My Five Tigers

by Lloyd Alexander | Biographies & Memoirs |
ISBN: Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/10/2003
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12 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, November 10, 2003
This is a very touching memoir about five of the cats that insinuated themselves into the author's life. (Warning: it's a tear-jerker; occasionally from a loss, often from a supremely heart-warming moment.) It begins "I was not always partial to cats," but it's clear that from the moment a brown tabby named Rabbit showed up, things were going to change. Then came Heathcliff, a big grey cat: "Where he came from, and the circumstances under which Heathcliff passed the first years of his life, I do not know." Heathcliff just appeared one day, socializing with Rabbit. "I had no intention of adopting a new cat," says the author. Ha!

Next is David, a little black half-Siamese kitten, acquired as a playmate for Heathcliff. Best-laid plans, etc., but things work out (more sniffling here) for a while (I dare you not to sniffle at this bit). And then Solomon, a rescued waif with double paws; and mackerel-striped Moira makes the fifth, although I suspect the cat-tales continue long after the book ends. All in all, a thoroughly charming story of the lives of cats and the people they live with. [The book was published in '56, and I think I first read it in the early '60s. Since then my family's cats have included a black half-Siamese - two, come to think of it - a big grey longhair, cats with double paws, a very rabbit-like cat, and a mackerel tabby or two; purely coincidental, I'm sure...]

This is the same Lloyd Alexander who wrote the Prydain Chronicles and assorted other fantasy novels; according to his interview in The Cat On My Shoulder, this was only his second book, and he always tries to "sneak a cat into whatever I'm writing".

Am looking for another copy of this to release, as I want to hang on to mine, but this seems to be another example (along with the wonderful Doreen Tovey books about her Siamese) of books that remain inexplicably out of print...

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, January 8, 2004
Found a spare copy of this, so I'm sending it out in a bookring. When you receive the book, please journal it, and PM the next person in line for their address so you'll have it ready when you've finished the book. [Note: even if you've sent books to that person before, please PM them before mailing this one, to confirm that the address is correct and that they're able to take on a bookring book at this time.] Try and read the book promptly; I don't have a hard and fast time limit here, but if you don't think you'll be able to get to the book within, say, a month, I'd appreciate it if you'd post an update either as a journal entry or in your profile, by way of indicating you haven't forgotten about the book completely {grin}. When you're ready to pass the book along, please make another journal entry stating where you've sent it, and set the status code to "traveling". And I hope everybody enjoys this lovely little book!

Mailing order:

GlasgowGal (Scotland)
arturogrande (UK)
Jalna (UK)
Lizabeth86 (Connecticut)
geniedances (Texas)
prplpec (Georgia)
MaryZee (Maryland)
monado (Ontario)
caligula03 (California)
...and back to GoryDetails (New Hampshire)

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Controlled release:

I've sent this off to GlasgowGal in Scotland to kick off the bookring. Hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry 4 by BC-08041015142 on Monday, January 19, 2004
Just received this in the post this morning (19.01). Really looking forward to reading this as soon as I can.

:-)

Journal Entry 5 by BC-08041015142 on Friday, January 23, 2004
Well, I've finally finished it after it got sidelined by another bookring which sneaked in first!

It's a lovely wee book all about a couple and their 5 cats. It's not a "story" as such as more of a diary of their day-to-day lives, but it is a lovely book all the same and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The author has a lovely turn of phrase, and a wonderful way of phrasing things. I especially like the "nightclub in the cellar" idea :-)

Thank you GoryDetails! It made me miss my wee tiger who had to be adopted out after I left university :-(

I already have arturogrande's address, so I should be sending this off early next week (Monday or Tuesday). I hope you enjoy it too!

(Oh - and I meant to say, my favourite was Moira. I like a girl with a bit of a fight in her!)

Journal Entry 6 by BC-08041015142 at By Mail in Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, January 26, 2004
Released on Monday, January 26, 2004 at ... by mail :) in Sent to a fellow BookCrosser, Bookring Controlled Releases.

Journal Entry 7 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 28, 2004
The book arrived this morning. It's one of those lovely old books which I always hope to find in second-hand book shops, but so rarely do.
Although obviously a much-loved favourite, it has been treated with care and respect, as all books should be.
The drawings inside are lovely, and as today has seen four inches of snow (quite unusual for these parts), I am looking forward to curling up in front of the fire to begin reading it - with a glass of red wine and, of course, my two 'tigers' to accompany me.

