humor – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Everything Here is Mine by Nicole Hollander

Today Marshmallow reviews Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior. Originally published in 1992, this is a book of comic strips by the amazing cartoonist Nicole Hollander, whose daily comic strip Sylvia was enjoyed by many; she passed away in April 2026.

Marshmallow reviews Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior by Nicole Hollander. — Marshmallow reviews *Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior* by Nicole Hollander.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like cats and / or cartoons, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Cats are from space. Specifically, according to Hollander, they are from the planet Hsif. Originally, they arrived during the time of the pyramids and began investigating Earth. Unfortunately, due to a civil war on their home planet, the main cat force had to leave behind several individuals. Budget cats later on prevented return missions so some of the cats were left stranded on our world. This is why cats spit up hairballs; it is an S.O.S. signal. This is merely the beginning of numerous new revelations and lessons about the cat species that you can find in Nicole Hollander’s Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior.

As you can tell from the title, this book does honestly show how cats dominate their households. In sections labeled by related topics, Hollander gives us insight into what cats like and do not like. The sections are as follows: Cats in Space; Give Me That Wet Food, Baby; Fly Me to the Moon; Cats Who Dress Up; Don’t Lick That Cat; Oh, De Toilette; Slow Dancing With Your Cat; In the Heat of the Night; Vetnophobia; Cats and the Law; After You’re Gone; and more. In each, there are plenty of cartoons like the “Dear Cat Lady,” and “Misconceptions About Cats” columns. These provide some extra humor in what is already a very entertaining book!

Marshmallow is reading Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior by Nicole Hollander. — Marshmallow is reading *Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior* by Nicole Hollander.

Marshmallow’s Review: I thought Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior was a very funny book. I do not know any cats very well myself, but this definitely furthers a lot of general cultural stereotypes for cats. On the back of the book we meet a cat saying “We rule, but we’re fair…unless you serve us the wrong kind of food.” For many cat owners (or rather cat servants), this might strike a familiar chord. The cartoons are definitely amusing to any and all animals and animal lovers though. I particularly liked the “Heartbreaking Complaints of Cats” section that showed up every now and then. In those, a cat describes its issues to a disembodied voice outside of the panel–which I presume is meant to represent a therapist.

Overall, Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior is a very fun book that is relatively lighthearted and light to read. It is not very long (less than 140 pages) and has plenty of funny pictures. All bunnies of all ages would enjoy this book, so I would highly recommend reading it if you have the time! It will make you smile even if you might not (yet) be a cat person.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior by Nicole Hollander 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Everything Here is Mine: An Unhelpful Guide to Cat Behavior* by Nicole Hollander 100%.

Caramel reviews The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the 1979 book by Douglas Adams that originated from a 1978 radio show and then went on to evolve into a whole “comedy science fiction franchise”, according to Wikipedia.

Sprinkles: So we are talking about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy today. I am excited! I had really enjoyed reading this book myself.

Caramel: Yup, this book was surely a really good read. I had a lot of fun reading it.

S: Yay! So maybe we can start with a brief introduction to the story for anyone reading our blog who might not know about it.

C: Sure. It is a scifi book that is infused with a lot of comedy.

S: It is funny, I agree. Tell us more.

C: This book tells the story of a guy named Arthur Dent and another one named Ford Perfect.

S: It is actually Prefect, as in Ford Prefect, the car.

C: Yes, I knew that but somehow forgot. Yes, he is actually named that because he came to Earth fifteen years before the start of this story, maybe around when the car came out, you see Ford Prefect is an alien from Betelgeuse Seven.

S: Yes, apparently the author at some point said that Ford “had simply mistaken the dominant life form on Earth” (again according to Wikipedia).

C: Yes, when you look at it from outer space, apparently, humans don’t look like the dominant species on Earth. So Ford Prefect thought he should blend in and gave himself the name of a common car. But actually humans are really not the dominant species on Earth, according to The Hitchhiker’s Guide. It is the mice who are the smartest species on our planet.

S: That is funny! I mean, we have read many books about clever mice, remember Poppy and Ragweed?

C: Yes, then there is Ralph and Babymouse. So to me it sounds reasonable!

S: But this book is not really about mice, is it?

C: No, it is about the adventures of Arthur and Ford. So Ford comes to Earth to work on a guide book, and then is stuck. At the time when the book starts, Ford knows that the planet is going to be destroyed soon and wants to save Arthur and he tries to teach him about life in the universe. He tells him about this amazing guide book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide, that anyone who is going out traveling in space should have.

