Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Book Collaborative Produces Extraordinary Book!

Joanne Simpson-Carter
Cat Sayings:
  Wit and Wisdom From  the Whiskered Ones

By Bradford G. Wheler


Bradford G. Wheler is a retired CEO, who, upon retirement, founded BookCollaborative. Cat Sayings is the latest in a series and I was fortunate to see the publicity for the one I would have naturally chosen. Somewhere along the line, you may have read that I collect cat-related books, especially mysteries...so, of course, I was anxious to add this one.

Immediately I realized that I got more than I imagined...The series may even be considered coffee-table books, though smaller than usual with a soft cover. However, the quality inside, including artwork and photographs from professionals, makes for close competition to the traditional hardback color that has been the norm, and may just be the upgraded definition for them given the changes being made in the publishing world...

I want to add a comment about the publisher's touches...Page-numbers are caricatures of cat faces, with the page number as eyes and then whiskers and mouth underneath...a truly creative addition! And on the majority of pages in the upper left corner is a small cat on a limb. I've always admired extra touches in the design of books and commend Wheler to contributing in this significant way to overall define continuity and imagination!

Next, I want to highlight that all of the color pictures are copies of original paintings or photographs... and those pictures/paintings represent the collaboration of the publisher with those professionals to produce each book. Each of the artists and photographers are listed together with their credentials.

And I haven't even gotten to the "sayings" that are included. Obviously I enjoyed them all since I'm a cat lover, but what was amazing was the merge of a saying together with an appropriate painting! For instance, with the beautiful painting by Joanne Simpson-Connor:

We read a quote from Carol Lawrence:

"They're the most graceful, sinuous, sexy, truly sensuous creatures in the world." 

Or, consider this one from Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953):

"There is not a man living who knows better than I that the four charms of a cat lie in its closed eyes, its long and lovely hair, its silence, and even its affected love."



Some of the sayings are even by famous people, including Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain--and although I have other books and have read "cat sayings," all of these were new to me! The book includes sections: Cats Rule, Wild Cats, Kittens, Humor, Of Cats and Dogs, The Cat Personality, Death of a Friend, Love Of, and Cats Vs. People.  Also included is an Index of Quotations, alphabetically listed. Of the sayings, I think this was my favorite:

A morning kiss, a discreet touch of his nose
landing somewhere on the middle of my face.
Because his long white whiskers tickled,
I began every day laughing.
--Janet F. Faure

Have a cat lover in your family or friends? Need a gift for them? This will work! I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading and studying the art, which, by the way, is not only traditional but modern, etc., as well as photography that has been manipulated. Highly recommended!




GABixlerReviews

Bradford G. Wheler author of "CAT SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from the whiskered ones" and President of BookCollaborative.com
Bradford G. Wheler is also the author of "HORSE SAYINGS: wit & wisdom straight from the horse's mouth", "DOG SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from man's best friend", "SNAPPY SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from the world's greatest minds" and "EIGHTEEN 6/10/71 The Poetry of John G. Hunter III"
Brad is the former CEO, President and Co-owner of Allan Electric Company. He sold the company to a New York Stock Exchange list utility company back when the stock market was hot. Brad retired after staying on as President during a transition period.
Brad's life long love of history, art, books and the humor in man's nature lead to this book and the founding of BookCollaborative.com.
His community involvements include being Chairmen of the Board Trustee of Cazenovia College, A former member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors and Alumni Association President of Sigma Phi Society at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
He played polo on Cornell University's men's polo team for 4 years and was a member or the Cazenovia Polo Club. Brad was inducted into the Manlius Pebble Hill School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Brad hold's a BS and ME in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He has a MBA degree from Fordham University in New York, NY and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in New York and several other states. He is also a graduate of the Manlius Pebble Hill School.
Brad lives with his wife Julie and their golden retriever Quincy in Cazenovia, NY.

Book Collaborative.com, founded by Bradford G. Wheler, publishes books based on the content provided by Artists. The goal is a collaborative community of artists that promote art in general while at the same time having an opportunity to promote their own art. Artists provide digital images of their work along with any information they wish on themselves, the techniques they use, and the origins, and meaning of their art. From this collaborative effort books are compiled and published.

PLEASE NOTE THAT PICTURES INCLUDED HERE ARE THOSE SHARED ON FACEBOOK"S "CAT SAYINGS BOOK" BY THE ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS AND NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDED IN THE BOOK. THOSE WHO WISH TO COLLABORATE OR SEEK INFORMATION ON BOOKS SHOULD CONTACT THE SITE DIRECTLY...

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