It`s tradition for independent book stores to employ a cat as a mascot, enter the search term “bookstore cat” on YouTube and you will get dozens of hits.

Hodge the Bookstore Cat`s domain is a used-book and sheet-music emporium on the South side of Chicago. He`s an institution in the Windy City, and two works of fiction have been inspired by his glorious career, “The Secret Life of Hodge, the Bookstore Cat” and “Hodge Sings Again.”

Unfortunately, the bookstore where Hodge works has shut its doors due to declining sales, but his celebrity hasn`t waned. Hodge is featured in the new book “Bookstore Cats,” and his videos still go viral.

We can learn two things from Hodge`s story:

Within a generation bookstores, especially independent bookstores, will be as difficult to find as a Blockbuster video store. Digital media is rendering bookstores, and even libraries, obsolete.

The popularity of cats will never diminish, when the Zombie Apocalypse arrives we will be clutching a shotgun with one hand to fend off zombies, and holding our beloved cat with the other.

Link to Hodge the Cat video:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/pets/ct-life-famous-cat-loses-job-0917-story.html

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