S: So the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about a book called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

C: Kind of, but it is more about Ford and Arthur.

S: So what happens? Do they leave the Earth together? And why on earth is the Earth going to be destroyed?

C: Because the planet is in the way of an intergalactic highway that some people want to build.

S: Ouch! That’s rough! Okay, so Earth cannot appeal and they have to leave, right? What do they do? Does the Earth really get destroyed in the book?

C: Yes, the entire planet is destroyed and turned to ash.

S: You said this was a funny book. That sounds pretty terrible.

C: Yes, but you know it is fiction when you are reading it. And the book is funny! Really funny. And they do not go into the details of the destruction at all really; that is almost an excuse to get Ford and Arthur traveling together.

S: And also telling us that our planet is one of many and maybe we should not be so full of ourselves if they can just demolish it to make a highway, like we do not really matter in the grand scheme of things.

C: When you say it like that, it maybe does not sound so funny, but it is really funny Sprinkles.

S: I know Caramel, and actually I like being reminded that we should not be too full of ourselves. Our lives matter, what we do matters, but we are not at the center of the universe. It is a small world after all but it is inside a very big universe.

Caramel is reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. — Caramel is reading *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* by Douglas Adams.

S: Anyways back to the book. So what happens in the end? You know there are many more books in the series?

C: They get picked up on accident by an alien ship, and are then thrown out of the ship, and then are picked up by another ship. Apparently Arthur is the only human remaining from Earth, and it is kind of funny because he is just a normal guy. Anyways, along the way a lot of hilarious things happen and we learn from Ford about the Guide and all sorts of weird facts from it.

S: Oooh, you like facts! But of course these are probably fictional facts, right? Can you tell me a couple?

C: Yep, they are fictional but also really fun. One is about the Babel fish which feeds off of brain waves and can translate any language.

S: Ooh, cool, like the universal translator in Star Trek or in Doctor Who, but it is a fish! Awesome! One more?

C: There is a thing called the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, which is a cocktail that contains Ol’ Janx Spirit, a particularly vicious alcoholic drink, and is so strong that you will need to recuperate in a hospital.

S: That sounds bad. Okay, so maybe it is time to wrap up this review. Overall it seems like this book kept you entertained, right? Do you want to read the next book in the series? It is called The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I think there are five more books in total.

C: Sure, why not?

S: Alright, we will see if we can get you a copy. Okay, Caramel, what would you like to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and is keen to read more from this series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* by Douglas Adams and is keen to read more from this series.

Marshmallow reviews How to Speak Emoji by Fred Benenson

Today Marshmallow wanted to talk about a little book on emoji originally published in 2015: How to Speak Emoji by Fred Benenson.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like funny books about how to do something or books about popular culture, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): In this book, Fred Benenson creates a useful glossary that you can use to navigate text conversations using emojis. Though this book is nonfiction, and is meant to be informative, some of the emoji strands have humorous meanings.

In the first part of the book, there is a list of the meanings of singular, specific emojis. These can get a bit subjective. For example, the author writes that the 💅 emoji means “Ooh, fancy!” And the 🆗 emoji means “grudging approval”.

After the initial, brief glossary, there is an emoji phrase book. The phrases in this vary by section. There is one section for pickup lines (which get pretty, um, weird 🫤), a section for food and drink 🍔, a section for insults, and many more (including but not limited to technology, travel, medical/emergency, weather, the Twelve Days of Christmas, etc ♾️). Idioms like “an elephant never forgets” become 🐘🚫💭 and “above and beyond” becomes 👆➕🔭🌌 (this is in the idioms section). These sections are all very entertaining, and it is interesting to see how the author translates standard phrases and sayings into emojis.

Marshmallow is reading How to Speak Emoji by Fred Benenson. — Marshmallow is reading *How to Speak Emoji* by Fred Benenson.

Marshmallow’s Review: You might be wondering, “Marshmallow 🤨🧐🤔 why would I want a book about the meaning of emojis when I can just google them?” My response to that question is that this book is also funny and teaches you how to communicate with emojis by themselves, which, admittedly, is not necessarily an essential skill but is definitely fun. And how can you not love a book which has the smiling poop emoji on its cover? I was a little sad to see that my favorite melting 🫠 emoji was not mentioned. However, it makes total sense because that is a new, quite recent (2023) addition to the vast army of emojis and only came out after this book was written (2015).

As a bunny who enjoys using emojis for the sake of using emojis, I liked this book a lot. Sometimes I find emojis that I don’t understand the meaning of, like this one: 🙃. And it is fun to learn how to use emojis to make phrases, and decoding them can be a fun game with friends and family. However, I would say that some of the content in this book is not appropriate for young bunnies, let us say, under the age of thirteen. Some of the phrases can be overly sexual. I just skimmed over those to get to the ones that were more amusing in my opinion. Otherwise however, this would be a very fun book for all readers. The sheer number of emojis and their complex meaning is fascinating 🤩 and this book does a good job explaining them.

Overall, this is a cute guide to using emojis 🥰 and I will take my knowledge gained from this to write this phrase: ⤵️📻➕😎📚🐰🐰🐰📋. (If you want, you can put your guess of what it means in the comments below!)

Marshmallow’s Rating: 98%.

Marshmallow rates How to Speak Emoji by Fred Benenson 98%. — Marshmallow rates *How to Speak Emoji* by Fred Benenson 98%.

Caramel reviews Be the Bus by Mo Willems

Caramel, just like the rest of the book bunnies, loves Mo Willems’s Pigeon, and he has already reviewed one of his adventures, The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!, for the blog. Today, he talks about the brand new Pigeon book, Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems, published this year, 2023, which is also the twentieth anniversary of the very first Pigeon book: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems, by Mo Willems. — Caramel reviews *Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems*, by Mo Willems.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, when I heard of this book, I knew you would want to read it. Even though it is supposedly meant for grownups.

Caramel: I am sure grownups can enjoy it, too, but I really liked it. So I don’t think it is only for grownups.

S: I agree with you Caramel. It definitely fits the adult humor genre, kind of in the spirit of Penguins Hate Stuff by Greg Stones, which you have reviewed a while ago. But it is also perfectly hilarious for little bunnies like you, and there is nothing too adult there, I feel.

C: Well, there is no mushy stuff for starters, and that is good.

S: Yep, nothing like that.

C: It’s just the Pigeon saying stuff. He says for example “I’m not susceptible to flattery. Unless it is about me.” I think that is funny.

S: Yes. I thought all of it was hilarious. The Pigeon says the funniest things. What was your favorite?

C: I don’t think I have a favorite. They are all funny.

S: I did hear you laugh out loud.

C: Yep. LOL.

S: Hmm, now you speak textspeak?

C: Well, I just said what you said.

S: Okay then.

C: The Pigeon is really wise. He says that it is better to say “I love you more than ever” than “I used to love you less.” And it is true. The two sentences say the same thing. But the first one does sound much better than the second.

S: Yes, I took a photo of you with that page. Let me put it right here.

Caramel is reading Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems, by Mo Willems. — Caramel is reading *Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems*, by Mo Willems.

S: So all in all, which three words would you use to describe this book Caramel?

C: Colorful, hilarious, and profoundly wise.

S: I see what you did there Caramel! You picked out the word “profound” from the title of the book!

C: Yep. Guilty as charged. I guess.

S: And some of the advice is on target, don’t you think?

C: Some of it, yes. The “I love you more than ever” one is clever. And there is another one like that, that I liked, too. and that is true: you should say “You are one in a million!” rather than saying “there are 7,960 other people like you!” Because if you are one in a million on a planet with 7.9 billion people, then the second sentence is right, too, but it does not sound so good.

S: Yes, and there are some quite wacky thoughts in the book, too, no?

C: Yes. Here is one: “Genius is seldom recognized. That is why I wear a name tag.” And the name tag says “Hello. I’m a genius.” So that is kind of wacky.

S: I agree. The Pigeon is definitely not a very modest creature.

C: That’s true. I’m sure nobody ever claimed he was.

S: So we read almost all the Pigeon books.

C: Yes, all except the one with the duckling and the cookie. We just saw that one in a YouTube video.

S: Yes.

C: Can we put the video here in this post?

S: Sure. Here it is.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems | A Pigeon Read Aloud – from YouTube.

S: So do you think you are done with the Pigeon?

C: No. Never! I like the Pigeon and I like reading and rereading his funny adventures. And now there is this short book, too, so maybe Mo Willems will continue to write more Pigeon stories, and we can read them, too.

S: Yes, who knows? So maybe this is a good time to wrap this review up. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems, by Mo Willems, and recommends it to all the bunnies who know and love the Pigeon. — Caramel loved reading *Be The Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon as told to Mo Willems*, by Mo Willems, and recommends it to all the bunnies who know and love the Pigeon.