Saturday

Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who" Books Are Well-Worth Reading

Just last week, I finished the 24th of Lilian Jackson Braun's series of books about a newspaperman named James Qwilleran, spelled with a "W", as he is fond of pointing out, and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.

I can just hear my readers shudder...."Twenty-four books, all about the same characters? By the same author?" (And there are still a bunch I haven’t read, yet.)

The entertainment value, alone, of these particular books makes them well worth reading, as, together, Qwilleran and his cats solve all kinds of mysteries. In addition, the author, Lilian Braun paints wonderful pictures with words. For example, instead of merely saying "the cats left the room," she says, "Hearing the word, "dog", the cats turned in unison, and exited the room, four front paws leaving while four back paws were still coming in."

To be fair, the earlier books in this series were a little better than the more recent ones so, if you don't become a diehard fan like I am, you may decide to stop at 10, or 15, or even 20. It is best to start at the beginning of the series, as one book builds a bit on the preceding one.

But, whatever you do, at least check out the first few in the series. My list of finished Cat Who books, so far, includes the following thitles. They are all delightful.

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern
The Cat Who Turned On and Off
The Cat Who Saw Red
The Cat Who Played Brahms
The Cat Who Played Post Office
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare
The Cat Who Sniffed Glue
The Cat Who Went Underground
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
The Cat Who Lived High
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain
The Cat Who Wasn't There
The Cat Who Went into the Closet
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle
The Cat Who Said Cheese
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds
The Cat Who Saw Stars
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek
The Cat Who Went Bananas
The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell
The Cat Who Had 14 Tales (short stories)


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