Dewey

Last night my plan had been to relax a little and start the world of warcraft expansion. Of course life is what happens when you are making other plans. About 5:30 my mother calls and want to know if I will go to an author reading with her. At 6:30. So I grab a quick bite to eat, check in on my neighbors cat (who I'm catsitting), and head out the door. The reading is at one of the local libraries.

I get to the building about 10 minutes before the reading is to start to realize that there is hardly a parking space to be had. People are walking some decent distances through the cold rain to come hear this author. Now this library's reading room is not big. I've been in there for several readings and there are normally only thirty or so chairs set up. My mom, dad, and I walk in the door to see that it is literally standing room only. And that standing room is out in the library's lobby. To make a long story short, we spent 30 minutes standing in the lobby listening to the author speak but not able to see her. There were probably 150 people there.

I'm interested in this author partly because she's a librarian. Actually she's the librarian in Spencer, Iowa who one morning found a cat that someone had dropped in the book drop. She managed to talk the city council into letting her keep the cat, who lived for 19 years in the Spencer library. Everyday the cat would wander the stacks, greeting people, cheering people up, and generally finding laps to sleep in. I'm sure for the non-cat lovers this was hell but for people like me, this would have been perfect. When the cat past away, the librarian Vicki Myron was approached by a number of publishers with money to publish the cat's story. The book is currently a best seller and will be made into a movie. Myron announced last night the Meryl Streep will be playing her in the upcoming movie.

The discussion (it wasn't really a reading) was very good and Vicki Myron was enjoyable to listen to. I was not surprised by the number of people who showed up but I wish they would have moved the reading out into the general library area. There were a lot of people who know of this cat before the book was even published. This cat was actually known across the country. When he died, the obituary for Dewey Readmore Books was run in over 200 newspapers. That is some serious notoriety for a cat.

Picture of Dewey courtesy of the Spencer Library

The Animal Rescue League had set up a booth. I was pleased to see the number of people there who gave to the ARL and helped to support the library. This was a very successful event for them. Even without having read the book (I just got a copy last night) I'm sure it will be a good story. Cats and librarians, right up my alley. And more than anything reminds me why I like librarians. I love the idea of a cat in the library. I love that the librarian decided to take him in that cold January day. I love that people have helped support the library and the cat because of it. What a great story. I hope it inspires others.