A Kitty with Nine Lives and Ten Favorite Novels

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“Dave, this is not the direction to the library,” says Misty the cat. (Photo by Laurel Cummins.)

Hi! Misty the cat here. My bloomin’ hogger…um…human blogger invited me to guest-post again. Seems like a good time to do so after this month’s publication of Misty the Cat…Unleashed, a book co-authored by me, Dave, and Jane Austen, minus Jane Austen. The same formula used to write the Jack Reacher novel No Plan B by Lee Child, Andrew Child, and Jane Austen, minus Jane Austen.

A brief interlude: The highly accomplished author/poet/blogger Colleen Chesebro posted a wonderful written interview with Dave about Misty the Cat…Unleashed on her blog last Thursday. Click on this link to see it. The blogosphere can be a great place, even though I, as a feline, didn’t see the blogosphere at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. I saw the Unisphere.

Anyway, in Misty the Cat…Unleashed I say a lot after I slip my harness in Montclair, New Jersey, and become lost (yes, I get a daily leashed walk that would’ve been sponsored by Coca-Cola — “Taste the Feeling!” — if “carbonation” weren’t too long a word for me to spell). One of the many things I discuss in the book is a list of my 10 favorite novels, which surprisingly is also a list of Dave’s 10 favorite novels but not a list of Jane Austen’s 10 favorite novels because all the books mentioned were written after her 1817 death. She had eight fewer lives than me.

To write the rest of this blog post, I’m referring to the 10-favorite-novels list in Chapter 52 of Misty the Cat…Unleashed, though my thoughts here will often be different from those in the book. After all, blog posts and books are different mediums, as Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle learned at the seances he spent way too much time attending.

Here’s the fave list, with a warning that the descriptions will contain lots of fiction about these 10 works of fiction.

10. History by Elsa Morante. They say Rome (where this World War II novel is set) “wasn’t built in a day.” That usually means it takes many more than 24 hours to create great things, but maybe Rome was actually built in, say, one minute. If Dave gifted me a Rolex watch, I’d know for sure.

9. Possession by A.S. Byatt. This novel should’ve been about a cat possessing a Rolex watch, but, as noted above, Dave didn’t gift me one. So, Byatt’s book became about two 20th-century academics investigating two 19th-century poets. Omitted from the story line was a 21st-century cat investigating whether the original cover of Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji was edible.

8. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I’m a cat who lives in an apartment complex, so every year I stand on my building’s front porch to give a “State of the Apartment Complex Address.” If I lived in a blue castle, it would be a “State of the Blue Castle Address.” But the L.M. in L.M. Montgomery doesn’t stand for Lotsa Meows.

7. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The oldest novel on this list, yet it still post-dates Jane Austen’s life. She was born in 1775, meaning she saw the Broadway show 1776 at the age of 1. Edmond Dantes paid for Austen’s booster seat at that matinee performance after becoming the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo.

6. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Bilbo and Frodo were not members of the Marx Brothers like Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and sometimes Zeppo, but they could’ve been. Same for Aragorno, Gandalfo, and Gollumo. Which reminds me that cat treats are preciousssss.

5. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Should’ve been titled the Mrs. Norris series, after Argus Filch’s pet cat. And those half-blood paw prints scared the hell out of me. Um…you say the sixth Potter book was called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Not as thirst-quenchingly satisfying as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Milk.

4. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. She authored better-known novels (Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, etc.), but DD is a gripping saga featuring two of these three themes: religion, unrequited love, and periodic claw trimmings.

3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Set in St. Petersburg (St. Pet for short), protagonist Raskolnikov develops two killer apps. Or maybe he kills two people. But whichever of those two things happened, Dostoevsky “kills it” in this riveting novel.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Re the initials JC: Jim Casy is a Jesus Christ figure in Steinbeck’s masterpiece, while I’m a Jersey Cat figure in my new book.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. In which the title character becomes governess to a kitty. And there’s someone in the Thornfield Hall attic, but it’s not Atticus Finch.

Your favorite novels? If one of them is the just-referenced To Kill a Mockingbird, I, Misty the cat, didn’t murder the winged creature named in the book’s title.

PS: Dave tells me that, starting next week, he’ll mostly return to writing “normal” literature posts that don’t reference Misty the Cat…Unleashed to this degree. As long as Dave doesn’t switch his focus to Misty the Cat…Unleased, because I want to stay in our apartment.

Dave’s comedic new 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in a paperback or a Kindle edition. It’s feline-narrated! (And Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

In addition to this weekly blog, Dave writes the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about my town’s mayor announcing a run for New Jersey governor despite his VERY unpopular and problematic 2020-2024 term — is here.

