December AlphaKIT - B and XYZ

AND



Don't forget to update the wiki: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2014_Unofficial_AlphaCAT#November

I was looking for this earlier, when I was updating my journal...

Wiki is here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2014_Unofficial_AlphaCAT#November

:D

Well, B is easy. I have options for both MysteryCAT and GeoCAT that fit:
- Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues / Blaize Clement
- The Anteater of Death / Betty Webb
- Bonobo Handshake / Vanessa Woods

I need to look a little closer to see if I have anything for X, Y or Z on my tbr...

Y.S.Lee- The Body at the Tower
Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn

Burn me Deadly - Alex Bledsoe

and if I have time Beauvallet

#2 by fuzzi> thanks for catching that oh fuzzi one.

I'm not sure that I'll come up with anything for X, but I have Y and a couple of Zs:

- You Don't Want to Know / Lisa Jackson
- Story of a Girl / Sara Zarr
- Category 5 / E. Zebrowski

You're welcome, friend. :)

You are so busy setting up the threads and Wiki, I just wanted to help. Really.

Planning on the following:

B - The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
X - Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
Y - What You Wish For by Janet Dawson
Z - On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Starting The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emechta.

Starting Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe.

COMPLETED The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

I have three listed to be read:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Peter Pan by James Barrie

My Father, My Son by Elmo Zumwalt

I'm reading The Petticoat Men by Barbara Ewing.

Finished one of my four books for this challenge - What You Wish For by Janet Dawson

Starting "Bel-Ami" by Guy de Maupassant.

I am super excited because I am few pages away from being officially done with this "unofficial" challenge! I have participated in each month and I look forward to next year. My choices for this month were

B - Paper Doll by Robert B. Parker
X - February 1965: Final Speeches by Malcolm X
Y - I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Z - My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

X is the only one I couldn't find something for - Malcolm X is a good choice!

Category 5: The Story of Camille: Lessons Unlearned from America's Most Violent Hurricane / Ernest Zebrowski & Judith A. Howard
4.5 stars

This is a nonfiction account of Hurricane Camille, which hit primarily Mississippi and Louisiana in August 1969. It also caused massive flooding in Virginia with an amazing amount of rainfall that hit there.

Wow, this was really good. It was a very interesting mix of personal stories and information about the hurricane itself. The hurricane/weather information wasn't dry in the least. I do love storms and reading about them, but occasionally, I will admit that the science can be dry. But I didn't find it at all dry in this book. And the stories just kept going even after the hurricane hit, with the devastation the flooding caused in Virginia. There was even some politics mixed in, as Mississippi, in particular, was still very segregated and resisting any attempts to desegregate. The book was published just after Katrina hit. There were a few brief mentions of it, but they were pretty much finished the book at the time of Katrina.

COMPLETED Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant.

Starting Sociology: A Very Short Introduction by Steve Bruce.

COMPLETED Sociology: A Very Short Introduction by Steve Bruce.

Starting "Three Bags Full" by Leonie Swann.

Finished Miss Chopsticks by Xinran for X, and getting into The Book of the Lion for B. I haven't made any final decisions for Z, but my Y title is People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara.

COMPLETED Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann

Read The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino for my B book.

Completed Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe. Such a fun series.

I have just started Longbourn by Jo Baker

>25 Roro8: oooh! Good book, hope you enjoy it as well. :)

Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo / Vanessa Woods
4 stars

The author was young and didn't really know what she wanted to do with herself beyond have adventures. She met her fiancee, Brian, at a chimpanzee sanctuary and he convinced her to come with him to Congo to do some research on bonobos, a type of chimp. The book includes memoir of her and Brian + info about both chimps and bonobos + info on Congo and the political upheaval that has gone on there throughout its history.

I really enjoyed this. I love reading/learning about animals, and I have an undergraduate degree in anthropology (cultural, but I also took some primate classes). The Congo info was interesting, as well. Being a neighbour to Rwanda, much of the Tutsi/Hutu genocide carried over into Congo, as well. I will say, though, that I wasn't crazy about the author, herself - I didn't like her much. However, I still really enjoyed the book.

>26 fuzzi: I'm about a third of the way in, and I'm really liking it so far.

Starting Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by Gillian Butler and Freda McManus.

COMPLETED Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by Gillian Butler and Freda McManus.

Starting "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell.

The Uncommon Reader / Alan Bennett
3 stars

This is a novella. The Queen becomes interested in reading when a travelling library stops nearby. Unfortunately, this starts to affect her duties, so the people around her are concerned about it.

It was ok. I'm not sure I was as enchanted by it as a lot of people. It only took a couple of hours to read.

Finished The Book of the Lion and wrote a full review. Hoping to find more time for The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara later this week....

Finally finished On Beauty by Zadie Smith for my Z book. One more to go - X!

COMPLETED:

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Sorry Now? by Mark Richard Zubro
Teatime for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith

Currently reading "Death in Roman Britain", a virtual boxed set of 3 Aurelia Marcella mysteries by Jane Finnis.

