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Cat Party!: Cats We've Known in Words and Pictures
The cats in our lives are always close to our hearts, whether they're napping in a sunbeam, demanding pets and treats, playfully attacking our shoelaces, or haughtily ignoring us. From joy, whimsy, and coziness to nostalgia and loss, these diverse images, comics, and real-life stories span the emotional highs and lows of a life shared with cats and kittens (and, in one case, collectible cat figurines). The many ways of felines are chronicled here in over 50 multimedia contributions, compiled from the first 10 issues of the Cat Party zine along with some new content just for this book. Editor Katie Haegele drew inspiration from the readers of her book Cats I've Known, who wanted to tell the stories of the cats that had touched their own lives. The result is like a series of conversations and encounters with a panoply of some of the most relatable people on the cat people.These cat people include Quimby's Bookstore founder Steven Svymbersky, cartoonist and performance artist Dame Darcy, punk legend Joe Genaro (Joe Jack Talcum of The Dead Milkmen), Microcosm founder Joe Biel, comics artist Mardou, Defectivepudding, Heidi Moreno (Heidiroo), Justin Duerr, Vanessa Berry, and many more artists, writers, musicians, homebodies, dreamers, and close observers of the world.
- GenresNonfictionCats
223 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 4, 2024
Cute. Cozy. Cats. An easy read that still has some big bites of emotion.
May 18, 2026
Can I give this 100 stars?!
My first foray into cat themed literature was Catnip magazine, volume 1, which is kind of like an old-school zine, kind of like a glossy magazine, a bit like an art book, and oh so wonderful.
Cat Party is sort of a homier and more literary version of Catnip (and actually I think Cat Party came out first, initially as individual zine issues). This was a perfect book to read on vacation -- short little bits that I could enjoy here and there in between activities and conversations. And it is always fun to feel "surrounded by" fellow cat-people, who have the same deep feelings of affection for their feline companions.
The only down side, for me, was that many of the authors allow their cats to be outdoors, and seem untroubled by the birds and other critters that they are killing, even telling about this in their stories as if it is all just no big deal. As a bird-lover who is very aware of the many ways our bird populations are plummeting and certain species are being driven to extinction, it always pains me to read about pet cats killing birds.
The book also turned me on to Microcosm Publishing, which is a delightful independent publisher that releases all sorts of creative, odd, and off-the-wall kinds of things.
My first foray into cat themed literature was Catnip magazine, volume 1, which is kind of like an old-school zine, kind of like a glossy magazine, a bit like an art book, and oh so wonderful.
Cat Party is sort of a homier and more literary version of Catnip (and actually I think Cat Party came out first, initially as individual zine issues). This was a perfect book to read on vacation -- short little bits that I could enjoy here and there in between activities and conversations. And it is always fun to feel "surrounded by" fellow cat-people, who have the same deep feelings of affection for their feline companions.
The only down side, for me, was that many of the authors allow their cats to be outdoors, and seem untroubled by the birds and other critters that they are killing, even telling about this in their stories as if it is all just no big deal. As a bird-lover who is very aware of the many ways our bird populations are plummeting and certain species are being driven to extinction, it always pains me to read about pet cats killing birds.
The book also turned me on to Microcosm Publishing, which is a delightful independent publisher that releases all sorts of creative, odd, and off-the-wall kinds of things.
May 25, 2025
A truly delightful read about various people who have loved cats told in an impressive number of mediums. Not every story or medium connected with me, but there were so many good ones! Highly recommended to anyone who likes cats.
Want to Read
March 10, 2024I cannot wait for this book - I'm so serious
May 28, 2024
Fun collection of stories about cats loved and remembered. It was entertaining and heartwarming. Definitely cried in some spots, but I am a softie.
January 19, 2025
If you have ever loved and lost a cat, you will definitely cry reading some of these essays
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews