"The Cat That Died a Million Times" Is Now a Paperback

If you felt something was off when you heard "The Cat That Died a Million Times," you have the talent of a librarian or bookstore clerk.

"The Cat That Died a Million Times" is an actual misremembered reference case (an inquiry that occurred at a library) from the Fukui Prefectural Library. By the way, the real title is "The Cat That Lived a Million Times". It's a misremembering that could be called an "aha!" experience.

"The Cat That Died a Million Times: A Collection of Misremembered Titles," which gathers such misrememberings, has been released as a paperback.

Paperbacks are easy to pick up because they don't take up space, are easy to carry around, and are a bit cheaper. I bought it. I finished reading it the day I bought it. I enjoyed it while challenging myself to see if I could guess the book titles.

Here are just a few examples.

"Boku-chan"
→ "Botchan"

"A boy's name and 'Something's Bag'"
→ "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"

"Something about Haruki Murakami's Osaki-san..."
→ "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage"

From ones where you think, "Ah, so close!" to ones that are completely different, it's packed. Unfortunately, this is reality. Human memory is incredibly imperfect. It happens regardless of age or gender.

This book is filled with the brilliant deductions of experienced librarians, but it is not just for entertainment; it is also a promotion of reference services.

I earned my librarian qualification in college. There, I learned how to search (OPACs and such) and that "librarians must be able to derive answers no matter how difficult the inquiry is." Of course, in the process of getting the qualification, I was also taught about the Fukui Prefectural Library's collection of misremembered titles, which is the source material for this book.

If you go to the library and don't know something,
→ Ask a librarian.
Of course, that is one correct answer.
But I think librarians are incredibly busy. Also, if I were asked riddles like that every day, I feel like I would explode from stress. I might not be able to handle it if it were me.

That is precisely why the ability to research for yourself is necessary, isn't it... That is what reference services exist for.

Libraries are public intellectual property. Of course, it's fine to rely on the power of librarians, but wouldn't you be able to enjoy your library life more by utilizing reference services, which are accumulated with years of wisdom? Just a thought.

Well, to be honest, having people research things themselves reduces the burden on librarians, so as someone with bookstore experience and a librarian qualification, I hope that when you read this book, you don't just think, "That's funny!" but also keep in mind the perspective of "Why do people misremember things like this?"

(There are many ways to enjoy a book! Although I made comments like "Use reference services!" and "Reduce the burden on librarians!", I think one way to enjoy this book is to keep that in the back of your mind while playing self-quiz games or gathering with book lovers to play mock-librarian quizzes!)