Misty the cat here again with my every two-month guest post, which gives Dave a break to search 24/7 for The Golden Bowl. That’s a Henry James novel as well as a circular dish I want for an elite food and drink experience.
Another novelist with the same last name, E.L. James, wrote Fifty Shades of Grey. I never read it, but, as you can see in the photo atop this post, I was recently amid five shades of gray — including the color of the not-golden bowl I’m eyeing that contains liquid that’s either milk or Wilkie Collins’ novel The Woman in White minus the woman. (Photo by my adult female human Laurel Cummins.)
What am I, Misty the cat, reading now? I just finished T is for Trespass as I continue to work my way through Sue Grafton’s alphabet mysteries starring private investigator Kinsey Millhone, whose last name rhymes with Milk-Bone. (Shout-out to my dog readers, including Snoopy the Easter Beagle.) As you might know, the late Grafton didn’t allow her book series to be adapted for the screen because she had formerly worked in that business and distrusted it. Heck, Hollywood even had nowhere-near-tall-enough Tom Cruise play Jack Reacher before the physically massive Alan Ritchson more appropriately got the role in the current TV iteration of Lee Child’s thrilling book series. Ritchson IS Reacher, which creates ID confusion for the actor at airports.
While I almost always read fiction, I’ve been periodically perusing Rebecca Romney’s nonfiction book Jane Austen’s Bookshelf — which Dave received as a December holiday present from his sister-in-law Sheila Cummins. (I, Misty the cat, was gifted a $700,000 Lamborghini by Dave…in my dreams.) Romney focuses on the 1700s-born female authors who inspired Austen and why some of those excellent/pioneering writers are barely known today. These authors include Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth. All of whom are also known for founding the crack law firm Burney, Radcliffe, Lennox, More, Smith, Inchbald, Piozzi, Edgeworth, and Dora the Explorer. I want that firm in my corner when I’m on trial for purchasing a Trump pardon with catnip crypto.
Besides T is for Trespass, other novels I had Dave borrow from the library last month were Pearl S. Buck’s Sons (The Good Earth sequel I just started reading), Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca (which I’ll be rereading) and Jamaica Inn, and Peter May’s The Blackhouse. All will be mentioned in future posts, with credit at that time to those who recommended two of those books. I would’ve visited the library myself, but it’s hard for a cat to drag books home when they’re no longer printed on yarn.
Speaking of high-tech things like knitting, it has been suggested that I comment on Artificial Intelligence’s relation to literature — especially after the Shy Girl novel was recently pulled by a major publisher for reportedly including lots of AI-generated content. But I’m no AI expert, which contrasts with my deep knowledge of 14th-century automobiles. Curiously, Chaucer only featured one Lamborghini in The Canterbury Tales; maybe he was more into mass transit. Dave does periodically receive seemingly AI-generated emails offering marketing help for his books — for a not-small fee, of course. Dave looked in his wallet, consulted with George Washington and other notables pictured on American currency, and was advised to…get a roomier wallet. With a kitchen so those long-dead notables can eat.
In conclusion, I’ll mention that I’m now an older cat (10) who recently starting doing three things to keep myself healthier: eat a prescription diet, get a monthly arthritis shot, and read fiction by writers who had also been medical doctors — among them Khaled Hosseini, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Anton Chekhov. Anton even appeared on the TV series Scrubs.
As I fend off a lawsuit claiming Chekhov did NOT appear on Scrubs, Dave will reply to comments.
Misty the cat says: “My favorite comedy trios are The Marx Brothers and The Pine Cones.”
My and Dave’s comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Amazon reviews are welcome. š )
This 90-second promo video for the book features a talking cat: š
Dave is also the author of a 2017 literary-trivia book…
…and a 2012 memoir that focuses on cartooning and more, including many encounters with celebrities.
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 “No Kings” rallies and more — is here.
Dave Astor on Literature 
So good to see you doing a post, Misty! We don’t like AI at all either, not in books and art. And, although as a visual artist I’d have been drawn in by the topic of color variation, I did not read Fifty Shades of Grey after I found out it wasn’t about that. Cool walk today!
