The Whole Cat and Caboodle: Second Chance Cat Mystery
5 journalers for this copy...
I thought at first that this book was by the same author as the Magical Cats series. No, this is Sofie Ryan; Hercules and Owen's creator is Sofie Kelly. Still, Elvis is very much like Hercules and Owen in his ability to communicate with his caretaker. The book itself is a good start for a series, keeping my interest without sinking into saccharine sweetness like many recent cozy mysteries.
Bringing to the BCinDC Holiday Party at authorauthor's house.
Journal Entry 3 by 
6of8
at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA on Monday, January 4, 2016
6of8 at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA on Monday, January 4, 2016
I should have known that this book came from Furball -- we both love cat mysteries. I did know from the first line that it was a book that I have been wanting to read for a whil, and I was prepared to fight for it. I have made a partial list of books to read in January, so it might sit on the shelf until February, but not much beyond that.
A very fun read and a well-written mystery. I liked the characters, especially Elvis the cat (who totally saves the day, of course -- my little Molly approved). I will say that if it ever comes down to Nick vs. Mac, I would vote for Mac -- but I am not sure if it will come down to that. The mystery was well done, although I knew from the beginning whodunit (I have no idea why I did, but I did). The background aspects of Sarah's secondhand/refurbished shop and the relationships with other people were engaging and fun without being too cutesy or nonsensical or taking over the plot. I will definitely be looking for more in this series.
ETA -- just noticed something on GoodReads that went along with Furball's earlier comments -- Sofie Ryan and Sofie Kelly are both pseudonyms for the same writer. Explains the similarities -- both series are enjoyable.
ETA -- just noticed something on GoodReads that went along with Furball's earlier comments -- Sofie Ryan and Sofie Kelly are both pseudonyms for the same writer. Explains the similarities -- both series are enjoyable.
Journal Entry 5 by 6of8 at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Maryland USA on Tuesday, July 19, 2016
6of8 at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Maryland USA on Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Released 7 yrs ago (7/18/2016 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Maryland USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book is off to Finland for kirjakko, since it was on her wishlist.
Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.
Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.
The book arrived, safe and sound! Perfect timing, too, I'm off to a wee river cruise in France in less than two days time. It well may be that The Whole Cat gets a free ticket. That means getting up mighty early on Friday, we have to be at the airport at 6 am.Pic: They would all like to come...
I never thought, even in my wildest dreams, that I would write a JE saying:In 35 hours' time I'll be taking the early bird flight to France with Elvis!
"Wake up, little Elvis, wake up." I hate mornings!Printed our tickets yesterday evening and noticed we'll be flying to Frankfurt! Read the trip plan again and saw that we'll take a bus from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, where the boat is. Great, Frankfurt is the number one airport of lost suitcases. Don't worry, Elvis, you'll be in mi handbag.
Elvis hanging out with other BC-books at the Helsinki Airport Book Swap Lounge. Yes, we actually have one! Today most books were in Swedish or Hungarian. Found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in whatever language they speak in Jakarta ("Harry Potter dan batu bertuah"). Picked it up as there is a Portuguese bookcrosser who collects Harry Potters in different languages. Will surprise her.
Nearly take-off.
Arrived to Frankfurt and took a bus to Strasbourg. The same company as our boat. Took 2,5 hours.Odd country. A bottle of beer costs the same as a bottle of water (1€). Both were sold in the bus.
Getting further away from Putin.
And then we had lunch and some local white wine.
Elvis was warmly welcomed on board.
Wisdom on the wall. Free spirit Elvis.
Elvis met some local books which were sold out of a window.
Cat among the storks. Storks are the symbol of Strasbourg.
Cruising on the river. Not even a book fits between the boat and the lock.
S.O.S.
Let's go to the hop! Elvis went to see the biggest hop producers in France. Edit: The machine does not approve of the picture of hop fields. Let's try Elvis on the balcony of the hop house.
Local transportation.
Elvis meets Hansel and Gretel.
The day began drifting on the river, going through 13 locks and arriving to Saverne. A beautiful old town near the amazing old ruins of Château de Haut-Barr.
Elvis felt a bit dizzy.
But he could see miles and miles ahead.
There were dogs up there as well. My first dog was a stray husky.
This Elvis made it to Heaven's Gate. Do not know about the other.
On our way down we took a detour to a beautiful rose garden.
It looks as if ApoloniaX has been here before us. Yarn-bombing!
Unicorn is the symbol of Saverne. Elvis seemed to like him as well.
A fellow book was left in the garden of an old abbey, nowadays a school. I wonder if the kids appreciate the lovely ancient surroundings they have.Edit: So far (28th Aug) this is the only book from that trip which has written back home. It was taken by Tobias who took it to Berlin with him.
Storks are popular all over Alsace.
Hanging out with other books (left on the barge 's window cill library).
The canal was actually quite busy today.
Oops, I've forgotten to introduce our barge, Madeleine (5,5 x 39 meters). 17 passengers + our guide.