Journal Entry 8 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Sunday, February 1, 2004
What a wonderful, heartwarming little book! Lloyd Alexander's love of, and respect for, cats is obvious in every sentence. He is obviously a man who realises that a person is never the owner of a cat - the cat is the owner of them!
He writes beautifully - the cats' own individual personalities and quirks come over wonderfully, and his description of David's confusion and anguish over the loss of his friend will move you to tears.
I could see aspects of the two tigers who currently share my life in his cats - Paisley is a dead ringer for Moira in terms of personality, while my big ugly bruiser of a tom, Yawper, reminds me a lot of the terrorist next door, Felix Cat.
This book is a must for anyone who loves cats. The only downside for me is that it was not long enough.
I am now mailing it to fellow BookCrosser Jalna - enjoy it, it's lovely.

Journal Entry 9 by jalna from Wrexham, Wales United Kingdom on Friday, February 6, 2004
The 5 Tigers arrived safely this morning and I am eager to start reading all about them.

I have read huge number of "cat stories" over the years but for some reason the last one was quite a while ago which makes this all the more welcome.

Journal Entry 10 by jalna from Wrexham, Wales United Kingdom on Wednesday, February 18, 2004
This is a charming little story. Not as guffaw-worthy as some cat stories I have read, but nonetheless provides many a smile. Anyone owned by cats will recognise many of the incidents in this book.

I will be passing it on to Lizabeth86 as soon as I have an address. I hope the 5 Tigers enjoyed their little holiday in the UK!

Update: Book left me on 19 February 2004.

Journal Entry 11 by Lizabeth86 from Middletown, Connecticut USA on Friday, April 9, 2004
The book has finally arrived safely to my home. Looking forward to reading this. I am currently reading another bookring so this will be next in line.

Journal Entry 12 by Lizabeth86 from Middletown, Connecticut USA on Thursday, April 22, 2004
Finally finished this up last night. This is a wonderful charming book. It made me smile, laugh, and even get teary-eyed. I fell in love with Rabbit, Heathcliff, and David. Solomon and Moira not so much but perhaps because they came towards the end of the book. I wish the book could have gone on forever, I will miss my fur-people friends.

Thanks for sharing this book with us Gorydetails. It is a real treasure. I may have to find a copy for my own PC.

Mailed to next in line 4/29/04

Journal Entry 13 by geniedances from Houston, Texas USA on Wednesday, May 5, 2004
The good news is this book arrived in the mail today. The bad news is it was damaged in transit
(the package was badly damaged and the book bent.

I will read it asap and get it on its way to the next person on the list!

Journal Entry 14 by geniedances from Houston, Texas USA on Sunday, May 16, 2004
What a wonderfulbook! Lloyd Alexander has written a heartwarming tale with love and respect for his five cats. He obviously understands no one ever really owns a cat but takes on the role of human companion and friend.
He describes beautifully, the individual personality and quirks of each of his feline companions. The description of David's reaction to the loss of his friend hit home with me. I witnessed, first-hand, a similar reaction among my own cats. When Pepper died suddenly, his close friend Patches, grieved terribly. She never really got over her loss. It brings tears just to recall the memory.

Anyone who loves cats will thoroughly enjoy this book. It's lovely.

I will send it to Prplpec who is next on the list.

Journal Entry 15 by prplpec from Kennesaw, Georgia USA on Monday, May 24, 2004
Received in mail--I'm looking forward to reading this! :)

Journal Entry 16 by prplpec from Kennesaw, Georgia USA on Tuesday, May 25, 2004
What a delightful book! It reminded me so much of our two cats that we had while my children were growing up. This author has such a wonderful way of describing the cats and their personalities. I hated to see it end.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Gorydetails! :)
Will mail tomorrow to MaryZee.

Journal Entry 17 by wingmaryzeewing from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Saturday, May 29, 2004
Received this book in the mail today. I will start on this soon (it was one of 2 bookrings I was expecting, and it got here first), and should be ready to send it on its way in about a week.

Oops, almost forgot - thanks for the postcard Prplpec. That bldg must be some sight - is that the original KFC sight?

Journal Entry 18 by wingmaryzeewing from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Thanks for sharing this GoryDetails! I definitely enjoyed it, although I found the writing a bit plain-spoken and straightforward - I've read some other cat books that had a bit more charm to them.

The only other book I've read by this author was The Arkadians, a mythology-style fable he wrote much later. I'd never heard of this prolific author before, and I'd certainly like to read more by him.

I had to chuckle at David's nightclub - that was definitely my favorite part.

