Reading Wednesday

[oyceter]

Yay, I actually read something this week, even if I didn't finish anything!

What I've read: As noted, haven't finished anything =(.

What I'm reading: Wendy Christensen's Outsmarting Cats, for the obvious reasons. I probably won't finish, as there doesn't seem to be much in there that I can't already find on the Internets. I was, however, very amused at the introduction and the whole "cats have been domesticated for much less time than dogs, so inside your cat lurks a wild and ferocious predator!"

And I started Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky, which is a companion to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which I loved. So far, there aren't any direct connections between the books, but the structure of stories within the main story is the same. It is so nice having a book that plays to my love of retold tales where said tales are not only not Eurocentric, but also ones I grew up with. Like the previous book, I'm enjoying the little changes Lin makes as she weaves them all together. I'm reading this as an ebook, though I feel I should get it (and the previous book) in paper so I can look more closely at the illustrations and the typesetting and etc.

What I'm reading next: Er, if I actually keep reading, hopefully finishing the Lin? Also, I have had Cold Steel for a while now and still haven't started, despite my anticipation. Cecilia Grant's new romance has also been out for a few weeks, and I vaguely intend to read, but haven't been in much of a romance mood. Instead, I want to get my hands on Spillover to read about pandemics or My Beloved Brontosaurus to read about the latest in paleontology. The latter is sparked by a rewatch of Jurassic Park a few months back, and as for the former... no idea, except that I like reading about diseases and parasites? I have several books about plague and disease and hospitals on my ereader, but am of course hankering after the one I don't have.

Comments

[vass]

"cats have been domesticated for much less time than dogs, so inside your cat lurks a wild and ferocious predator!"

I frequently tell my cat so. Lately her wild ferocity mostly takes the form of parking herself on my lap and yowing angrily at me for moving because I want to scroll down or turn the page or whatever. She could sit undisturbed anywhere else in the flat, but there she is on my lap, complaining.

[oyceter]

IKR? Mine so far demonstrate their wild nature by promptly sitting on any and all computer keyboards.

Re: Grace Lin titles

[(Anonymous)]

Glad you're enjoying the Lin books, I did too. They're beautiful visually as well as being fun to read, so I definitely encourage you to get the paper editions.
Are you aware of Linda Sue Park? She's a Korean-American children's book author who makes use of Korean culture and history in a lot of her books. She won the Newbery a few years ago for _A Single Shard_, a historical book about a boy in ancient Korea who learns pottery.

TNT

Re: Grace Lin titles

[oyceter]

Yeah, I got the first one out in paper from the library, and it was just gorgeous.

I've seen Linda Sue Park's books, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet... my library had A Single Shard as an audiobook, which I was thinking about borrowing.

[heresluck]

The predator thing is hilarious but true (if intermittent). Every now and then my cats will be doing, you know, normal cat things and I will look at them and realize that holy shit, they are built to kill and eat small and medium-sized animals. (I am seriously NEVER getting over Toby and the bats.)

[oyceter]

Oh, definitely true! It has been very fascinating watching the cats at play as compared to the rats at play (so much more nipping arrrgggh my arm does not want to be involved in your tussle!). Also, I am so keeping it in mind for when I can have rats again.

OTOH, the romanticization of it cracks me up! Possibly I have read too many paranormal romances/urban fantasies with feline shapeshifters...

[starlady]

Nawwww, who's an adorable domesticated murder beast, yes it's you, yes it is.

[oyceter]

Bwahaha, see, and at that point, Leeloo misses her predatory leap and falls off the couch!

[dragovianknight]

*watches the cats sleep with the rabbit*

I think my kids missed a memo somewhere.

[oyceter]

Ooo, do you let them do that unsupervised? I figure with rats it would not be a good idea, but I am wondering if the rabbit size differential helps?

[dragovianknight]

I don't intentionally do it unsupervised, but Snow has been known to escape her cage and spend the night out and about. It does probably help that she's as big as most of the cats, being part New Zealand white.

[lnhammer]

A further difference from dogs is that cats were probably self-domesticated. That is, they moved in because they found human habitations a useful ecological niche and we accepted them as useful around grainaries, rather than, as with dogs, deliberately capturing a few and breeding them for certain traits. Not that cat traits haven't been bred for, but the basic behavior already fit in, so we've monkeyed with them less.

ETA what I forgot to mention, which was that last night Young Cat aka the Couch Potato (who's almost as round as one) went all Might Bug-Hunter on the large roach that sneaked in the front door. The instincts are in there, somewhere.

---L.

[oyceter]

Haha, I appreciate animals who can domesticate themselves! Haru and Momo managed to litter train themselves without any prompt from me, which was unexpected but very helpful.

Leeloo and Mouse mostly like hunting down crinkly paper balls, and, alas, my skirts.