Through hell and high water. Some locks really take us to new levels.
At Lutzelbourg. It is such a small village I had to add it on the list of places in Alsace. They make marshmallow by hand here as marshmallow plant grows in the area. One learns something new every day, I never knew marshmallow is a plant.Here Elvis poses with a Minette Walter book under a statue where everybody from this village who died in WW1 or WW2 are mentioned. We left Minette there, as one gets most catches from statues.
Journal Entry 38 by 
kirjakko
at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
kirjakko at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
Fellow cats at the Lehrer Crystal factory.
Journal Entry 39 by kirjakko at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
kirjakko at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
Then we skipped 17 locks and one day's journey by taking the 4-minute-boat-elevator.
Journal Entry 40 by kirjakko at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
kirjakko at Canal de la Marne au Rhin, -- Ports, Waterways & Ships -- France on Thursday, August 4, 2016
After the elevator we went through a 2,3 km long tunnel built between 1839-1849.
We stayed a night at this tiny, Chinese-sounding village of 200 inhabitants. The most interesting sight was ship boy Marco's girlfriend. There was a Madagaskarian bar where we left a fellow book (Irving).
Elvis meets Chagall! We went to an old chapel where he had done the beautiful glass work in his 90'ies.
Elvis met a bigger cat.
And wasn't afraid of the rhino either. Both statues were outside the museum of Sarrebourg.
The trip is nearing its end. The book is half way read, but one can't really comment the plot of a mystery without giving something away. Except the same day I read Mr P. saying "When you do it at my age they watch to make sure you're not wearing your underwear on the outside" my friend (three years younger than me) wrote in facebook: "The feeling when you are in the waiting room of a massager in your frock and you suddenly realize you didn't remember to put on knickers." Pic: Frankfurt and the highest building in Europe.
Elvis and the Eagle of Frankfurt. I'm so enjoying this fast Internet connection at the airport. There were some days when we were in a shade and either could not get online at all or the connection was so slow it made no sense to waste one's youth waiting for a page to turn. That is why some days have no JEs and some have several from different places.
A German trafic sign with a twist.
Damn! I had written a long JE, but here in the woods the 4G keeps disappearing and I should have made sure I was linked when I pressed that button. I haven't made it home yet, I'm dog-sitting for my travelling companion. When one of the dogs vomited the second time during the night and again I jumped from the bed in a nanosecond to open the door for her I decided to leave the door wide open. Luckily the night was rather warm. I've been walking the dogs in my nightie and dosing off, napping and sleeping more than I've been awake - perhaps being sociable for a week was tiring.I finished the book last night. I grew up with the original Charley's Angels (Kate Jackson being my favourite) and used to love Angela Landsbury in Murder, she wrote, so of course I liked the book. Suspected each and every one in turn...
Bought some French cheeses which I ate last night, but they didn't look half as good as those on the boat. The holiday is obviously over...
Will try to find a travelling new reader for this book as Elvis wants to see the world.
Hit the boat, Jack, don't you come here no more, no more, no more, no more! Elvis and I will attend a bookcrossing cruise over to Tallinn, Estonia, in just a few days. I love the old town, which is big! We have to thank Russians for it, as Estonians didn't have any money to rip down the old buildings and build something ugly and modern instead when they were just a part of the Soviet Union. The neglected part.
I got two free ferry tickets from our client, so I must have done something right at some point. We actually have great clients, one invited me to Paris for a long weekend she had won from Kit-Kat competition and she chose the weekend when the European Winner Dog Show was there (2002). Not bad. We have also been treated for a night at the Moulin Rouge when one of our clients turned 50 - we did have to pay for the airline tickets, but my work mate's brother had just been transferred to Paris, so we had a lovely flat near Trocadero and a male housekeeper!
I'm taking bookcrosser Annelis along with the other free ticket, perhaps she will take Elvis for a spin around Finland after our trip. Annelis travels to BC-meetings in different cities and likes cozy mysteries.
And thank you for my wings, 6of8, you shouldn't have (but I'm glad you did). I hope you will catch loads of my old books in the future, so I can pester you about JEs...
Elvis at the crossroads again. This time we are getting closer to Putin.
Talk of the Devil.
Shhh, even the walls had ears here.
Today Estonia is a country of its own. And proud of it. There are lots of Russians still living there (appr. every fifth inhabitant of Tallinn), remains of the Soviet Era, when they were moved there in great numbers to intimidate Estonians.
A cute waterfall and a dear outside the Old Town wall.
The Most Stylish Release today - Shopaholic, some fabulous shoes and matching colours of the wall and the book. Even the name of the shop - Vivian Vau!
Miss Miami came a very close second...
Two fellow books were journalled before the ferry was back in Helsinki. Here lies one of them, Rei Shimura. Both finders also registered as new members.
We found a huge sh-bookshop and I bought a book about crow-behaviour! The study was made on North-American crows, but I hope it would make sense to the quirks of their Finnish cousin.
