The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes

 This is Historical Fiction, WWII era. 

It was a library book group assignment. 

I listened to it over the course of three days, I needed to get on to my next book club book which was a long one (Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver).

I think it is possible, in general, I do not like historical fiction. I don’t think I have read much of it.

I liked this book in the end, but it took me until the half way point to really engage with the characters.

There are three main characters in this book. It helped to start with this character list, there are no spoilers, this information is all stated at the beginning of the book. I found it helpful to have the list as I read -

Althea James - American in cultural exchange program in Germany, published first book.

Hannah Brecht - fled Germany, now librarian in library of burned books 

Vivian Childs - American, volunteer for counsel/ initiative/books for armed services, husband died 

The characters are contemporaries, they intermingle in the story. 

Besides the German burned book plot, there is a second plot about books for service men. This was a real thing during WWII. 

This author has a nice list of other books. 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

This is a book I read for a library book group in December 2024.

It was also my “Thanksgiving on the road book”. 

I traveled, by myself, to visit youngest (and the kittens) Wednesday-Saturday of Thanksgiving week. 

Youngest and I share a Libby account. We can see each other’s books. Sometimes middle has a book on there too. The books are not identified by person, they are just all listed. 

Youngest assumed The Bodyguard was middle’s book. Nope, I said, it was mine.

Youngest said the cover definitely identified it as a modern romance. 

Her definition of a modern romance is the woman has a solid life/career of her own, she does not need a man, she might not even be looking for a man, but she finds one anyway. They tend to be very PG.

I had not given the cover a thought. And at that point, I was not far enough along to know anything. But her comments helped temper my expectations for the book. I had a realistic outlook. 

Now, I can verify, yes it is a modern romance. I would classify it as a very light hearted Rom-Com. I thought it was a unique storyline, but it needed editing. There were some disjointed sections. Everyone on my group agreed about the editing. 

Would I read Center’s book list? Personally, probably not. I am not a romance book type of person. It did not have enough depth for me. This was the consensus of my book group too.

But if you like romance and want light reading, you might like this author, she has a nice list of books. I would guess her books are all very good for driving, no character list needed, very straightforward listening.

Center’s website has great biographical information -

https://katherinecenter.com/about/

Normal life

This is the fifth kitten post. Four addition kitten stories posted earlier in the week.

Now the kittens also have access to her living room with supervision. Youngest has had to kitten proof like crazy. We thought puppies were a challenge. Kittens have all the silliness of puppies, but kittens can jump/climb.

They still sleep in the bathroom. 

Each morning she feeds them wet food and spends about an hour with them before work. When she leaves for work, now they have access to the bathroom and her extra bedroom all day. 

When she gets home from work, they are in the living room with her. Kitten wildness ensues. They eat wet food dinner about 6pm. They are in the living room with her from roughly 5-8pm.

From 8-9pm they wind down with her in the extra bedroom. 

9pm is bedtime in the bathroom. 

They have access to dry food 24/7. She has a camera set up so she can see them from her bedroom and at work. She has a litter box in every room.

They are thriving 100%. They follow her around like the pied piper. They are very social and very very affectionate. 

Middle was there for five days a couple weeks ago (dogs stayed with me) and they clearly remembered her. They jumped right in her lap and went after her toes, just like the cat condo days. 

Youngest has had friends visit, the kittens were friendly with them too.  But not as friendly as they were with middle, they remembered her affectionately.

Photos from the living room -

If you are wondering what is the bottom left corner of the photo, it is this fun guy (Chewy) -

Bathroom quarters

The kittens lived in a full size bathroom for a week in youngest’s apartment. She worked from home that week. She spent most of it sitting in the bathtub working and cuddling kittens.

The black kitten, who was bold in our garage, took longer to adjust to the bathroom than the tiger. The tiger settled in easily.

Then she gave them access to her extra bedroom with supervision.

Their permanent home

The kittens went to youngest. It was like we passed the kitten baton. 

She volunteers for the SPCA 2-3 times a month at events. She has lots of dog experience with our neighbor’s dogs, a college roommate’s dog, middle’s dogs. She was trained in the SPCA kitten room, the  SPCA kitten training helped a lot, she also had no childhood experience with cats. 

Youngest watched the kittens on our camera for the full six weeks they were in the cat condo in our garage. She kept middle company for most of the 100 hours middle worked with the kittens. There was a slight delay, but she could see thru the camera. She talked via the phone in real time. Youngest got very attached to the kittens. Middle and I cared about the kittens, took very good care of the kittens, but did not get attached. 

