It’s Meow or Never

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My feline self is seen next to Sue Grafton’s final novel. The airborne tail is a commentary on Wuthering Heights. 

I’m Misty the cat, returning for my every-two-month guest blog post about books. What have I been doing since June? Well, among other things, sampling from the four major food groups: Nestlé, Tyson, Unilever, and General Mills. Actually, the four major food groups are treats, more treats, perpetual treats, and apocalyptic treats from when the Earth nears extinction at the end of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine.

Speaking of endings, I just read Sue Grafton’s final “alphabet mystery”: Y is for Yesterday (2017). Unlike some authors who peak several books before their series conclude, Grafton mostly got better and better. In fact, Y is so good that The Village People wrote a song about it, although they inexplicably added “MCA” to the title.

Dave is nudging me to say that “YMCA” was first heard on the radio in 1978, not in 2017 or later. IMHO, he can “scram,” “get lost,” “kick rocks,” “pound sand,” “shove off,” and “take a hike.” He can also “hit the road”; I borrowed Cormac McCarthy’s The Road from the library so Dave can do just that.

Grafton of course planned to write a concluding Z installment, but sadly died in late 2017 before that happened. This was the same month (December) I adopted Dave and his family, not knowing then that I would eventually write for WordPuss. Maybe I’m a bit off with that blogging platform name. 

It was also in 2017 that Dave purchased the phone he used to film my daily leashed walks until nine days ago, when he FINALLY upgraded from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 17. Going nine years before buying a new phone is a weird way to pay tribute to Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers – a good novel by an author who also wrote What Alice Forgot. Alice forgot to feed her cat, leading that hungry feline to reluctantly have her human jailed in the notorious Chateau d’If island prison featured in The Count of Monte Cristo. Harsh.

When borrowing Y is for Yesterday at the library, I also took out and will soon read Lionel Shriver’s Mania, Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot, and James Michener’s The Bridges at Toko-ri. 

Before I say more about that haul, you’re probably wondering how a cat can borrow books from the library. Simple: I grab the ones I want from the shelves, use the check-out machine, and print a receipt shorter than the CVS receipt on which Tolstoy wrote War and Peace. 

Anyway, as you might know, Lionel Shriver is a woman who changed her name from Margaret Ann as a teen because she was a tomboy. Among her other novels is So Much for That, which discusses the high cost of my feline asthma inhaler. Or maybe not.

Jeffrey Eugenides is also the author of Middlesex, whose protagonist is intersex. Much of that novel is set in Detroit, which has the Meowtown nickname that’s sometimes shortened to Motown. A Motown Records sampling: “I Heard It Through the Meow Vine,” “Meowing in the Street,” “What’s Meowing On,” and “Meow! In the Name of Love.”

James Michener? I’ve read several of his novels, including Tails of the South Pacific. 

That’s all for now. Dave will reply to comments as I prepare to endure the existential dread of not blogging about books again until early October. 

Misty the cat says: “I’m here at Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club,’ minus pony and club.”

Dave and I’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. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for the book features a talking cat: 🙂

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 – which includes riffs on “The Odyssey” movie — is here.

30 thoughts on “It’s Meow or Never”

    • Thank you, Shehanne! Ha! 😂 Misty’s blogging prowess does evoke some jealousy. 🙂 I suppose he could start his own blog and post as often as he wants, in between naps on his laptop keyboard.

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  2. Yep, Misty, I would reconsider using “WordPuss” for your blogging platform name. It brings up some strange connections with that “MCA” song by The Village People that you seem to like. Self-checkout sure makes it easy for a smart cat like you to borrow books. Give thanks to your human for keeping you so well fed in body and in mind 😀

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    • Thank you, Rosaliene! Ha! 😂 “WordPuss” is indeed a great blogging name for a cat. 🙂 Misty does regret that there wasn’t a musical group called The Village Felines (that recorded CDs he could self-check-out). 🙂

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  3. Misty, every time I visit I wonder where you’ll take us next! I love the way one book leads to another until we’re wandering through an entire literary landscape. And Dave, congratulations on the iPhone 17! I’ve been eyeing one myself. One thing I love about Apple is how long their phones last. I still have my old XR as a second phone (just in case) and I can’t quite part with it—it holds too many memories. Looking forward to your next post in October! Meow, Meow!! By the way, I always leave a quote for Dave that has stayed with me ever since I read it. You may know the author – Dave!!!