Sentenced to Death / Lorna Barrett
3.5 stars

One of Tricia's friends and fellow bookstore owner, Deborah, is killed at the Founder's Day celebration when a plane comes crashing down. No one else sees it, but Tricia is suspicious Deborah was killed on purpose. In the meantime, Deborah's store is quickly sold by her husband and Tricia's best employee is asked to manage the store. And more nefarious things start to happen...

I liked this. I listened to the audio and it managed to hold my attention (always a bit trickier via audio). It might have helped that I already know many of the characters from the previous four or five books in the series. I will be continuing this series, for sure.

Yes, I got one read!!

Law of the Desert Born by Louis L'Amour.

This is an above-average collection of short stories by that iconic Western author. Included are two stories about Mathurin "Matt" Sabre, and one with Kim Sartain, familiar to those who have read stories of Ward McQueen from the Tumbling K ranch. Included, too, is the gripping "Trap of Gold", also in the War Party collection. Not a lame steer in this bunch, recommended to any who just like a good short story.

The Anteater of Death / Betty Webb
4 stars

Lucy, the anteater at Gunn Zoo, is pregnant. When a man is found murdered in her enclosure, she is initially blamed, but they soon find out he was shot before he ended up in her enclosure. Her zookeeper Teddy (Theodora) tries to help out her former (high school) boyfriend (now sheriff), Joe, with the investigation.

I really liked this – of course a lot of my enjoyment was due to the zoo animals. I also loved that the first and last chapters were from Lucy's point of view. I'm definitely planning to read more in the series.

COMPLETED Death in Roman Britain by Jane Finnis

Blind Faith / Ben Elton
4 stars

It is a world where privacy is a crime. Everyone is online all the time for everyone else to see and celebrate. Trafford wants to hold on to a little bit of privacy, but he is questioned why he hasn't yet shared the birthing video of his daughter. At his work, a woman is bullied for not conforming. Another coworker takes him aside and proposes something else illegal...

I liked it almost from the start, and through most of the book would have given it 3.5 stars (good). I ended up bumping up the rating to 4 due to a couple of surprises at the end.

I've begun The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

Starting "A Year of Biblical Womanhood" by Rachel Held Evans

Finished People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara. Full review written, adding it to the wiki now...

COMPLETED A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Starting "The Bone Thief" by V. M. Whitworth

Story of a Girl / Sara Zarr
3 stars

Deanna was only 13 when her father caught her having sex with her brother's best friend, a 17-year old. Three years later, at 16, her father rarely talks to her. Her brother, Darren, and his girlfriend, Stacey, are living in the basement with their baby, April. Deanna dreams of moving out of the house, along with Darren, Stacey and April.

It was ok. I listened to the audio, narrated by the author. I think the author did well, as she sounded like an angst-y teenager, and there was a lot of that in the book. I can usually take some, but it was a bit much, even for me. The story was ok, though. And it's possible the angst came through even moreso because the author read it that way. It was short and quick to listen to, though.

You Don't Want to Know / Lisa Jackson
4 stars

Ava was recently released from a psychiatric hospital, where she went in hopes of recovering from the disappearance of her 2-year old son, Noah, two years ago. Now home, she doesn't necessarily trust her family, including her husband and various cousins, who all share the large house on an island. Her husband has hired someone who Ava believes is meant to spy on her. Almost everyone believes Ava to be crazy, as she sees and hears Noah. Although there are significant gaps in her memory, Ava doesn't believe she is crazy and does believe that her son is still out there somewhere. She insists on looking for him.

I really liked this. It wasn't nonstop action, but it drew me in quickly and held my interest. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. I also really liked that it had a gothic/creepy atmosphere. This is the first book by Lisa Jackson that I've read, and I would like to read more.

The Best Cat Ever / Cleveland Amory
3.25 stars

This is the final book about Cleveland Amory's rescued cat, Polar Bear.

I chose this early in the month to read this month, before my own cat was diagnosed with kidney failure. It hadn't occurred to be until I picked up the book that Polar Bear would not live beyond this book. I don't think it changed how I read the book or what I thought of it, however.

I like Polar Bear and I like the stories about him. I also like the other animal stories that Amory shares; he is an animal activist and runs an animal sanctuary. However, I don't like that so much of the book is not about Polar Bear or the other animals. Some of it was, but over half of it was just Amory's own stories. Polar Bear might get a mention or two amongst those stories. So, for that, I can't quite give the book a “good” (3.5 stars) rating, but because I did enjoy the chapters that did focus on Polar Bear, I have to give it more than “ok” (3 stars).

Finished last night before the new year came: The Xibalba Murders. Full review written, and I'm adding it to the wiki now, but it wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped...

Meanwhile, Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm happy to have read at least one book for every letter, except I missed X...

I used either the first letter of the title or the first letter of the first or last name of the author (except in January, as I came to things a little bit late to be as organized; in January, I used the first letter of one of the words in the title, I believe).

I didn't quite finish my X book - on the bright side, when I finish it in a couple of days I can count it for 2015.