Youngest came home/here one weekend in late September and we took the kittens to a vet here. Middle, youngest and I all went. We had no idea how the kittens would do, they were just at the point where middle and youngest and my husband could handle them. I had a tick in my eye from stress that day. But it was fine, the kittens cooperated. The kittens got a very good check up, bloodwork, and their first round of shots. They were treated for worms. Youngest got a supply of flea and tick meds. 

Three weeks later, we considered the kittens well socialized. They were ready to move in with youngest. She met my husband half way and she picked the kittens and all their stuff up and took them home with her. 

This is the first photo I sent her, loading my husband’s trunk for the meet, clarifying some of the supplies I was sending with the kittens. By the time all their gear was transferred to her car, her trunk was full, her front passenger seat was full.

The next day, Monday, she took the kittens to their permanent vet there and got their booster shots and a second exam. The timing was tight, but they got their boosters exactly on time. 

Both vets marveled at the kittens. They travel in their carriers easily. They are in great shape, physically and emotionally. They are friendly with the vet staff. According to both vets/staff our kittens are now more social than the average domestic kitten. It was an incredible amount of effort, crammed in six weeks. Youngest continues that work.

Notes we have learned - many foster groups, if you want a kitten you are required to take two that get along, preferably litter mates, so the kittens have a playmate. If you only want one, you have to take a cat, not a kitten. Most foster groups require the kittens to be 16 weeks to be adopted. We agree with all of that. So does my SIL the retired cat vet.

The kittens are both male. A fact we did not know until we saw the first vet. It is not as obvious on cats as dogs

Youngest’s kittens have their neuter appointment about the first of the year, when they will be just over 6 mos. They will be chipped at that time also. Chipping is painful, we prefer to have the animals chipped during surgery. 

One interesting fact. In black and white, on night vision, I had trouble telling the kittens apart on my camera when they were in the cat condo in our garage. The camera was at a distance, I was looking thru the bars. I couldn’t understand why I could not tell a stripped cat from a solid cat. 

At Youngest’s house, in black and white, on night vision but close up, it is easy to tell them apart (below). But she realized the black cat is actually a tiger too. He has subtle black on black stripes. On my camera, night vision/black and white, the black cat’s stripes were more dramatic. 

The cat condo

I took these photos on the last day the kittens were in our garage to document the cat condo. 

On the first day, the kittens were in the xl dog crate on the left with their bin bed attached by the green tunnel. We added the extra pieces steadily. The kittens loved new things. We tried to keep it interesting. 

Our next door neighbors stopped in many times a day to socialize with the kittens. They gave them treats and played wand with them thru the bars of the crates. 

I opened the garage doors at sunrise, every day they were here to refresh the garage air and also let them see outside. We called this Cat TV.

The green tunnel led to their bin bed. The bin bed had multiple air holes all the way around. On top was a bin full wood to keep the kittens from popping the lid off their bin bed.

We had two boards that fit thru the slats to cover the green tunnel and lock them in their bin, so we could clean in the beginning. By the end, they could be out loose in the crates while we cleaned. By the last couple weeks, they were not even afraid of the shop vac.

When we started, they ran from us. By the last couple weeks, they ran to us mewing for attention, treats, cuddles/pets and to be picked up. 

Yea, from day one, they used the litter box with no problem. They covered everything nicely.

The food bowls attached to the bars. They had access to two bowls of water and two bowls of dry food 24/7. 

Look very carefully at this photo -

When the kittens moved on, it was very weird to have an empty condo. I dismantled it. So many bungee cords and zip ties and pieces of wood. 

I sold the crate on the right to someone who needed it. 

I kept the bin on the left, I knew I would need it again.

Our little guests

This is quite the story, and everything comes out right in the end.

Two feral born kittens were dropped off  at our house, just as we were preparing to head out of town for the Labor Day weekend, by their mamma. I could see them on our security camera at night. We had no idea where they were during the day, those first couple days. 

We estimated they were 8-9 weeks at that point. The first vet later assigned a birthday of 6/24/24. The second vet later said 6/17/24.

I looked, as hard as I could, for a foster group to take them. They failed the first criteria for acceptance. They could not be handled. We could not get near them. They only appeared at night. 

A friend who works with dog rescues was the only one who helped me. The cat people were absolutely no help. He said - if you want to save them, if you want them to have a good life, you are going to have to do it yourself.

That week by going out at 3am, and scattering them, I discovered the kittens were living in our metal downspout. It was a high of 95 most days. Luckily it only rained once that week. I have a very permanent memory of the tiger kitten, soaked, staring into my camera in the rain. 