    “Literature can send our minds to another time and place, allowing us to forget our lives and troubles for a few precious hours. It can educate us about history, open our minds, increase our empathy, make us think, give us things to converse about, and/or provide plenty of excitement along with the escapism.”

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    • Thank you, Rebecca! Misty surprises me each time he blogs. 🙂

      Good luck with the new phone, if you get one. Yes, Apple phones can last a LONG time. My 2017 one was still working, though charging it was becoming a bit of a challenge. I kept that old one for sentimental reasons, but fortunately the Apple store last month transferred everything (photos, texts, contacts) to the new phone while I waited; took less than a half hour.

      Thanks so much for citing that quote from my literary-trivia book’s intro. 🙂 2017 turned out to be an eventful year: that book was published, I bought that iPhone 7, and — most important of all — Misty adopted us. 🙂

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  4. Well done, Misty, my favourite literary feline!! You are so well read. I didn’t like The Road as it scared the heck out of me and gave me nightmares. I didn’t finish it and left it on a bus. Then I felt guilty that someone else would pick it up, read it, and have nightmares. I’m so pleased you support libraries, Misty. Hugs and snuggles. (just don’t tell my dogs) xo

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    • Thank you, Darlene! Misty greatly appreciates your complimentary words. 🙂 I had mixed feelings myself about the very depressing “The Road”; there are other Cormac McCarthy novels I prefer. (Though those other McCarthy novels — “Suttree,” Blood Meridian,” “All the Pretty Horses,” etc. — are depressing, too.)

      Misty says your secret is safe from dogs. 😂

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  5. Thank you, Misty, for the Motown (or Meowtown) connection. As a native Detroiter, I like reading books set here and/or written by native Detroiters (even if they later relocate to Grosse Pointe or New York). I will check Eugenides out. I also keep meaning to get back to Sue Grafton’s alphabet books so thanks for the reminder. Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite authors–someone I trust to spin a good story.

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    • Thank you, Madeline! “Middlesex” definitely has a strong Detroit element — and the author was born there. Great that you’re a native of that city! As for Motown — Meowtown 🙂 — I visited the Motown Museum while at a conference in Detroit in 2011 and enjoyed it a lot. And my wife spent a number of years in Ann Arbor and still has a sister there, so we’ve gotten to Detroit several other times.

      Totally agree about Liane Moriarty. I’ve read seven of her novels, and love her work. My favorite is “Big Little Lies.”

      I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting back to Sue Grafton’s mysteries, if you do so. 🙂

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  7. Mystery solved! I’ve wondered how you check out books, Misty. Same as the rest of us. Why should you be any different? 😜❤️😜
    Thanks for the insights and giggles this morning. Especially this little rant about Dave:
    —-IMHO, he can “scram,” “get lost,” “kick rocks,” “pound sand,” “shove off,” and “take a hike.”—-
    Thanks for planting a soundtrack in my head, too. “It’s Meow or Never”. Ha, ha! How do you find the time to be so witty, given all of your duties??? 😜❤️😜

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  9. Hi Misty, and good to see you here again; so good of you to shoulder the blogging-burden while Dave slacks off, but that’s humans for you. Many thanks for the reminder that I need to read ‘So Much For That’, and soon; it’s not quite meow or never, but I need to bring it to the top of the TBR pile and keep it in mind that way. Good to hear that you’re doing some quality reading – Dave could take a hint from your example. I hope you get a good, long relaxing sleep about 10 times per day when he returns and shoulders his responsibilities once more. Respect to you, furry friend. 🙂

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    • Ha ha! 😂 Thank you, Laura! With Misty shouldering the blogging burden for a week, I spent that extra time rereading “War and Peace” (CVS Receipt Edition, 2026). I also spent time pondering whether Tolstoy ever used self-checkout.

      “So Much for That” remains my favorite Lionel Shriver novel. Currently early in her “Mania” book, which you of course reviewed. Mixed feelings so far, but that can change. 🙂

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      • Good to hear you’ve been using the time wisely, Dave, and I’m impressed by your choice of reading matter – although that’s an interesting image of Tolstoy. I hope ‘Mania’ works out for you, and I’ll get to ‘So Much for That’ soon. Have a good week. 🙂

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        • Hopefully, “The Kreutzer Sonata” was playing at the self-checkout kiosk if Tolstoy used one. 🙂 “Mania” IS getting more interesting as Pearson looks back on her religious-fanatic upbringing. Will be very interested to hear what you think about “So Much for That” — and what I consider its terrific conclusion. Have a good week, too, Laura!

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