Endearing non-fiction about two cats that lived at the Douglas County Library in Minden, Nevada, and how they became celebrities, complete with fan club, photo shoots, and “cat tourists” stopping by to meet them. It is also the author’s memoir about her life with animals and books, and how the cats helped her pull out of a difficult time in life.

For me, the main attraction of this book is that it is set in a town about 15 miles from where I live. The descriptions of the area are spot on. If you are familiar with cats, the behaviors of Baker and Taylor will bring a smile of acknowledgement. The story shines in highlighting the sense of community in this small town, where people gather in the library, pet the cats, and spend parts of their days reading. The less successful portion of the book has to do with the author’s life story. She is very guarded, not wanting to expose a great deal of her pain, which is, of course, her prerogative, but it lessened the impact. I also didn’t care for the technophobia, as I believe libraries need to embrace the changes of the information age.

Recommended to cat and library aficionados, or those who enjoy stories of local interest, in this case Northern Nevada, US. ( )

If you love cats and books, this is a good one, and it is a true story like Dewey the Library Cat or Homer's Odyssey.
It is nice how it talks about more library cats all over the States and how the author is personally involved in this crazy cat job. ( )

Baker and Taylor were two library cats (Scottish folds) in small-town Nevada, who lived in the 1980s and 90s and were named after the bookselling company, Baker & Taylor. When the company found out about the cats, they decided to use them in the company’s promotional material, propelling the cats to stardom and creating a lasting image for the company, as they still use the cats’ likenesses 20+ years later.

Books and cats – my two favourite things! I also have three Baker & Taylor shopping bags, where I store unread books! I really enjoyed this. There is a section of photos in the middle of the book. Baker and Taylorare so cute, and each had their own personalities. They even had a fan club made up of a grade 2 class elsewhere in the country. The teacher had her class write letters (to help them with their writing) every year to the cats, and send gifts. These were quite cute. There was (like with Dewey’s book) some biographical information about the librarian (and author) who mainly took care of the cats, as well. ( )

Interesting enough account of two famous library cats told by the librarian who cared for them. Not as compelling as I was lead to believe, but still interesting. ( )

I generally like books about cats. I expected to like this one - not enough to actually buy it, but was glad to see it at the library. Ended up liking it Very Much, & got totally sideswiped when Baker got ill & needed to be euthanized. Many tears! And more when she described Taylor's puzzlement, his sorrow at his partner's disappearance. I am surprised at a sel-described animal lover with experience of doing what needs to be done with animals not knowing enough to bring Baker's body back for Taylor to see/sniff. She left him high & dry, sympathizing but not doing a thing about it, or even realizing her error. People, animals are not seers. When something/someone disappears, they do not know it's gone forever, or dead.
Other than that, a great read. ( )