December AlphaKIT: J and R

December AlphaKIT letters are: J and R



Please remember to update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2017_Unofficial_AlphaKIT#December

Thanks for participating in this years AlphaKIT. See you next year!

wiki edits still not available, but hopefully soon.

Lots of possibilities for me:

Jane Bites Back / Michael Thomas Ford
The Woman Who Can't Forget / Jill Price
The Guinea Pig Diaries / A.J. Jacobs
Raven Black / Ann Cleeves

I have lots of choices, but I'm particularly looking at an omnibus of the first four Jalna books by Mazo de la Roche.

I’m probably going to read Mrs. Jeffries and Three Wise Women and The Remains of the Day.

I'm planning to read Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea, which works for both letters (love it when that happens!). I'll also read P.G. Wodehouse's Piccadilly Jim for another "J" book.

I have several possibilities but right now I'm thinking:

R - Mary Doria Russell, Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral
J -Paulette Jiles, The Color of Lightning

I am planning on reading News of the World by Paulette Jiles and Friends At Thrush Green by Miss Read. Of course, plans have been known to change. ;)

I'm loosely planning on reading Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution as my 'J' book; my 'R' book offers a lot of choices, but I'm planning on Frostbite by Lynn Rush at the moment.

I have quite a few mysteries on my TBR list that will fit this month's challenge: The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson, The Murderer in Ruins by Cay Rademacher, Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day, Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin, The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo, The Bethlehem Murders by Matt Rees, Demon in My View by Ruth Rendell, and Gypsy Sins by John Lawrence Reynolds.

On the SFF side, I might be reading Spirit by Gwyneth Jones, Windswept by Adam Rakunas, and/or The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin.

Now to see what availability at the library looks like.

Not too many this month because I'm trying to finish my Category Challenge.

Here are the books I need that fit the AlphaKit:

✔Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
✔Christmas Return
The man he became : how FDR defied polio to win the presidency by James Tobin
✔Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James
✔Slay Bells Ring
✔The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Maybe I will try Rasselas by Samuel Johnson & get both letters done that way.

I read The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin.

>13 Kristelh: I am looking forward to reading that trilogy!

I finished the full cast audiobook of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

I started P.G. Wodehouse's Piccadilly Jim in November, but I'll be finishing it this month, so I'll count it as a "J" read. It's delightful so far, as Wodehouse always is.

Currently reading "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler.

I'm going to read The Color of Lightening by Paulette Jiles for "J". Haven't decided on "R" yet.

COMPLETED The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

COMPLETED The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

I finished News of the World by Paulette Jiles for my J book. Really lovely little novel.

I, too, have just finished News of the World by Paulette Jiles, and it was a 5 star read for me.

>22 DeltaQueen50: I thought it was a good holiday read, especially after all of the dark books I have been reading.

>22 DeltaQueen50:, >23 sturlington: I'm still having trouble accepting Tom Hanks in the starring role in the movie. I love him, but I love Tommy Lee Jones more for this part.

I'm planning on hitting both J & R with Strip Jack by Ian Rankin. It will fill in an early gap in the series for me.

Off to a quick start with Mrs. Jeffries and the Three Wise Women by Emily Brightwell and The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.

>23 sturlington: Yes, it was a nice change from some of the darker reads I've been experiencing recently.

>24 clue: Tom Hanks - to play Captain Kidd?? I agree that Tommy Lee Jones would be a better choice. Captain Kidd is in his seventies so to me Tom Hanks seems too young, but Tom Hanks is an excellent actor so he may pull it off. I do think it will make an excellent film if done right.

I have finished The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary...

I'm reading Court of Lions by Jane Johnson

COMPLETED - The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

I finished for my R The Cove by Ron Rash.

I've read An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, an Early Reviewers book.

I have finished Rose Under Fire.

Here is the link to the new, secure Wiki for the 2017 AlphaKit:

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2017_Unofficial_AlphaKIT

Read another J - Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost.

Just finished Strip Jack by Ian Rankin. This fills an early gap in the series for me. I really enjoyed it.

I've updated the wiki link in the OP to the new wiki.

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2017_Unofficial_AlphaKIT#December

Meat / Joseph D'Lacey
3.5 stars

In this town, survival is all about the meat. The Magnus Meat Processing Plant, or MMP (which includes the “farm” itself, the slaughterhouse, meat cattle, dairy cattle, veal calves, etc.) pretty much runs the town. Well, that and the religious group that worships meat; the cattle at the MMP are the “Chosen”. The people who work at MMP are the best paid in town and are highly regarded. But, there are a few people in town (including Richard, the man who stuns the cattle before they are killed) who are questioning it all. Richard won’t even eat meat, anymore, and his wife begs him to bring meat home for her and their twin daughters. When things start going badly, there is a showdown between the MMP workers and owner, the bishop and parsons, and the few who are questioning if this is really how it has to be.

Be warned that there are slaughterhouse descriptions in this book. I very rarely eat meat, but I have read and seen enough online to realize that what’s described in the book (the treatment of the cattle, anyway) is, sadly, probably all too real. Also, sadly, very little actually shocked me, though it’s still so horrible. I’d describe the book as a dystopian horror and I’m rating it “good”. I found it very dark and bleak, but also an interesting story.

I'm reading another book for J - Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron. It's quite entertaining so far.

>37 majkia: thank you! I'm SO behind on the wiki...

...do you have January's Alphas chosen, yet?

Oh, and I just finished an excellent Jim Kjelgaard book, Buckskin Brigade. I previously read There's an Owl in My Shower by Jean Craighead George, which I cannot recommend.

