[Reading Record -93] The Story of the Cat Who Loved to Protect Books

—Reading is not merely the act of stuffing oneself with knowledge, but a 'journey' to touch the hearts of others and nurture one's own soul—

I wonder when it started, but people have come to prioritize efficiency and time performance. Compounding this, the evolution of AI is accelerating. Now, 'books' have also become information to be consumed.

The labyrinth that the protagonist of this work, Rintaro Natsuki, and the 'Tabby Cat' wander into is likely depicted as a symbol of the distorted love (of adults) that seeks to lock away, cut up, and streamline books.

The First Labyrinth: The One Who Locks Away
Books are not merely storehouses of knowledge.
There is no inherent value in the number of books one has read.

The Second Labyrinth: The One Who Cuts Up
One must not seek efficiency in reading.
The author's intent can be embedded even in passages that do not seem like useful information.

The Third Labyrinth: The One Who Sells Off
Only books that sell are not necessarily good books.
Because books are culture, not disposable consumer goods.

The author of this work, Sosuke Natsukawa, is apparently a practicing physician.
And he is also said to be a huge cat lover.

In various interviews, he frequently mentions the switch between 'being 100% a doctor when working as a doctor, and 100% a novelist when writing novels.'

After all, people who can clearly define 'what role is expected of them' at any given moment, and who can fully commit to fulfilling that role, must be the ones who can 'demonstrate high performance.'

The Fourth Labyrinth: ( )
The master of the fourth labyrinth is likely 'that book'...
Surely, the value of reading lies in acquiring the ability to decipher such 'context,' 'background,' and 'reading between the lines.' Whether or not one gets the right answer is another matter...

Reference Links

・Amazon 'The Story of the Cat Who Loved to Protect Books'Book Introduction Page
・Shogakukan: List of Works by Sosuke Natsukawa