishlist book - i have seen so much about this so i must read it!

thanks
:)