All the alphas are chosen: see: http://www.librarything.com/topic/269195

Added, I'll post the January thread tomorrow

Once We Were Brothers / Ronald H. Balson
4 stars

When Ben and Otto were kids, Ben’s Jewish family took in a German boy, Otto, and raised him for a number of years. Shortly before WWII broke out, it was decided that Otto would be safer if he left the Jewish family to work with the Nazis. When Ben is in his 80s and living in Chicago, he comes face-to-face with well-known artist Elliot Rosenzweig, who claims to also be a Holocaust survivor, but Ben recognizes him as Otto and won’t back down. Ben hires lawyer Catherine to help prove that Elliot and Otto are one and the same.

I really liked this story. I wasn’t always crazy about Ben, nor was I crazy about Elliot. I agreed with Catherine through the first half that Ben had zero proof whatsoever and I felt like she was wasting her time – as a lawyer, she doesn’t have a lot of extra time. Unlike Catherine, who came around, I still felt through the entirety of the book that Ben had zero proof and was exasperated with him many times. However, yes, he had a compelling story, no question about it. Overall, I still really liked the book and am giving it a “very good” rating, but I also didn’t cry, which is surprising for me. Oh, just as an fyi (though it has no bearing on my rating one way or the other), I listened to the audio.

>42 majkia: thanks! I must have forgotten to star that one, and I could not find it.

January thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/277799

Yearlong thread is up too: http://www.librarything.com/topic/277800

>45 majkia: These are the same link?

oops. sorry: fixed above. January is at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/277799

For my "R" read I have completed The Lake of Darkness by Ruth Rendell.

I have finished Rasselas by Samuel Johnson & The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. Now taking a break with a Wodehouse -- Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit.

I read Saving Mozart by Raphael Jerusalmy.

I decided to spend the day with a Kindle book that had been languishing for far too long -- Julie Smith's Jazz Funeral. Being in the frozen north, it was nice to vicariously visit the heat of New Orleans!

COMPLETED Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon and The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes.

Starting Lord John and the Hand of Devils.

Completed The Journeying Boy (aka "The Case of the Journeying Boy") by Michael Innes. Excellent suspense novel in the style of John Buchan.

Now reading Room...

The Guinea Pig Diaries / A.J. Jacobs
3.5 stars

A.J. Jacobs decides to put himself through a series of “experiments”, a month at a time. He will live in a different way each month. For example, one month is living rationally, examining and correcting for all his biases (at least as much as possible). Another month, he will tell the truth all the time, whatever comes into his head, he will say. Another month, he helped his nanny with online dating; that is, he mostly looked over the replies and replied back, etc (he calls this his month of living “as a beautiful woman”). He lives by George Washington’s 110 rules. He outsources his life, both his work and personal life. And more.

I enjoyed this! I think I enjoyed all of these. Of course, there were bits of humour here and there. Possibly my favourite was when he did his wife’s bidding for an entire month. This was in return for all the other odd experiments she’d had to put up with. Enjoyable book!

Ranch of Dreams / Cleveland Amory
4 stars

Cleveland Amory started an animal sanctuary in Texas, the Black Beauty Ranch. They’ve had cats, burros, horses, chimpanzees (including Nim Chimpsky), elephants, foxes, prairie dogs, goats and probably others that aren’t coming to my head at this moment. This book tells how the sanctuary got started and many stories of the animals that have come to live there.

I really enjoyed this! It was very fast to read and there were separate chapters devoted to each species. He does also tell of some of the sad stories that led to the various critters coming to live there.

Starting The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Dreamstone by CJ Cherryh has been read and reviewed.

Some of this story felt familiar, akin to other "elves & men" tales such as The Lord of the Rings. And yet, the author added more mystery, and depth to the characters, whether to the dislike or delight of the reader. I enjoyed it enough to plan on reading the second book in the series.

I finished Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier for this challenge.

Finished Frostbite (Touch of Frost #1) by Lynn Rush.

COMPLETED The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.

Starting the same author's Children of God.

I'm currently reading A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn foe my R book. The first book in the series was very enjoyable.

COMPLETED Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

Starting Rufius by Sarah Walton

Raven Black / Ann Cleeves
3.5 stars

When 16-year old Catherine, a newcomer to Shetland, is found murdered, people assume the odd guy who was also thought (though it was never proven) to have killed a younger girl years earlier was also responsible for Catherine’s death. The younger girl, though, was never found.

Good book, but lots of characters to keep straight. This was told from different points of view. I was surprised by the ending. I might have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so distracted while reading. I will continue the series.

Glory in Death / J.D. Robb
3.5 stars

When the prosecuting attorney is found murdered in a bad part of town, Eve Dallas is on the case to find out what happened. Soon after, another high-profile woman is also murdered. Eve’s significant other has connections to both women.

Decent story, but I still don’t like Roarke. Nor do I particularly like Eve much, either, but I do prefer her to Roarke. I might have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so distracted while reading. I will, for now, continue the series.

COMPLETED Rufius by Sarah Walton

Starting The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, aka J K Rowling.

I finished the audiobook of Jellicoe Road yesterday (aka "On the Jellicoe Road"). I'm still working of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell; it is unclear whether I will finish it before the month is over...

Welcome Home: An Animal Rights Perspective on Living with Dogs & Cats / Nathan and Jennifer Winograd
3 stars

This book argues that dogs and cats are ok to keep as pets (in contrast to what PETA and at least one animal rights lawyer suggest).

I agreed with most of what the authors had to say (though not quite everything). Although I knew some of what PETA does (and it’s not what most people think!!!), they provided specific examples, and it’s not good. I did find that part (part 2, that focused on PETA) most interesting. Have to admit, though, that much of it read a bit like an academic paper (but I guess that tells you that there are lots of bibliographic references for what they have to say!). And they include some photos – sad photos. :-(

Finished Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution--for anyone interested, it was absolutely worth the time. Full review written.