Joy’s 2020 Category Challenge

Can’t believe it’s already time to be thinking about the 2020 Category Challenge. Seriously — where did 2019 go?

This will be number nine for me — I’ve been participating in these Category Challenges since 2012. And even though I usually end up reading much less than I plan to, I still think the challenges are a good way to help me decide what to read, keep track of what I read, and just provide a really great nudge to keep me reading all year.

For the last couple of years I’ve used a simple monthly format for my categories. That seemed to work well enough, but it really didn’t present much of a challenge. So for 2020 I’ll be changing things up a bit. I’m thinking of having six basic categories:

- Books read for AlphaKIT
- Books read for BingoDOG
- ARCs & Freebies
- Books from my home library (The Stacks)
- Books already downloaded on my Kindle (The e-Stacks)
- Books I buy (or borrow) during the year (Incoming)

Some books will overlap categories, of course, but that’s OK. And I’m not setting any definite number of books in any month or category — I’ll just try for as many as possible. My usual goal for a year of reading is 50 books, but I don’t always read that many. And if 2020 turns out to be anything like 2019, that number seems very optimistic. But optimistic is a nice way to start the new year, don’t you think?

So, that’s it…. Unless I decide to scrap the whole thing and go back to a monthly format. Or maybe try something completely different. I suppose that could happen. But at least for now, I think I’m set. And I’m all ready to begin a brand new year of reading!

(Posted December 15, 2019)

Reserved for extras, lists, ruminations, etc….

So this might be a good place for the list of everything read in 2020. Alphabetical, by title (includes children's books):

1. Access Point, by Tom Gabbay (ARC: GoodReads) ✭✭✭✭
2. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin #5), by M.C. Beaton ✭✭✭✭½
3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst; illus. by Ray Cruz ✭✭✭✭
4. Amok, by Stefan Zweig ✭✭✭
5. And Be a Villain (Nero Wolfe #13), by Rex Stout ✭✭✭✭
6. An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro ✭✭✭
7. Beezus and Ramona (Ramona Quimby #1), by Beverly Cleary ✭✭✭✭½
8. The Bennett Case (Markham Sisters #2), by Dianna Xarissa ✭✭✭½
9. Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner (ARC: NetGalley) ✭✭✭½
10. Bitter End (The First Nero Wolfe Novella), by Rex Stout ✭✭✭✭
11. The Circus, by Jonas Karlsson (ARC: NetGalley) ✭✭✭
12. The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster, by Cary Fagan (Early Reviewer book) ✭✭✭✭
13. Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky ✭✭✭✭
14. A Death Long Overdue (Library Lighthouse Mystery #7), by Eva Gates (ARC: NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭
15. Eloise, by Kay Thompson; illus. by Hilary Knight ✭✭✭✭
16. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, by Diane Muldrow ✭✭✭✭✭
17. Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, by John Bloom, and Jim Atkinson ✭✭✭✭
18. A Few Figs from Thistles, by Edna St. Vincent Millay ✭✭✭½
19. A Fragment of Fear, by John Bingham ✭✭✭✭½
20. Goops and How to Be Them, by Gelett Burgess; illus. by the author ✭✭✭½
21. The Haunted Lady (Hilda Adams/Miss Pinkerton #2), by Mary Roberts Rinehart ✭✭✭✭
22. The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip (Happy Hollisters #2), by Jerry West; illus. by Helen S. Hamilton ✭✭✭✭
23. The Illness Lesson, by Clare Beams (ARC: NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭
24. In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler #01), by Amanda Cross ✭✭✭½
25. Kill Your Darlings (Mallory #3), by Max Allan Collins ✭✭✭✭
26. The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9), by Susan Elia MacNeal (Early Reviewer Book) ✭✭✭½
27. Knot of This World (Quilting Mystery #8), by Mary Marks ✭✭✭½
28. The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel ✭✭✭½
29. The List of Things That Will Not Change, by Rebecca Stead ✭✭✭✭½
30. Little Red Riding Hood, retold and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman ✭✭✭✭
31. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (Miss Pickerell #1), by Ellen MacGregor; illus. by Paul Galdone ✭✭✭✭
32. The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1), by Agatha Christie ✭✭✭✭
33. Murder, She Wrote: Gin & Daggers (Murder, She Wrote #01), by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain ✭✭✭✭
34. The Queen of the Tambourine, by Jane Gardam ✭✭✭✭
35. Ramona and Her Father (Ramona Quimby #4), by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Jacqueline Rogers ✭✭✭✭½
36. Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan ✭✭✭✭✭
37. The Silent Speaker (Nero Wolfe #11), by Rex Stout ✭✭✭✭½
38. Snow (St. John Strafford #1), by John Banville ✭✭✭✭½
39. Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache #1), by Louise Penny ✭✭✭✭
40. The Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea ✭✭✭
41. Take a Look at the Five and Ten, by Connie Willis ✭✭✭½
42. The Talented Miss Farwell, by Emily Gray Tedrowe ✭✭✭
43. Unexplained Laughter, by Alice Thomas Ellis ✭✭✭✭
44. The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides ✭✭✭✭✭
45. Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8), by Rex Stout ✭✭✭✭½
46. You're Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children, by Dr. Seuss ✭✭✭✭½

