https://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2013-12-06/1498350/

Breezy Reads

Stuff your stockings and top your toilets with these just-for-fun picks

December 6, 2013, Arts

I Am Pusheen the Cat

by Claire Belton
Touchstone, 192 pp., $14.99 (paper)

T-Rex Trying

by Hugh Murphy
Plume, 128 pp., $13

The journey from blog to book is by now a well-worn and borderline predictable one (see also: the Oatmeal's latest, above), but two recent releases draw a map of that road that's both completely simple and full of childlike joy.

Claire Belton's Tumblr about her family's fat and lazy gray cat Pusheen (puisín means "kitten" in Irish) has won over thousands, and Pusheen newcomers will be thrilled by the bubbly illustrations of the kitty with her favorite foods and friends. We miss seeing those tiny legs in animated GIF form, though.

In T-Rex Trying, the carnivorous king struggles with his tiny arms in hilarious fashion. You'll find yourself sympathizing with the poor guy – and cheering for him as he finds activities better suited to his body type. – Monica Riese