Category Archives: 1990s-

357X: Cat Gets Lost, Travels World

The book I remember is a children’s book.  I think the cover showed the cat sitting in front of the Taj Mahal.

The cat eventually found its owners.

The book is not “Pooni at the Taj Mahal,” “Lost Cat,” Lost and Found Cat,” or “The Cat Who Found his Way Home.”

The cat may have been white or yellow.  I read it in between 1983 and 1993.

357W: Racy novel set in 1960s in Fashion Industry

I read this novel in the early 90s. It had a mostly white cover, possibly with a woman decked out in white fur. Here’s what I remember:
— Novel is set in the 1960’s and in the fashion industry.
— Main character was traumatized when, as a child,  she saw her mother, Coral, having sex and thereafter had a lot of problems.
— Her best friend is overweight, marries a drug addict named Alastair. She is also a fashion designer I think, in the style of Mary Quant.
— Coral, her mother, is a magazine editor I believe and nearly dies in a fire.
— Set in London and New York
— Potboiler type novel. Possibly with the word White in the title but maybe not … could just be confusing it because the cover was white.

357V: Traveling between the realms

It’s been bugging me for a while. This is a young adult book from my childhood likely read between 2006 and 2010 from my school library.
It’s a fantasy book and the cover has flames on it with (I think) electric blue writing on it (like literal lightning font).
My very rough description: there’s a group of people traveling between realms (sort of like heaven and hell).
I’m so sorry that’s all I have!

357O: Scandinavian folk tale collection (Solved!)

I am looking for a book that was a series of short stories or collection of Scandinavian (?) folk tales. It could possibly be classified as young adult but likely for a younger age range (10-14). The usual searches (Norwegian, Swedish, Scandinavian folktales) have not turned up the book, so perhaps it was a collection of general folk/magical themed stories. There were pictures throughout book. They were not in a cartoon style but drawn and I believe one picture showed a cave and/or beach. I only remember these drawings being in black and white. There was at least one story about the sea. The version I had was paperback. Cover art: White background, young girl (face of a young girl). It is was nymph like, or some type of fairy. Very g-rated. There was some green on the cover. It was more modern looking than the usual cover art for Nordic folk tale books, however, an overall flowy feel to the cover. Timing: I received it sometime between 1998-2002. It was likely purchased in Canada at either McNally’s Robinson bookstore or an independent seller.

357M: Ordinary Man Caught Up In Biker Gang

Around 30 years ago I read a book about an ordinary man that gets caught up with a violent biker gang. The leader was beefy and wore a black leather vest over his bare torso; he ends up murdered and is buried with his hog.

It isn’t The Devil Rides Out.
The cover I believe may have been a dark blue representing a night sky and a biker. It may have involved pagan rituals.  There was something about the guy watching the goings on of the gang in some sort of disused warehouse.

357J: Marshmallow fluff and peanut butter sandwiches and mom’s note (Solved!)

Early 90s children’s book. Book about children making marshmallow fluff and peanut butter sandwiches. They make a mess and find their mom’s note that says where she has gone to. The note has fluff all over it and they are only able to see a few letters. They go about trying to decode the note, imagining all the places she could be. Finally, it ends that it says she went to the pet store and comes back with a dog!

357F: Wizard vs. Seriously Overgrown Plant

I’m looking for a short story that was published in a compilation of sci-fi stories, probably somewhere between 1995-2005. Sci-fi short story was about wizard and a plant that was taking over the earth. The wizard was trying to kill the plant to save the world, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t do anything about the plant and it ended up taking over the world. Wizard also had a globe or orb that was an exact replica of the earth. The orb displayed live and the wizard could zoom in and see anything and anyone and what they were doing. The only thing that didn’t show up on the globe was the globe.

357E: Female Protagonist, Brooding Vampire

I’m trying to find a book I read in the late 1990s, early 2000s. The parts of the plot I remember are as follows:
1. The main character is a female journalist who at one point is cornered in an alley by a would-be rapist but manages to escape. I think she let the attacker fondle her breasts before kicking him in the groin and escaping.
2. The vampire love interest is brooding, and at one point watches the heroine from outside her house. I have a vague memory of him being described as wearing a long leather jacket.
3. I think there’s some kind of crime element? Like she’s a crime reporter or something like that.
4. The journalist lives alone and has a pet cat.
I think it was a paperback, and it had a film noir sort of vibe to my pre-teen self. I’ve thoroughly scoured the vampire genre on https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/, but can’t find something that seems to fit.