62 thoughts on “A Kitty with Nine Lives and Ten Favorite Novels”

  1. Dave, I have read many of these books! I’m currently working on a cozy mystery featuring a cat named Earl Grey who is a female! Misty will love this character. LOL! Thanks so much for the mention. It’s a pleasure to be part of this writing community. P.S. My husband and I love the video on FB where you give Misty his breathing treatment. xx

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    • Thank you, Colleen! Great that you’ve read many of Misty’s favorite novels. 🙂

      VERY interesting that you’re working on a mystery featuring a female cat with a male name! (Misty can definitely relate from the opposite gender vantage point.) The Earl Grey name fits the character you’re creating to a…tea. 🙂

      And VERY happy to have mentioned our interview! Thank you again for inviting me to do it, and for the eye-catching presentation on your blog! It is indeed a great pleasure to be part of this writing community.

      And glad you liked my Facebook video of Misty getting his asthma inhaler! When I think how easy it is compared to how difficult I thought it would be… 🙂

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        • Sorry to hear you have to use an asthma inhaler, Colleen, but it makes you very familiar with how much of a relief it seems to offer.

          And, yes, creating a cat inspired by a mischievous, charismatic real-life cat is definitely a labor of love. 🙂

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  5. Hello Misty and Dave! I’m also a great fan of THE HOBBIT (more than LotR, although I love the Jackson/Walsh movies) and all the Harry Potter books. I also thought POSSESSION was a terrific novel. I confess I have never read CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, and I’m not sure I’m ready to start trying! However, your list makes me want to try DANIEL DERONDA. And I’m about to look up THE BLUE CASTLE to find out what it’s about. I guess, like many people, I’m only familiar with ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

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    • Thank you very much, Kim! 🙂 Glad we share strong fandom of “The Hobbit,” the “Harry Potter” books, and “Possession”! 🙂

      “The Blue Castle” is a wonderful, poignant, inspiring, at-times-hilarious novel that should be better known. Of course, “Anne of Green Gables” is also fantastic, and is one of the top 15 or 20 novels for me and Misty. 🙂

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  6. Congratulations Misty and Dave on the release of “Misty the Cat….Unleashed.” Without question Misty – you are a profoundly insightful cat who fearlessly faces danger, provides valuable advice, and spreads love and joy throughout the community. Colleen’s review was excellent!!!

    Many thanks Misty for giving my mother, Frances, many hours of delight when she joins you virtually on your daily walks. Your humour, courage and enthusiasm for life is truly inspiring. Dave – so glad that you recorded this important adventure.

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    • Thank you very much, Rosaliene! 🙂 Colleen did a really terrific job with the Q&A. 🙂

      And, yes, odd to see a cat being walked on a leash, but Misty sure likes to get out of the apartment to stretch his legs and explore nature — and we like that he can do that without disappearing, or endangering other creatures. 🙂

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  13. Terrific interview! Fave novels, hmmm. Well, Misty, one of them is indeed To Kill a Mockingbird. (I don’t know how to do italics on phone, lol.) I totally get that you didn’t nab the mocker; I see them all day and they flourish in a yard with two ferals. IMO it’s habitat destruction that is killing off birds. (Looking forward to reading your book!) I realized that most of my favorite novels, like Wuthering Heights, the works of Thomas Hardy and William Faulkner, etc. were all set in rural or small town or wilderness settings. Also my reading changed over the years. In college it was sci-fi but I’m over that now, and prefer earth-based settings. William Shatner made a statement that matches my own feelings. Later, I was reading mostly mysteries before I began reading mainly cat narratives and informational books about cats.

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    • Thank you very much, Leah! 🙂 I’m glad Misty didn’t do damage to the bird in Harper Lee’s title. 🙂 As you allude to, birds are in trouble for various reasons on our environmentally threatened, climate-changing Earth. 😦

      You’ve had a REALLY interesting variety to your reading “journey” over the years! I can understand the appeal of reading about cats. 🙂

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  14. Your latest book, in which cats seem to have qualities I

    like better than those of men! I also appreciated very much the presentation of Misty…….by Colleen Chesebro. Many thanks:)

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  15. Good to see you biting the bullet and working at marketing your new publication, Misty. Writing the book was the easy part, wasn’t it? But you’re doing a good job on the publicity front. Excellent taste in novels you have, sharing favourites like The Grapes of Wrath with me. My own ten favourites? That’ll take some thinking about, so I’ll have to get back to you. My best regards to Dave – tell him I’ll watch the interview in the week – and keep on with the excellent marketing. 🙂

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  17. Dear Dave, thanks a lot for the link to that interesting interview
    I know your love for Misty and, as you know, I adore him

    PS I don’t have a cat at the moment, but the neighbors’ cats often come to visit me: my old dog loves them

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