A wildlife whisperer (next morning) had to come take the downspout off the house and totally apart to get them out safely. They went in an xl dog crate with a bed bin attached, in our garage, to start. The wildlife whisperer helped me kitten proof the dog crate with lots of zip ties and boards and bungee cords. 

Middle and I stayed home. My husband went to see youngest for the holiday weekend as planned.

We quickly expanded the space with a second xl dog crate. We built a very humane cat condo in our garage. It was double the size of what they would have had at a shelter. It was well stocked. They had 24/7 access to food and water. They had a roof over their head. Our garage was a pleasant temperature. We cleaned the cat condo every day.

When we started, they hid in their bin bed. They mostly  came out at night, when we were not in the garage.

They ate, pottied and played most of the night, happy as larks. We could see them on a security camera I set up, in black and white, night vision. 

If something startled them, they went diving thru the green tunnel into their bin bed. It took about 1.5 hours for them to come out again, in the very beginning.

Middle played with them through air holes in the sides of their bin bed. She used a wand. She made eye contact and gave them Churu. At this point, honestly, we were not sure what would happen. It was a very slow start. 

Slowly they started to emerge and interact with us. But if something startled them, they dove back in their bin bed and it took a very long time for them to try again. 

Eventually, they would pop right back out. The black kitten was always quicker to respond. 

It took middle one week to be able to pet the black kitten. It took two weeks and two days to touch the tiger. 

Shortly thereafter she was able to pick them up and hold them. 

It took until the third week in September to get good photos of them - 

Middle worked with them 1-2-3 hours a day for the Labor Day weekend, all of September, and early October. She estimates that she spent about 100 hours with them over the course of 6 weeks (in addition to working full time and having two dogs).

By the end, the black kitten had to have a harness and leash when out in the closed garage. Such an explorer! The tiger stayed right with middle.

Middle had no previous cat experience, but she has vast experience in behavior therapy. She is also a great dog trainer. 

I kept her company, helped clean the crate every day, and I socialized the kittens from a distance. 

We moved a TV and lawn chairs to the garage. I spent another 1-2-3 hours in the garage, watching TV or listening to an audio book on my phone, every day for most of that 6 weeks. The kittens heard the noise of the phone or TV and had me on close proximity and talking to them. 

Middle and I are both allergic to cats. We both have asthma. I had just been thru a terrible asthma flare spring 2024. I kept my distance. I aired out the garage a lot. Middle kept a set of “cat clothes” to wear in the garage and showered immediately. We survived. 

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

I finished all the Peter Swanson books before the end of the year, before Thanksgiving in fact.

I wanted to mention one thing about the last book - It requires a list of characters. The title is no joke - Nine Lives by Peter Swanson. 

When my niece read Harry Potter, she had a poster board list of characters going to keep track of everyone. 

Reading Nine Lives by Peter Swanson, I started reading normally and then quickly realized I needed a list. 

I found one online and copied/pasted it.  I had it in the notes section of my phone. I added to it as I listened. So very rare for me, I sat and listened to this book, referencing my notes as I went. 

There are a few more minor characters, mentioned (neighbors, co-workers, family, friends, law enforcement, etc) but the list below includes the main characters. It is a great starting point to avoid frustration.

I was okay with this list/notes process. I enjoyed the book. It was worth the effort. I appreciate that the author tried something new. 

But make note - for most people - this is not a book to listen to on audio while driving. Unless you are exceptionally good with names, you will need a list. 

My list started from information on this website. 

https://jhsiess.com/2022/03/19/book-review-nine-lives

But I would encourage you not to read the website, spoilers abound. My information, below, contains no spoilers, just identifiers.

Matthew Beaumont, a suburban father, Massachusetts, married to Nancy 

Jay Coates, cloud security, Georgia

Jay Coates, aspiring actor, LA

Ethan Dart, singer-songwriter, Texas

Caroline Geddes, English professor, Michigan

Frank Hopkins, owner/Windward Resort, Kennewick, Maine

Alison Horne, Jonathon/married man’s paid mistress, New York City

Arthur Kruse, oncology nurse, Massachusetts; Richard/boyfriend and dog Misty died in car wreck, leg damaged

Jack Radebaugh, married/separated, a retired author/businessman who recently returned to his childhood home in Connecticut; wrote - “say it out loud, do it out loud” book, neighbors across the street 

Jessica Winslow, FBI agent, New York, woman of color/adopted by white couple, lesbian

Donald Bennett - regular at the bar 

Sam - detective - grandmother’s Agatha Christie books

Fischer - receives phone calls, Ex- military, Married with kids