My sister, Linda, and I went to the Columbus Book Festival today. I won’t say and all I got was this lousy tee shirt. I love the shirt, and I bought a book, too, Lessons From Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart “Brittlestar” Reynolds.
Let’s talk about the book.
Reynolds, the author, really does hint that observations of cats can offer suggestions as to how to be sneaky in ways to express opposition to fascism. The line drawings are fun, and the book is amusing, but so on target as to cat behavior. If you’ve ever owned or observed a cat it won’t take long to realize the truth in a cat’s behavior.
He suggests why this behavior will politically mess up the opposition. “Cats never let anyone know where they’ll be next, and neither should you.” Why? According to the author, “fFscists thrive on predictability because their entire system is built on the illusion of control.” No one controls a cat, and no one knows what they’ll do next. Be like a cat.
Here’s one of my favorite points fro the book. Chapter two is called “Never lose your nap time.” That sounds odd, but, when I think of how tired we all get from trying to keep up with the news, it makes sense. Fascists “thrive on forcing people to overwork, overthink, and over worry. It’s all part of their plan: keep you too tired to resist, too frazzled to fight back.” He says to take naps and deal with it later. “At the end of the day, rest isn’t just self-care – it’s resistance. And nothing terrifies a fascist more than someone who’s wide awake, well rested, and ready to strike.”
There are so many great ideas in this book. I know friends who are active in contacting legislators. It’s not just that. I’ve used satire successfully in the past. A letter I once wrote to the editor was the basis of an editorial cartoon because they found it funny. It had a point. What advice would a cat give? “When something’s wrong, speak up. Loudly.”
The final advice in the book? Take care of each other. Cats do. “Taking care of each other is the ultimate power move.”
I’ll admit the Book Festival wasn’t about resistance. As a retired librarian, though, both those ideas of hands off my books, and how to resist struck home with me.
Sometimes, you get out of an event what you put in. We went to see the vendors, and we spent a little time in the library itself. We talked to vendors and book lovers. I saw a vague estimate of 50,000 people. That’s not final. But, to me, that’s 50,000 book lovers. We also both signed up to volunteer to read with kids in elementary schools. That’s what I loved to do in the schools in Evansville. It will take some time to get involved, but we’ll see what happens.
No, we never went to an author panel or one of the performance stages. Even so, we were at the festival for four hours. We both bought merchandise. We had fun, and connected with other people who love books and reading.
Connecting with other people who love books and reading. That’s what the blog is about, isn’t it?
Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart “Brittlestar” Reynolds. Grand Central Publishing, 2024. 55p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I bought a copy of the book.
