be happy for this moment.

A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.
Henry Ward Beecher  

After I finished The Hour I First Believed and Revolutionary Road (far, far, far better than the movie, as usual) last month, I needed something with a little fluff, something nice and light to enjoy reading. I really didn't have an next-on-my-list books so I just browsed my local library's "hot reads" section. It's a mix of New York Times Bestsellers, popular or famous authors as well as recent news topics.

I mixed it up by grabbing Mommywood by Tori Spelling which was really cute and made me like her so much more. Definitely a great poolside, easy read. 

The other book I picked up was Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. This was really one of the best books I've read in a while. Beyond my usual love of Wally Lamb's work which I've written about before, this book was different than what I normally read and I just adored it.

Here's the synopsis from the book's site:

Dewey is the heartwarming, true story of an abandoned kitten who went on to live an extraordinary life, inspiring a struggling single mother, transforming a sleepy library and the inhabitants of its depressed Iowa farm town, and ultimately capturing the hearts of animal lovers around the world.

Vicki Myron was a single mom who, after surviving the loss of her family farm and an abusive husband, went back to school and became a librarian (and her family’s first college graduate!). As the director of the Spencer (Iowa) Public Library, her biggest challenge was to raise the spirits of her beloved library’s patrons, the residents of an out-of-the way town deeply mired in the farm crisis of the 1980s. Her solution came in the unlikeliest of places when Vicki found a tiny, bedraggled kitten almost frozen to death in the library’s night drop box. Recognizing the extraordinary strength and uniqueness of this kitten, Vicki received approval from the library board to adopt him as Spencer’s resident library cat. From that moment on, her life – and the town of Spencer – would change forever. 

Dewey, as the townspeople named the kitten, grew into a strutting, affable library cat whose antics kept patrons in stitches and whose sixth sense about those in need created hundreds of deep and loving friendships. As his fame grew, people drove hundreds of miles to meet Dewey, and he even ended up the subject of a hit documentary in Japan! Through it all, Dewey remained a loyal companion, a beacon of hope not just for Vicki Myron, but for the entire town of Spencer as it slowly pulled itself up from the worst financial crisis in its long history. 

I love this book for three main reasons:

1. It's about a cat. I love cats.
2. It's set in Iowa and talks all about small towns, the land and the people that I love.
3. It's also set in a library and I love those too!

So if you're looking for a darling book, I highly recommend you pick up Dewey for your next read!