Diary of a Cat

The perfect cosy read for 2025 - cats and food come together as the seasons change Meet Chimaki and Norimaki - two young cats lost in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo, sniffing out cat-lovers who might be kind enough give them a ride or place to sleep for the night . . . Until they find a new home with the H-rai family, an eccentric assortment of artists, dreamers and caterers who have one thing in common: their love of good food. Inspired by the bougie magazine column written by Madam H-rai, Chimaki decides to keep his own diary, inviting us in to share the family's meals and activities, his younger brother's comical scrapes, and the movements of a mysterious stranger around the house. His journal follows the change of the seasons from early spring to midwinter, with each entry featuring all kinds of delectable dishes and a wealth of Japanese culinary lore. Playful, gentle and curiously addictive, Diary of a Cat offers intriguing glimpses into Japanese culture on every page, recipes to follow and characters to fall in love with - all through the eyes of an endearingly curious cat. Translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita

Born in Tokyo in 1959, Mayumi Nagano is a writer and illustrator. In 1988, she won the Bungei Prize for Sh-nen Arisu (Boy Alice), and in 2015, she received the 43rd Izumi Ky-ka Prize for Literature as well as the 68th Noma Literary Prize for Meido-ari (On the Path to the Land of the Dead).