Wahey, hi there! Yes, part 1 as part 2 will go up a week after this one? Future!DB please do so, thanks. Yes, I read a lot of YA and fantasy books, but it is fun to now and then go for a change – such as these non-fiction books that were great to read!
Disclaimer: I received these e-arcs through Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for a free and honest review. The image header and the quote edits used is my own and the link in the book’s details is to the book’s Goodreads’ page. All quotes given in the review are from the e-arc and therefore might not be accurate. The summaries are my own (well, I summarised the Goodreads description). All opinions expressed are my own.
Title: How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language
Series: (Nat Geo Kids Pet Guide)
Author: Aline Alexander Newman
Year Published: 2015
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books
Genre: Nonfiction ~ Children ~ Animals ~ Cats
Stars: 5
Links: Goodreads
Copy: E-arc
A cute and fun factual book all about cats and their body language, aided with fully-illustrated pages to keep the reader more than interested in furry, fluffy cats and all their weird ways.
I remember going to the library (to take out a whole stack of books I’d return in a few days to get more stacks – listen, I was a very busy child. But like only with reading. Definitely not Maths. I liked stopping at the magazine shelves and quickly read the Nat Geo Kids – I liked all the short and sweet articles and bright pictures.
Which I think is great because kids are definitely entranced by bright pictures and most kids, if they’re not used to reading a lot, they like short articles. And animals – fun facts about them and even funnier stories. It also gives out information in an easy way that any kids could understand.
Of course I chose this because of my kitty cat (he’s just too fantastic and I love him even if he uses me for food) but I’d definitely be interested in other National Geographics about other animals – dogs or whales (just not spiders. Please no).
Title: Book Love
Author: Debbie Tung
Year Published: 2019
Publisher: Andrews McNeel Publishing
Genre: Nonfiction ~ Humour ~ Comics and Graphic Novels
Stars: 5
Links: Goodreads
Copy: E-arc
The humour of books and being a bookworm – because we all need something to laugh about and this is definitely something we can connect to.
I’ve seen a bunch of Debbie Tung’s comics before – her other work is hilarious and usually, if you’re a bookworm and you’re on Facebook, you’ll be tagged on a whole bunch of book-related posts – so I definitely have seen some of Book Love before out in the wild (the wild meaning Facebook, of course).
So I was very happy to receive the arc through Netgalley! And sometimes, yes, it does have its reservations – a lot of these comics about funny bookworm problems do use book reader stereotypes. Even though those stereotypes are fun to read about – for the first few times, because I’ve had so many older people assume that because I like to read, I prefer physical books. But I don’t. I like e-books so I can enlarge the font, or audiobooks so I can clean my room and listen to a book. Or a lot of people assume that because I read a lot, I love the classics. Which, yeah, I actually don’t. And people do ask for book recommendations but they’re not interested in YA or diverse books 🙄🙄
This book does still ring true on various fronts and makes me laugh constantly. An advantage of physical books is the smellll. And honestly, I’ve told my parents multiple time to leave me in a bookstore and they still come and find me?
Title: Herding Cats
Series: Sarah’s Scribbles #3
Author: Sarah Andersen
Year Published: 2018
Publisher:
Genre: Nonfiction ~ Humour ~ Comics and Graphic Novels
Stars:
Links: Goodreads
Copy: E-arc
Cats, humour, and more cats!
If you’ve spent some time around the humour side of the Internet (which I recommend you do sparingly as Internet users have weird ideas of the word and meaning of ‘funny’) – you’ve most likely seen some of Sarah’s Scribbles. They’re short. They’re funny. They’re so darn relatable.
This was no different from her other work I have seen. She blends humour with everything that I’m feeling – yes, coffee might make me more anxious, but it might also make me productive. Yes, I am known for calling my cat everything under the sun (he’s my sunshine, my lamb, my chicken, etc etc), but does he know what his actual name is and can he tell other cats what his name is?
But at the same time it speaks about humour and cats and life – it also speaks a little about how we treat ourselves – burnout, seeing our accomplishments as failure and all. And that it’s okay to take a break once in a while or to be happy and proud of ourselves even when we create something that’s not a total 100% from the start.
Have you read some of the books mentioned here? Do you also call your pet by various names under the sun? Tell me down below in the comments!
DB's Guide to the Galaxy 
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