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Hi Misty, you are a very entertaining writer. It must be because you are such a well read cat. Iām glad to know Dave is reading Rebecca. I thought it was a wonderful gothic novel. In fact, I think it is my favourite gothic novel. I am reading The World According to harp. A strange book reminiscent for me of The Incredible Lightness of Being. It is unusual but sometimes I wonder why some books become so famous. Happy Easter š£
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Misty thanks you, Robbie! Sounds like you’re a huge fan of “Rebecca”! I last read it MANY years ago, and am looking forward to rereading it. My intent during a recent library trip was to just take out “Jamaica Inn,” but it turned out that the library’s only copy of that novel was in a du Maurier “omnibus” edition that also included “Rebecca,” so now I’ll read both. š
John Irving’s novels are definitely quirky! I’m more a fan of his “The Cider House Rules” and “A Prayer for Owen Meany” than “The World According to Garp.”
Happy Easter to you, too!
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Michael Crichton was an MD (Harvard) but never practiced. He decided to write The Andromeda Strain instead. He has written many books which have been made into movies.
I would advise Misty to check the credentials of the Vets dispensing those meds and shots. Make sure they practice on a regular basis. I’ve heard that nurses practice giving shots on oranges.
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Thank you, Dan! Interesting about Michael Crichton. Sounds a bit like W. Somerset Maugham, who also studied medicine and also didn’t practice because of writing books instead.
Ha! š Misty seems to trust the vet practice we use, which has the added benefit of being just two blocks from our apartment. He suspects that, in addition to giving shots to oranges, they give shots to orange cats. š
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Would that I could have set aside 42 years in Information Services to pursue a writing career. I think I preferred eating and having a roof over our head.
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Misty, there sure is no dull moment with a human companion like Dave š Beware of some of the places he takes you. I suggest you keep your catnip crypto handy for getting out of a tight spot.
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Ha, Rosaliene! š When I asked Misty if he keeps his crypto handy, all he said in reply was that it’s “a decentralized, digital-only currency that operates independently of central banks or governments and uses blockchain technology to record transactions across a global network of computers.” More than I knew… š
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Misty is definitely no fool š
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š š
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As a younger human I feel like I should be dieting with a shot and reading more of Bulgakov. Sometimes I wish I was a cat … mostly in colder season.
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Ha, Milena! š Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” is quite a novel — and of course one of its characters is a cat. š
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Oh, that’s right !!! I thought about the heart of the dog
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I haven’t read that one. š
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Aww, so lovely to hear from Misty! Alexander McCall Smith springs to mind as an author who’s also a doctor. I like the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency books; they always make me smile! š
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Thank you, Ada! I just looked online to see what kind of doctor Alexander McCall Smith is/was, and it seems he was a professor of medical law — which is close enough. š Such a prolific author!
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Another doctor/writer was Paul Kalanithi who wrote the memoir, When Breath Becomes Air. I hope you enjoy Peter May’s book, the first in the Lewis Trilogy. They helped prepare me for my first visit to Scotland a few years ago.
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Thank you, Madeline, for the mention of another writer/doctor! And I’m looking forward to trying Peter May’s writing. š
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I thought I’d add to the list of doctors who are also writers. Two whose books I’ve read recently are Adam Kay (THIS IS GOING TO HURT, about his experiences as a junior doctor in a London hospital; it is painfully funny) and Abraham Verghese, who wrote two brilliant books that I loved, CUTTING FOR STONE and THE CONVENANT OF WATER. Medical doctors are protagonists in both of Verghese’s books.
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Thank you, Kim, for adding two authors who have also been doctors! It is a very impressive career combination.
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Sounds like you and Dave are reading some awesome books. I hope this is not the same “Dave” causing havoc in the UK right now!
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Thank you, Darlene! It has been a long time since I’ve been in the UK, despite occasionally listening to The Clash sing “London Calling.” š
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Good for you, Misty, adopting a physical fitness regime. You need to stay in shape so you can monitor Dave’s book choices.
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Ha, Audrey! š And staying in shape includes maintaining the feline muscle tone to toss books out the window that don’t meet with Misty’s approval. š
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Misty, you are such a well-read cat!
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Misty thanks you, Marie! Reading cat-food labels was his gateway to books. š
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Ha! Good one!
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Thank you, Marie! š
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