I think Elvis had a fun day. We were very lucky with the weather.
It was time to go home. Elvis left with a new reader, Annelis. Edit 10th Oct: I'm a bit envious as Elvis got to meet Donna Leon with Annelis.
Thank you for the book, kind Bookcrossers!
August 27:Elvis arrived in Kerava by train. I like this railway station. It is beautiful.
Kerava railway station (Finnish: Keravan rautatieasema, Swedish: Kervo järnvägsstation) is located in the town of Kerava, Finland. It is located approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Helsinki Central railway station.
Kerava station is a crossing-point station, with connections from the main track from Helsinki to Riihimäki to the tracks to Lahti, Sköldvik, Porvoo, and to the Vuosaari Harbour. Trains to Riihimäki and Lahti, with the exception of a few express trains, stop at Kerava. Trains on the Kerava city railway also stop there.
The station house is uncommonly large and was built in 1876-1878 and extended in 1904. When the house was built the station had already been operational for over ten years.
September 10:It is the time for the annual Kerava Sircus Festival! Now the market and Fun Fair has closed for the night. I don't think Elvis would have liked to ride on the Giant Wheel anyway.
September 11:We visited Lottamuseo in Tuusula. The museum shows memories about women in WW2.
August 31:In Järvenpää they make funny flowers arrangements. One year it was flowers in boots, last summer flowers in bags. This summer it looks like this:
August 14:I met two teenage boys in the center of Kerava who had a microphone and camera. They wanted to interview me. OK I said.
"Can you tell us if there is anything that keeps you awake at night?"
"Hm... A good book!"
"A book. That is a good answer... Nothing like internet?" They seemed surprised.
They continued on their way before I had time to ask anything. I guess that they were doing some kind of school work.
September 15:There is a nice Library in Kerava, but I seldom visit it because I have so many Bookcrossing books.
September 19:Our daughter gave us free ship tickets to Stockholm. Of course it was not quite free as we bought tickets for meals, dinners and breakfasts - not for Elvis though. I started to read about the adventures of Elvis on the boat, but I did not get very far. We ate a lot and fell asleep. One night to Stockholm, a day there and next night back to Helsinki.
September 19:Too much food! We could not possibly taste everything.
Now I my mouth is watering when I think about the meals we will have on another ship, M/S Hamburg, on The Mediterranean Sea next week.
September 20:We desided to visit the Museum of Natural History and the Botanic Garden in Stockholm.
At the museum Elvis met some relatives.
We saw also interesting fossils, dinosaurs and big birds like diatryma.
At the Botanic Garden there was an exhibition of natural dyes: You put wool, water and some dyeing plants into a glass jar and let it be in the sun. And you get wonderful colours for your wool.
September 20:I wanted to visit the Old Town of Stockholm and release a book on Köpmangatan Street, because I like Jan Mårtenson's books about antique dealer Johan Homan and he has his shop there. Well, we found three antique shops on the street and I don't know which one is the right one one if any at all. I chose the one in the nicest house and released one Johan Homan book (Den grekiska hjälmen) at the entrance of the shop.
September 22: Back at home in Kerava Elvis and me went to see The Demolishing Art before the houses are demolished. Three houses of shops in the center of Kerava will be demolished soon to give room for a new shopping center. In May the the town's decision-makers said that young graffiti painters may paint the houses as they like so that people have something interesting or even beautiful things to see. Many happenings have been arranged during the summer, too.
September 30:I learnt a new concept from the book: leaf peepers. In Finland they often go to Lapland, but this years the autumn colours ('ruska' in Finnish) is not as colourful as it could be. It has been raining very little and leafs tend to dry brown and not get their usual autumn colours.
One day Elvis and me were acting as leaf peepers. We saw also the circus horses which are to memorize the Sariolas, our cirkus family. Some tens of years there was a real Circus Sariola which spent their winters in Kerava. They had many animals. There are stories how a bear or hippopotamus or some other animal escaped and went walking on the streets. Maybe it was in the 70's than elephants and other wild animals were not allowed at circuses anymore and Sariolas started to travel as fun fairs. They always start in Kerava and they come also here also for the Circus Festival in mid September.
October 1:I visited Turku Book Fair. I went to listen to Donna Leon. She is one my favourites because I love Venice and because she writes interesting books.
We had also a Bookcrossing meet-up there. While I was waiting for the others I noticed that the president of Finland was two meters from me talking with some people. A little later a saw him again near me talking with some men. His wife came to him, they exchanged some words and she patted him and continued on her way. No bodyguards were to be seen.
Sannuli from Joensuu came to visit Helsinki. She would like to read this book.
Happy reading!
This is my # 105 in
"KEEP THEM MOVING 2016" Challenge arranged by Booklady331.
Happy reading!
This is my # 105 in
"KEEP THEM MOVING 2016" Challenge arranged by Booklady331.
Journal Entry 77 by sannuli at Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen Finland on Sunday, October 9, 2016
Thank you so much!!