Category 1. Here, Kitty, Kitty! (Books read for AlphaKIT)



I really love this challenge. I think this will be my third year participating. Coming up with book ideas is so much fun — and the reading is fun too, of course. Now if I could just remember to update the WIKI every month….

Letters for 2020:

January - A & U ... (January Thread)
• In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler Mysteries #1). Amanda Cross
• Unexplained Laughter. Alice Thomas Ellis

February - F & B ... (February Thread)
• Ramona and Her Father (Ramona Quimby #4). Beverly Cleary

March - G & C ... (March Thread)
• The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster. Cary Fagan

April - S & T ... (April Thread)
• Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8). Rex Stout

May - L & P ... (May Thread)
• Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache #1). Louise Penny

June - K & Y ... (June Thread)
• Kill Your Darlings (Mallory #3). Max Allan Collins

July - J & R ... (July Thread)
• The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9). Susan Elia MacNeal
• Beezus and Ramona (Ramona Quimby #1). Beverly Cleary

August - O & H ... (August Thread)
• A Death Long Overdue (Library Lighthouse Mystery #7). Eva Gates
• The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip (Happy Hollisters #2). Jerry West

September - M & E ... (September Thread)
• Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin #5) . M.C. Beaton
• The Talented Miss Farwell. Emily Gray Tedrowe
• The Virgin Suicides. Jeffrey Eugenides

October - D & V ... (October Thread)
• Dear Mr. Henshaw. Beverly Cleary
• The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1). Agatha Christie

November - I & Q ... (November Thread)
• The Queen of the Tambourine. Jane Gardam
• An Artist of the Floating World. Kazuo Ishiguro

December - W & N ... (December Thread)
• Take a Look at the Five and Ten. Connie Willis
•

Yearlong Letters - X & Z ... (Yearlong Thread)
• The Bennett Case. Diana Xarissa
• Amok. Stefan Zweig
.....

Category 2. Who’s a Good Doggie, Then? (Books read for BingoDOG)



I tried BingoDOG once before, a few years back, and totally wiped out. But I thought I might give it another go in 2020. I won’t necessarily be trying to fill the entire card, but I’ll see how far I get. I do love making lists of possible reads for each slot.

......



......

The List of Squares:

1. Book that's in a Legacy Library: Where There's a Will, by Rex Stout (in Rex Stout's Legacy Library)
2. Book written by an LT author: Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner
3. Book published in 1820 or 1920: A Few Figs from Thistles, by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1st edition, 1920)
4. Book published in the year of your birth: The Silent Speaker, by Rex Stout
5. Book published under a pen name or anonymously: In the Last Analysis, by Amanda Cross (pseudonym of Carolyn Heilbrun)
6. Book set in Asia: An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro (set in Japan)
7. Mystery or true crime: Bitter End (The First Nero Wolfe Novella), by Rex Stout
8. Book involving a real historical event (fiction or nonfiction): The King's Justice, by Susan Elia MacNeal (World War II)
9. Book about books, bookstores, or libraries: Murder, She Wrote: Gin & Daggers, by "Jessica Fletcher" and Donald Bain
10. Book with at least three letters of BINGO consecutively in order in the title (BIN, ING, NGO, GOB, OBI...the letters can cross words but must be in order and be consecutive): Kill Your Darlings, by Max Allan Collins
11. Red cover (or red is prominent on the cover): The Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea
12. Title contains a pun: Knot of This World, by Mary Marks
13. Book about birth or death (childbearing, midwifery, human aging -- this is a combo of the "childbearing" and "human aging" suggestions): You're Only Old Once!, by Dr Seuss
14. Book with a proper name in the title: Ramona and Her Father, by Beverly Cleary
15. Book published by a small press or self-published: Access Point, by Tom Gabbay (published by JMS Books)
16. Book published in 2020: The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel (pub. Feb 2020)
17. Epistolary novel or collection of letters: Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky
18. Book by a journalist or about journalism: Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson (both authors are journalists/newsmen)
19. Book not set on Earth: Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, by Ellen MacGregor; illus. by Paul Galdone
20. Mythology or folklore: Little Red Riding Hood, by Trina Schart Hyman
21. Weird book title: Goops and How to Be Them, by Gelett Burgess
22. Book with "library" or "thing" in the title or subtitle: The List of Things That Will Not Change, by Rebecca Stead
23. Book with a periodic table element in the title: Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, by Diane Muldrow (element: gold, Au)
24. Book by a woman from a country other than the US/UK: Still Life, by Louise Penny (Canada)
25. Read a CAT: The Circus: A Novel, by Jonas Karlsson (FEB GeoCAT; set in Sweden)

