Yearly Archives: 2014

Book reviews with Yoshi the Cat

yoshi reading
Hello people! Yoshi here with another cat-related book review. Today we take a look at “Somerset the Cat’s Belgrade Mysteries: The Case of old Mrs Popovich.” http://www.amazon.com/Somerset-Cats-Belgrade-Mysteries-Popovic-ebook/dp/B008ZNQU80/ref=asap_B00QJW4R8E?ie=UTF8. Before I get into the book review I should mention that I happen to be a strictly indoor cat. I’ve seen Michigan and Ohio and that’s all I’m ever likely to see, so I do most of my travelling through reading. I love visiting modern day Botswana in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books or Victorian London in a Sherlock Holmes story so a book that takes me to Belgrade, Yugoslavia is a treat. And Belgrade is prominently featured in this tale of a cat who decides to investigate a murder. Somerset the cat is an overweight orange cat whose person has decided that he needs to go on a diet (Sidenote: Is there some kind of stereotype about food obsessed, obese orange cats? The previous book I reviewed featured a sausage crazed ginger cat and then of course, there’s Garfield. As a black cat, I consider myself sensitive to cat related tropes but I’ve never heard of this one. The only orange cat I know certainly doesn’t fit this stereotype. My partner Gatsby is lean, fast moving and only eats enough to keep him going.) Anyway Somerset comes across a human crime and decides to investigate. As a fellow feline detective, I have to say that Somerset’s investigative technique was flawless.

The Case of Old Mrs. Popovich

The Case of Old Mrs. Popovich

Somerset’s second adventure is titled The Vagabond. http://www.amazon.com/Somerset-Cats-Belgrade-Mysteries-Vagabond-ebook/dp/B00PKN85YK/ref=asap_B00QJW4R8E?ie=UTF8 In this one Somerset’s owner places him on a strict diet and the only relief he gets is the food given to him by a local vagrant. When Somerset finds the man murdered, he sets out to find the killer. This is a longer tale than the first adventure and goes a bit deeper into the local flavor of Belgrade while also exploring Somerset’s relationship with his owner. There’s also a well done action sequence towards the end of the story.

The Vagabond

The Vagabond

These stories aren’t so much mysteries as they’re cat detective procedurals as we follow Somerset investigating human crimes in ways that only a cat could. Both books get my recommendation.

Christmas Cat Pics!

Merry Christmas from Yoshi and Gatsby, the Petectives!

Mery Chrstmas from Gatsby!

Mery Chrstmas from Gatsby!

Yoshi hiding in the Christmas presents

Yoshi hiding in the Christmas presents

Gatsby in his Santa Hat

Gatsby in his Santa Hat

Yoshi and Gatsby ornaments on the Christmas tree!

Yoshi and Gatsby ornaments on the Christmas tree!

Book Reviews with Yoshi Cat

yoshi reading

Ginger the Buddha Cat
ginger 2

Hello people! Yoshi here with another cat-related book review. Today we take a look at Ginger the Buddha Cat (http://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Buddha-Cat-Frank-Kusy-ebook/dp/B00BK7TZ94/), the sequel to a book that I previously reviewed, Ginger the Gangster Cat. The book follows the adventures of an overweight, amoral, cockney speaking tabby cat in England. In the first book Ginger and his sidekick Sparky went through a series of adventures as Ginger planned and executed a daring sausage heist. This time he’s interested in something deeper: spiritual enlightenment. A series of dreams has Ginger contemplating his mortality and struggling to figure out how to make up for the sins of his past lives. This may not sound particularly hilarious but this incredibly self-involved feline straining against his nature to become selfless makes for a fun read. The first book was a bit more entertaining but this books concentration on spiritual themes naturally makes it less funny than its predecessor’s story of a cat plotting to rob a sausage truck. However the purpose of reading fiction is not only to be entertained but to learn and the story shows a lot about Buddhism without ever forsaking entertainment for preachiness. Recommended for those seeking entertaining and enlightening cat literature.

Petectives: Under Fire playlist

Gatsby with his favorite book

Gatsby with his favorite book

A list of songs that I listened to while writing my cat mystery novel, Petectives: Under Fire. Some of the songs have a strong thematic link to the story, while others helped me set a scene or get into the heads of the characters. The story takes place on the Fourth of July during a heat wave so there’s lots of music related to the summertime and hot weather.

Heat Wave – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly and the Family Stone

Stoned Soul Picnic – Swing Out Sister

Summer in the City – Lovin’ Spoonful: When you hear this song it immediately evokes the feel of a sweltering hot summer day.

Little Willy – The Sweet: According to Wikipedia, this song is about a stray cat that hung around the garage where the band members practiced.

New Age Girl – Deadeye Dick: I was listening to this song when I wrote the chapter featuring the character, Sunshine the hippie tortoiseshell cat.

Fire – Ohio Players

Lies – Jonathan Butler

Gimme Some Lovin’ – Sam and Dave: Somehow I’ve always heard this song as “Gimme Summer Lovin’”.

Why Can’t We Be Friends? – War

In the Summertime – Shaagy featuring Rayvon: Reggae/Rap reworking of the Mungo Jerry classic.

Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran

I’ll Take You There – BeBe and CeCe Winans

Love Rollercoaster – Ohio Players: That’s right, there’s two Ohio Players songs on this playlist!

Will It Go Round In Circles? – Billy Preston

Summertime – Billy Stewart

Walk Us Uptown – Elvis Costello and the Roots

Summer Breeze – Isley Brothers

Bang Bang – David Sanborn

Cat Webcomics

Gatsby surfing the web

Gatsby surfing the web


Hi humans, Gatsby here. Everyone knows that cats rule comic strips. A lot of people are aware of the newspaper antics of comic strip cats Garfield, Bucky and Heathcliff but cats also rule the internet. At the place where comics and the internet intersect there are a bunch of webcomics that feature a feline point of view. Here are my favorites:

Breaking Cat News: http://www.breakingcatnews.com/
Three house cats act as newsmen reporting on the everyday goings on in their house. The food bowl being empty on an early Saturday morning is treated as seriously as CNN reporting on a stock market crash. Hilarious. My favorite reports are: “The Woman is Trying to Make the Bed” and “The Man Has to Get Up Early Tomorrow”

Doctor Cat: http://doctorcatmd.com/comic/doctor-cat
Absurdist comic about a cat doctor (No, not a vet – a doctor that happens to be a cat). Find out how someone born without thumbs can perform surgery!

Cat versus Human: http://www.catversushuman.com/
The cat and the human don’t seem to be in opposition as the title might have you believe but these cartoons are humorous observations on feline – human behavior.

Eat, Sleep, Sniff: http://www.eatsleepsniff.com/updates/tag/diary-comics
The ongoing story of the cartoonist and his cat Tali. And his wife and his baby. In that order. This guy is really into his cat.

Shut Up, Garfield! http://shutupgarfield.tumblr.com/
A version of the Garfield comic strip where Garfield is deprived of his thought balloons. This has the effect of making his owner seem insane. The internet seems to do this kind of thing to Garfield a lot.