Staff Pick: On Cats

On Cats by Doris Lessing

I feel kind of weird giving my highest accolades to a book about, well, cats, but this was a pretty special book. Squeamish cat-lovers beware ~ Doris Lessing starts out by telling of her girlhood growing up on a farm in South Africa, shooting baby kittens with her father because they simply couldn't manage to keep them all. I actually love her for refusing to be sentimental. Yet somehow there is an acute tenderness in her writing about her cats, especially as she grows older, despite wry tales of guns & whiskey & too many kittens. Remarkably like her darker works on the terrors of motherhood, failures of communism, etc., Lessing really zeroes in on the personalities and nuances of her characters. It's just that, this time, they happen to be cats! This was one of those especially good ones that I had to read really slow at the last chapter because I didn't want it to end.

Rachel - Adult Services

More on the book

Candidate's Favorite Books: Roundup

This election season, we asked candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office and posted their answers here.

Click on the links below to see their responses or view them all at once, and don't forget to vote!

Paul Davis: Democrat from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 46th District.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Mike Gaughan: Democrat from Lawrence running for Douglas County Commissioner.
Favorite book: Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Arch Naramore: Republican from Lawrence running for Douglas County Commissioner.
Favorite book: Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain

Roberta Eveslage: Democrat from Lenexa running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 38th District.
Favorite books: Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Tony Brown: Democrat from Baldwin City running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 10th District.
Favorite book: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

L.W. Abney: Republican from Topeka running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 53rd District.
Favorite book: The Bible

Tom Sloan: Republican from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 45th District.
Favorite book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Andrew Gray: Libertarian from Topeka running for Governor.
Favorite book: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Linda Robinson: Democrat from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 45th District.
Favorite book: “ride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Ken Cannon: Reform Party candidate from Governor from Andover.
Favorite book: Bummy and the Coach by Ken Cannon

Dennis McKinney: Democrat from Greensburg running for the State Treasurer.
Favorite book: Lincoln’s Sword by Douglas Wilson

Steve Six: Democrat from Topeka running for Attorney General.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Lynn Jenkins: Republican from Topeka running for the US House of Representatives, 2nd District.
Favorite book: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

Stephene Moore: Democrat from Lenexa running for the US House of Representatives, 3rd District.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Kevin Yoder: Republican from Overland Park running for the US House of Representatives, 3rd District.
Favorite book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Candidate's Favorite Books: Stephene Moore & Kevin Yoder

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Stephene Moore, Democrat from Lenexa, is running for a seat representing Kansas' 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. Her favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

"It is one of the most incredible books ever written. It is about learning respect, understanding, caring, the importance of family and the community, and above all else standing up for what you believe in."

Kevin Yoder, Republican from Overland Park, is also running for a seat representing Kansas' 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. His favorite book is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Publisher Description:

Full of unforgettable characters, Great Expectations is a tale of intrigue, unattainable love, and all of the happiness money can't buy.

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.