Decided I should add a bit in here about my cats - I'm a one-cat person, since we never had cats in the house growing up. I currently have an orange and white tom (Sizzle), who loves to explore the outdoors and on hot humid days, when my favorite place is in the air-conditioned house, his favorite place is outside under a tree, in the shade. Of course, in the wintertime his favorite place is near the woodstove or on top of a heat register.
We used to have a loveable tiger tomcat (Baby) who adopted us. His favorite place when you were reading was on top of whatever you were reading. But Sizzle isn't that much of a lapcat.
Baby used to love to show us what he could catch - ground moles, baby rabbits,... The only time I've ever been speechless in my life is the night that my husband thought he had a baby bunny in his mouth, opened the door to let him in (to take it away), and we realized he had a rat by the scruff of the neck
=-O
Fortunately, he was able to kill it before it got away from him (did you know that when a rat is scared his tail sticks out just like a pencil? - that's how I knew my cat didn't have a rabbit)

Mailed this out to Monado on Friday, 6/4.

Journal Entry 19 by wingAnonymousFinderwing on Thursday, June 17, 2004
Received this from MaryZee, wrapped VERY securely -- thanks, MaryZee! I'm taking notes about how to wrap it on its further journey.

I love books that observe the personalities of cats, so I'm looking forward to this one.

- Monado

CAUGHT IN TORONTO ONTARIO CANADA

Journal Entry 20 by monado from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Thursday, June 17, 2004
I received this from MaryZee, wrapped VERY securely -- thanks, MaryZee! I'm taking notes about how to wrap it on its further journey.

I love books that observe the personalities of cats, so I'm looking forward to this one. It starts out, "I was not always partial to cats..."

- Monado

Sorry, I wasn't logged in the first time.

Journal Entry 21 by monado from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Starting this book. We recently added a kitten to our 'family,' so we have three "tigers."

Journal Entry 22 by monado from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, September 15, 2004

I read this in one sitting. The cats are well observed and the tale is told in simple, straightforward language without too much ascribing of human emotions or motives. I certainly recognized some behaviour from my cats. They have their likes and dislikes, personalities, favourite hobbies, and their own friends and enemies. Not knowing the signal system, the author helped the kitten to usurp the rank of second cat by feeding it higher up than the older cat.

I also enjoyed the drawings of cats in soft pencil by Peggy Bacon.

I enjoyed the author's The Chronicles of Prydain series, which I think became a children's cartoon movie, "The Black Cauldron." I didn't realize that he was a cat lover as well. I recommend also Doris Lessing's book about her cats, Particularly Cats.

We have three cats: Shelley, a dignified tabby male; Emily, a skittish and acrobatic female; and now Kit Marlowe, an amiable and playful sub-adult.

I read this on vacation in Newport Beach, California, so I'm hoping to send it or drop it off to caligula03, who is also in California.


Released 19 yrs ago (9/17/2004 UTC) at Controlled Release in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, trades, California USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to caligula03 from Newport Beach, California.

This is the view from Back Bay Road in the nature reserve up to the complex where I was staying.

Journal Entry 24 by caligula03 from Hayward, California USA on Monday, September 20, 2004
I so love Alexander's cat stories. I'm looking forward to reading this book! :)

Journal Entry 25 by caligula03 from Hayward, California USA on Saturday, November 20, 2004
It's a charming and at times humorous look at living with cats. I enjoyed the illustrations, seeing the five tigers brought to life. There were times though when I found myself struggling to continue reading. Alexander's writing style does that to me sometimes but I enjoy cats and have enjoyed his fantasies that star cats so I did want to finish this book. It wasn't though the easy read I was expecting from its subject matter and it's slim profile.

Journal Entry 26 by caligula03 at on Saturday, November 20, 2004
Released on Saturday, December 04, 2004 at about 1:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at GoryDetails in n/a, n/a Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Returning to GoryDetails on December 4.

Journal Entry 27 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, December 14, 2004
My Five Tigers arrived home safely in today's mail! Many thanks to everyone on the bookring; I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and I've enjoyed seeing your comments and cat-pics and such. (I want to hunt up a photo of my own five tigers to add to the display... though as they don't care for each other very much it's hard to get a shot of all of them at one time!)

I'm thinking I'll take this well-traveled book along to tonight's Meetup and see if it has any more hops in it...

Released 19 yrs ago (12/14/2004 UTC) at Daniel Webster Highway (See Text For Details) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

I plan to take this well-traveled little book to tonight's BookCrossing Meetup in the coffee shop of Barnes & Noble at 7. [I'll be the one in the BookCrossing hat.] If you're interested in the book, feel free to stop by; I'll give it to whoever asks first, even if they're not a BookCrosser (yet!).

If there are no takers, My Five Tigers will come home with me, as I don't leave unattended wild releases inside bookstores - life's confusing enough as it is...

*** Later: this book went home with BCer cujoslunch. Hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry 29 by cujoslunch from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, January 26, 2005
I have been a bad monkey!!! I have had this book since the December meet up and was extremely slow at registering it. Have not read it yet.

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