Well this was charming! Part memoir, part animal story, part tribute to small town libraries everywhere (and I say that as a person who lives in a small town with an excellent little library), this is the story of a library cat. Shoved into the book return box as a kitten and left to freeze there in the middle of winter, Dewey is rescued by head librarian Vicki Myron and her merry band of helpers. He's kept on at the library and, with a personality deeply suited to the entertainment of the public, Dewey soon becomes a local sensation... and then a national one.

Look, my little town library is, as I said, excellent. (I borrowed this book from there.) Still, a cat could only improve it. Right now all they have are fish. And I've nothing against library fish, but a library cat would be nicer. I feel it would certainly have more personality.

It's just a feel-good story. Everyone loves the cat, bar that one miserable letter writer who everyone ignores because she is plainly nothing but a whinging curmudgeon. And the cat loves everyone back. In the middle of an economic downtown, when Myron's community is struggling and the library a central hub, Dewey's presence proves a reinvigorating factor. I could wish the book ended on a happier note, but nineteen years of being spoilt rotten is a good run for any cat. It's nice to think there's a great library in the sky somewhere that he's lounging in, because that would be lovely.