Many of us love the company of one or more cats, especially if we are not, like Hagrid, allergic. Larry the cat, though, I suspect, may be
more than he seems, and that is because Larry lives at 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minster. Larry, a shelter cat, has lived at the Prime Minister’s residence since 2011, and, unlike presidential pets that leave the White House with changes in administration, this handsome fellow has stayed through with each new government. Adopted when David Cameron was in office, and bestowed with the title “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office,” Larry now has his own book, has a children’s book, has met numerous heads of state, and is on Twitter (@Number 10cat).
Personally, I am curious as to whether or not Larry is an actual cat. He does seem quite spry for his age and capable of a variety of amazing feats (like sticking around in politics). Is it possible that, instead of relying on a magical portrait to communicate with the Muggle Prime Minster, that the Ministry of Magic has installed someone “closer to the ground”? Inquiring minds want to know, so perhaps some nosy Rita Skeeter type will get the scoop. Or maybe this is one for the Quibbler. In any case, Larry seems like a government official that it’s 
easy to support, unless, of course, one is a cat. Check out Larry in action here! Wait, is he reading a map?
Of course the movie business loves unpleasant protagonists, from the Joker to Venom, so they are doubtless planning another humongous blockbuster, once again without the slightest indication that they understand the irony of these splashy productions that hit theaters during the Thanksgiving season. The film is still in the early stages, with little known except that the director will once again be Francis Lawrence, and that other production staff and writers (including Collins) involved with the previous films will be joining this one. No casting has been announced, but I would love to start taking suggestions. If you have ideas about who should play the deviously charming Snow, the talented (and also devious) Lucy Gray Baird, the hapless optimist Sejanus, the horrifying Dr. Gaul, or any other of the fascinating characters, let’s start discussing those now, before the Hollywood people invariably make choices that make us scratch our heads. What are your expectations for what will, sadly, always be called “the fifth Hunger Games movie”?
beloved and belated author every year on April 28. Today, which would have been Sir Terry’s seventy-fourth birthday, is the first official Terry Pratchett Day, which will be celebrated this year with 
ugulum, along with Small Gods, are all getting splendid new covers, released today. This summer will see new-cover releases for the Wizards series, and, appropriately, on October 27 the Death series, WILL ALL BE RELEASED (I am rather partial to Pratchett’s cat-loving fellow in the long black robe, capital letters and all). That group will include the wonderful Hogfather. Next year will see the release of the City Watch novels and several others. So, if you love Discworld and need an excuse to buy new editions, or if you want to share this wonderful series with someone else, this is a good time to gift yourself or a loved one in honor of Sir Terry on his birthday! If you are not yet a fan of the fantastic world that travels through space on the back of a turtle (really!), and you need a place to start, you can begin at the beginning with The Colour of Magic, but Discworld is the sort of place you can just drop into from anywhere, so I highly recommend the re-working of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lords and Ladies, which is in the series being released today. Happy Terry Pratchett Day!
series of character posters
through glass,” and the single digit temperature and sub-zero windchill are enough to make a person look twice at the calendar to see if spring is around the corner or on another continent. As I frequently point out to my fellow residents of the mountains during this time of year, “Appalachian Spring” is not just a musical composition; it is a specific species of cruel joke. It’s rather like that feeling when, well before the end of the book or film, our heroes have slain the monster and we, savvy story-consumers that we are, know that the monster is NOT in fact dead, or the monster has a baby, a mate, a scary parent, or a whole monster army in reserve. Thus, the howling winds outside and the freshly cut daffodils inside (I cut them just before the snow) have reminded me of some thoughts I have long been pondering about the way seasons, particularly winter and spring, work in fantasy literature and how the treatment of those seasons is often an indication of the worldviews of authors and of the directions their tales will take.
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