There aren’t sufficient stars!

The Dalai Lama’s Cat — now 5 books with Awaken the Kitten Within — is, simply, superb!
I wasn’t sure of what to expect in the storyline of David Michie’s latest tale, but, when I knew it was being written, I didn’t hesitate to pre-order. It came out this very first week of November, 2021 and, after uploading and finishing — well, my initial reading — I am filled with gratitude and more to contemplate on The Journey.
If you’ve not as yet begun reading David Michie’s The Dalai Lama’s Cat wondrous Life adventure series and, if considerations of things of spirit and Life are of interest to you, I urge you to try each of these five books. While they need not be read in order, the Community of Joy and Kindness will be more fun, have greater depth and meaning, if you do read in order.
I’ll give myself a couple of days to sit with Awakening the Kitten Within, then I’ll start it over. Looking forward to more and more from HHC!

3 people found this helpful

Absolutely Beautiful

These books are the best of their kind. I’ve read so many that try to share the idea of how beautiful our lives can be. I’ve read books that are supposed to make you feel better about yourself. None of them have had the impact of these books. Perhaps the story itself is what makes this different. The observations of a mostly silent observer who brings to light lessons and the beauty of life in everyday lives. I will read these again and again to hopefully receive the blessings and acceptance I need in my own life.

2 people found this helpful

Awaken the Kitten Within

After having listened to each of Mr. Miche’s books about the Dalai Lama’s cat I can say that with each I come away feeling much more at peace with myself, even with my own human frailties. The insight into one’s inner self and the recognition of one’s own mortality further inspires me to bring purpose and reason to my existence and in turn an acceptance of my own aging process and the journey ahead. An enjoyable listen!

2 people found this helpful

Not the same quality as the first 4 amazing books

First, I am a huge fan of the first 4 books & have recommended them to countless people. I've read the first few at least 4 times & will again. These are my go-to during stressful times, thanks to the refreshing & useful wisdom rapped up in this whimsical, charming story. That said...

Most of this book (#5) is simply recapping the first 4 books, which is tedious & feels like a waste of time. It's not just a nod back to past events, he goes into detail explaining full scenes again...often. That right there makes this book not worth it.

Second, I love the new character (the artist), & the accent he narrates him in.

Third, it's confusing to hear him change the pronunciation of "Himalaya" & "Ki Ki." For 4 books, we've heard him say these two things one way, why change it? I didn't even realize who "Keekee" was, for a while because he used to say it like "K-eye K-eye," (which sounded better too).

Fourth, the story itself this time was, just ok. It didn't feel nearly as rich with plot as the previous 4 had. To tackle the subject of death, I just expected more. I felt less involved & connected to this one, when the main reason I keep rereading the others is for those feelings of oneness & awe.

Again, still a HUGE fan of the prior books, & I still love his voice narrating - it sounds like ASMR to me. And I'm looking forward to starting his Queen's Corgis collection next. This book just sadly missed his previous (wonderful) mark.

1 person found this helpful

Love, but what to read now

This just really hit the spot when I needed it the most...
I'm more of a non-fiction person and far more a dog person. I'm an animal behaviorist and don't generally anthropomorphize, yet this book felt to me like there was something about it very real. I kept wishing I could Google this Cafe and go meet these people.
I read all of his other books like this except Instant Karma. That one just seems way too made-up for me.
Having hit the end of the series, listened to his other stories, listed to all the cat books again, I am just wishing there was something that could touch me and teach me like these books again.
I've returned to my non-fiction collection, tried a bunch of new stuff- and wasted a bunch of credits. It seems I'm in the mood for more good stories with buddhist inspiration and just stuck in a rut not able to find anything.
The author needs a fan club that offers discussion on similar books or he needs to get busy and write some more.
And my memory for detail is not always that great, lots of time from one book to the next by the time I read this one, so I didn't mind all the looking back and reintroducing the same characters again.

Purrfect Captivating

Love this series and this Book exceeds all that have come before. I feel like it was speaking to me in so many ways. Now the hard part how to apply the lessons learned to life. Would love to say more but don’t want to have any spoilers. But I do hope the home for broke bohemians does come to fruition.

Fascinating interweaving of Buddhism and story

I really enjoy the combination of characters with philosophy and personal growth. I have loomed for more!

The charming story continues

All the books in this series to date hold a solid quality of good story telling. Michie wraps well crafted explanations of Buddhist principles and practices with many layers of interweaving stories and gently held characters.

I hope there are many more books to come!

Wonderful!

Beautifully written and delivered. These books regenerate me.... Remind me of what is truely important in life. Subtle lessons within the story. His voice alone brings forth a sense of inner peace.

Great book, but pronunciation is distracting

All of the Dalai Lama's cat books are great, but for some reason the author and narrator, David Michie, changed his pronunciation of key places and characters in this one. It's very distracting. He even changed the pronunciation of a character's name half way through the book. It's baffling.
The Himalaya Book Cafe has been pronounced as such through all the books. In this one it is pronounced Himalia Book Cafe. ?! Etc.
The other unnerving aspect is the constant reintroduction of characters with their backstory.
That said, the Buddhist concepts are fabulous, easy to understand, and well presented. Plus, all these books are great stories. If you're looking for some light Buddhist philosophy attached to a good story, this is the place to get it.