Reported by Ambrea
 |
| Elmer auditions for Fat Cat Art II |
Nevermore
began with a familiar book for us at the library: Fat Cat
Art: Famous Masterpieces Improved by a
Ginger Cat with Attitude by Svetlana Petrova—which features none other than
Zarathustra, Petrova’s now famous twenty-two-pound, ginger-colored cat. Beginning as an internet sensation, Fat Cat Art completely rewrites art
history by taking some of the world’s greatest works of art (The Mona Lisa by DaVinci, Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, the
Lascaux Cave wall painting, Declaration
of Independence by John Trumball, The
Kiss by Gustave Klimt, and much more!) and adding a delightfully plump
cat. Our Nevermore reader thought it was
great book to read. An amusing book
filled with many wonderful illustrations, Fat
Cat Art (along with Cats Gallery of
Western Art by Susan Herbert) earned a lot of laughter from our readers—and
some very good recommendations.
Next,
our readers looked at Tales from the
Dugout: The Greatest True Baseball
Stories Ever Told by Mike Shannon.
In Tales from the Dugout,
Shannon compiles some of the most interesting stories about baseball’s most
famous—or, sometimes, its most obscure—players.
Our reader, who is a fan of baseball, found Shannon’s book especially
informative. She said it was interesting
to read so many stories about the baseball stars she knew and loved, but, more
importantly, she was excited to learn about baseball players she never
knew. Ed Whitson, for instance, played for
the New York Yankees—and he was locally known!
Born in Johnson City, Whitson was drafted to the major leagues after he
completed high school in Unicoi County.
Our reader was fascinated by this book’s local connection to the region.
One
of our readers also finished reading The
Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. In
our last meeting, our reader discussed Mitchell’s novel—in which Holly Sykes, a
psychic with unexpected connections to two warring tribes of mystics, is caught
in a dangerous supernatural war—and his experiences with the novel so far. After finishing The Bone Clocks, he said he enjoyed it overall. “It’s quite a bit to keep up with,” he said,
“[but] it keeps you on your toes.” He
also thought Mitchell’s book was interesting because it introduced him to
British slang, including new words he hadn’t had the opportunity to see.
Additionally,
our readers delved into Finding Camlann by
Sean Pidgeon. Donald Gladstone is an
archaeologists and, like many in his field, he is fairly certain King Arthur
never existed; however, when new facts are unearthed at Stonehenge, he decides
to reevaluate what he knows and, after joining Julia Llewllyn, a linguist who
is working with the Oxford English Dictionary, he sets off to discover the
truth of King Arthur—and change history as we know it. Our reader was rather impressed by the way
Pidgeon manages to incorporate mythology, history, and mystery all at once. She said it was “good to read, but sort of
tricky” with all the elements of mythology and history that the author
combines.
Last,
our readers explored First You Build a
Cloud: And Other Reflections on Physics
as a Way of Life by K.C. Cole. Like Physics of the Impossible by Michio
Kaku—which our readers explored last week, and this week—First You Build a Cloud explores physics, including gravity and
light, quantum leaps and quasars, atomic particles and more. Cole manages to explain complex mathematics
and astrophysics for readers to understand and, more importantly, enjoy. Our reader said she found it fascinating and,
while she still might not understand much about quantum leaps, she does find
she learned quite a bit more from K.C. Cole’s book.
