The Buzz...About Books

Last week Hello Kitty brand owner Sanrio announced that “Hello Kitty is a cheerful and happy little girl with a heart of gold”, and the world shook. Many fans had assumed that her cat ears and whiskers (and her name) were an indication of feline heritage but now our beliefs have been shattered and we are left to question everything in the entire world. Thanks a lot, Sanrio!

If you want something to read to make you feel better, try this:

Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
Twenty-eight year old lawyer Fiona Yu doesn’t want to kill the cartoon character but instead the stereotype of polite, submissive, childlike Asian women. She is torn between traditional values of her paren'ts and her desire to be lead a more exciting life. While her father sets her up on blind dates with suitable men, she begins a relationship with a serial killer.

Each of these books features interaction between humans and sentient animals:

Novels:

A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber
When Stephanie’s paren'ts move to a new planet, she doesn’t expect to form a powerful relationship with a highly intelligent species of treecat.

Catalyst: a Tale of the Barque Cats by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• eBook
Very special cats work alongside humans on space craft. When a virus threatens all the animals in space, humans, cats and a cat-like alien join forces to save the universe.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: the Official Movie Novelization by Alexander Irvine
A peaceful colony of apes has been established under the leadership of Cesar but a small group of humans arrives and threatens everything.

Gun with Occasional Music by Jonathan Letham
• eAudiobook
• eBook
Private detective Conrad Metcalf is trying to solve a crime in a future Oakland that includes evolved animals–a kangaroo hitman for example. Imagine if Raymond Chandler had written science fiction. A wonderful, strange book.

King Rat by China Miéville
• eBook
Wrongfully accused of his father’s murder, Saul is rescued by a rat who claims to be both the deposed leader of an army of rodents and Saul’s biological father.