Review: Catology - Adrian Searle & Oliver Ninnis

Just what is your cat thinking? As it gazes up at you, are those eyes filled with love and admiration or spite and scorn? From the author of the award-winning 101 Uses of a Dead Kindle and If Dogs Could Swear comes a hilarious insight into the twisted, venal, self-serving psychology of our cutest four-legged sociopaths.

Visit the book's page on Goodreads for more information

Review:
As both a cat lover and someone with a whole shelf of these kind of humorous books that you can just dip in and out of when you have a few minutes to spare I absolutely jumped at the chance to review Catology. Unfortunately the book is actually a lot shorter than I expected and it didn't quite contain as much detail as I had hoped for.

I read a digital edition so I can't confirm the print layout but on my Kindle you see one image per page with a short one or two sentence caption underneath. Some of these cartoons are brilliant but only a couple actually made me laugh out loud and it wasn't enough that I could imagine myself flicking through the book a second time. There are only around 80 pictures included so it's a very quick read and I'd read from cover to cover within about 10 minutes but I just thought the book was lacking in depth compared to other similar books out there.

I've included a couple of my favourite images to give you an idea what to expect, these particular ones read very true to my experiences with my own cats and all got a chuckle out of me.

There is a reason that cats are so popular and I think it's because of their independent attitudes and the way they just completely ignore all commands and do exactly what they want when they want. People don't own cats, we're totally owned by them and this book does capture that so I think it would make a nice little stocking filler for any cat lovers in your life.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here

Hardback / Kindle:

Review: Simon Drew's Inappropriate Address Book - Simon Drew

This may well be an address book but it is certainly unlike any other. Profusely illustrated throughout in full colour, it contains a delicious selection of Simon Drew's highly idiosyncratic drawings and accompanying written captions. Throughout this book there are countless distractions: this means that as you look up an address you will find yourself amazed at the drawings and quirky words and will soon discover that you have forgotten what you were doing in the first place. What could be more surprising than finding a mole wandering across Auntie Flo's address? Or maybe an earthworm writhing past a telephone number? Gifted with a quirky sense of fun and a lively imagination, Simon Drew interprets conventional words and phrases, situations and circumstances in pictures and prose. It is an address book designed to delight all those who enjoy verbal and pictorial puns.

Visit Simon Drew's website for more information or to watch the videos

Review:
I wouldn't normally write a review for an address book but I received Simon Drew's Inappropriate Address Book as a Christmas gift and fell in love with the quirky artwork and thought I'd take the chance to spotlight a fab British artist.

Simon Drew is a master at putting a unique twist on well known sayings or song lyrics and creating illustrations to match. Every page of this address book has something different to draw the eye and looking up an address takes far longer than it should do because I keep getting distracted by the illustrations.

This is more of a desk address book than something you'd carry around with you (it's about A5 size) but it has plenty of space for writing addresses along with slots for mobile phone numbers and email addresses. The book is a lovely keepsake and it's one I'm sure I'll be using for many years to come.

Here is just a small sample of some of the illustrations to give you an idea what you're getting:

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here

Hardback:

Review: Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos - Simon Tofield

Like all great cartoon creations, from Peanuts to Asterix, from Garfield to Tintin, Simon's Cat has continued to evolve by introducing new characters and developing new storylines. After the runaway success of the original book, Simon Tofield returned with the further adventures of his feline 'beyond the fence.'

Now we welcome a cuddly new addition to the family in the form of Simon's Kitten. It's an adorable new chapter which is sure to delight Simon's millions of fans.

Simon's Cat Series:
Simon's Cat in His Very Own Book
Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence
Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos
Simon's Cat: Feed Me!
Simon's Cat vs. the World
Simon's Cat: Wake Up!
Simon's Cat: Play Time!
The Bumper Book of Simon's Cat
Simon's Cat Off to the Vet . . . and Other Cat-astrophes

Visit the Simon's Cat website for more information or to watch the videos

Review:
The Simon's Cat videos never fail to make me laugh, even when I'm having the worst day possible I can watch pretty much any of them to put a smile on my face so of course I've been religiously buying the books as they're published. Since I currently have a new kitten in the house this seemed like the perfect time to pick Kitten Chaos back up for probably the billionth time. These are the kind of books that you can leave sat on the coffee table and flick through whenever you have a couple of minutes (my friend actually has a whole shelf of books like this in her bathroom!) but this time I sat and read from cover to cover and found myself giggling away to myself the whole way through.

Simon Tofield is obviously an experienced cat owner and he captures common personality traits over and over again in his drawings and videos. I see hints of every cat I've ever met in these books but Kitten Chaos was particularly appropriate because my kitten is incredibly good at creating mayhem. So many of these images are currently part of daily life in my house and that just made them even more amusing.

I love the videos, I love these books and I'll continue to purchase them until the author stops publishing them!

Here are just a couple of my favourite drawings from the book to give you a better idea of what's included:

My older cat is not at all impressed 

to have a newcomer in the house

The kitten is slowly destroying my

house, one room at a time!

and I'm covered in scratches from being used

as a walking climbing frame LOL

Since it was the videos that started it all I couldn't resist including one of my favourites with both Simon's Cat and the kitten:



Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here

Hardback / Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Simon's Cat: In His Very Own Book - Simon Tofield

With over thirty million hits on YouTube in a little over a year, Simon’s Cat is a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon. Fans from all over the world have fallen for this adorable but anarchic feline who will do just about anything to be fed. This autumn Simon Tofield’s beautiful drawings and warm humour come to life on the page for the first time.

Simon's Cat Series:
Simon's Cat in His Very Own Book
Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence
Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos
Simon's Cat: Feed Me!
Simon's Cat vs. the World
Simon's Cat: Wake Up!
Simon's Cat: Play Time!
The Bumper Book of Simon's Cat
Simon's Cat Off to the Vet . . . and Other Cat-astrophes

Visit the Simon's Cat website for more information or to watch the videos

Review:
I've been a massive fan of the Simon's Cat videos on YouTube for several years now so when I found out a book was being released last year it was the top of my Christmas list & I was very excited to receive a copy from my friend. This is a book I've dipped in and out of regularly throughout the year & it always manages to make me laugh, even if I'm having a bad day. Simon Tofield has perfectly captured the mischievous nature of every cat I've ever known and nearly all of the antics his cat gets up to are based on a behaviour I have seen in one of my 2 cats.

If you're a cat fan or just in need of a pick me up you can't fail to laugh at the Simon's Cat videos and the book is just the same. I'd recommend this to anyone, it makes a great coffee table book and is something you will return to again and again. The second book Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence was released in October and once again it is at the top of my Christmas wish list! If you've not come across this series before check out the Simon's Cat website and if the videos make you laugh you can't go wrong with this book.

I couldn't resist including a couple of pictures in my review, these all struck a particular cord with me reminding me of my own cats.

My youngest cat has an obsession with climbing the curtains, she hasn't quite made it to the ceiling yet but I wouldn't be too surprised if she makes it one day

There are several pages devoted to the difficult task of getting a cat into a basket for a trip to the dreaded vets that I'm sure any cat owner will be able to relate to, I have numerous scars from scenes much like the one above!

Yes my cats do have an expensive climbing frame.  Do they use it?  Of course not - they'd much rather play with an empty box!

Source: Received as a gift from a friend

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here