By Joseph Hutt –
“I don’t actually read very much,” warns Alison Fowler. Alison is a popular local artist. One of her projects is the annual Wall of H’arts exhibition at Twiss and Webber and Art in the Alley, which took place at the end of June.
“I don’t know how people have time to read… It’s a total luxury.”
Balancing her extensive artistic and gardening pursuits — while being a mother at the same time — it is no surprise that she feels that way.
“I was talking to [my friend] and I asked her how she reads, and she said ‘I read ten minutes a night before I go to bed,’” she recounts in disbelief. “How do you finish a book ten minutes at a time?!”
However, despite these disclaimers, she mentions that she did have one “light read” she was planning to peruse this summer.
With a cover that portrays a near spitting image of her own black cat, Alison produces Tom Cox’s The Good, The Bad, and The Furry: Life with the World’s Most Melancholy Cat and Other Whiskery Friends. Just one of his four feline-inspired books, each details the entertaining and all-too-true consequences of being a cat lover, from the endearing moments to the messier, less pleasant ones.
“I found this fellow on Twitter, of all places,” Alison says. “His tweets were hilarious. Cracking me up, they were so funny.”
That being said, it wasn’t necessarily Tom Cox’s own Twitter page she was drawn to so much as the ones he hosts for each of his four uniquely personified cats, such as the crude hooligan Shipley and the smug Ralph.
“I follow his sad cat [twitter.com/MYSADCAT],” Alison clarifies, referring to The Bear, the author’s morose companion from the cover of the aforementioned book.
However, does Tom’s Twitter-based writing style translate well to full- on prose?
Alison seems to think so.
“I did start to read it, and it’s hilarious,” she says. “I love the way he writes. It’s fun and fluffy.”
Now, while Alison often repeats that she doesn’t have much time to sit around and read, it brings to mind that reading really is just a way to escape the humdrum of daily life whenever we have a few moments to spare, and one of the many ways at that. Sitting there in her lush, well-cultivated garden, it was clear that her down time is already well invested. However Alison decides to spend her summer, whether it’s with a trowel, a palette knife or a book in hand, she’s sure to enjoy every moment of it.
This post is part of our KT summer reads issue. Read all of our other profiles right here.
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