......

Link to: 2020 BingoDOG Planning Thread.
Link to: (Unofficial) 2020 BingoDOG Book Suggestions Thread.
Link to: 2020 BingoDOG wiki.

Category 3. See How You Like It (ARCs & Freebies)



This category is for all those review books from authors and publishers. Even though I don’t request/accept as many of these as I used to, I still end up with quite a few. And some of them always seem to get neglected or forgotten. I’m hoping this will help me do a little better job of keeping track and staying up-to-date.

Books Read:

1. The Circus: A Novel, by Jonas Karlsson (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭
2. The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel (ARC from NetGalley; also giveaway from GoodReads) ✭✭✭½
3. The Illness Lesson, by Clare Beams (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭
4. Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭½
5. The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster, by Cary Fagan (LT Early Reviewer book) ✭✭✭✭
6. Access Point, by Tom Gabbay (giveaway from GoodReads) ✭✭✭✭
7. The List of Things That Will Not Change, by Rebecca Stead (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭½
8. Knot of This World (Quilting Mystery #8), by Mary Marks (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭½
9. A Death Long Overdue (Lighthouse Library Mystery #7), by Eva Gates (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭
10. The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9), by Susan Elia MacNeal (Early Reviewer book) ✭✭✭½
11. The Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭
12. The Talented Miss Farwell, by Emily Gray Tedrowe (Early Reviewer Book) ✭✭✭
13. Snow (St. John Strafford #1), John Banville / Benjamin Black (ARC from NetGalley) ✭✭✭✭½
14. Take a Look at the Five and Ten, by Connie Willis ✭✭✭½

Category 4. What Have We Here? (From the Stacks)



Every year I say I want to read more books from my home library, and every year I get distracted by all those shiny new titles coming out. Reading from my own shelves will mean that I’m reading more print books, too (a very good thing) — and maybe even more classic lit (another good thing). It's also likely that many of these will be from my collection of children's books.

Books Read:

1. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, by Ellen MacGregor; illus. by Paul Galdone
2. Goops and How to Be Them, by Gelett Burgess; illus. by the author
3. Eloise, by Kay Thompson; illus. by Hilary Knight
4.
5.
6.

Category 5. The Great Kindle Cleanse (From the e-Stacks)



This category is for "TBR" books already on my Kindle. I have hundreds of “want-to-read” books downloaded on my Kindle. Hoping to read at least a few of those in 2020.

Books Read:

1. And Be a Villain (Nero Wolfe #13). Rex Stout
2. Bitter End (The First Nero Wolfe Novella). Rex Stout
3. In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler #1). Amanda Cross
4. Kill Your Darlings (Mallory #3). Max Allan Collins
5. The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1), by Agatha Christie
6. Still Life (Inspector Gamache #1). Louise Penny
7. An Artist of the Floating World. Kazuo Ishiguro

Category 6. What’s New? (Incoming)



This will be for books purchased in 2020 (both print and e-books), or borrowed from the library. It’s inevitable — I will be acquiring more books during the year, no matter how much I try to put on the brakes. Many of them will get shelved and forgotten. (Embarrassing, but true.) So I’m thinking if I give them a category of their own, I might be a little more likely to read them.

Books Read:

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst; illus. by Ray Cruz (purchased February 2020)
2. Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs. John Bloom, Jim Atkinson (free download from Amazon, February 2020)
3. Ramona and Her Father (Ramona Quimby #4), by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Jacqueline Rogers (purchased February 2020)
4. Unexplained Laughter, by Alice Thomas Ellis (purchased January 2020)
5. You're Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children, by Dr. Seuss (purchased February 2020)
6. The Silent Speaker (Nero Wolfe #11), by Rex Stout (purchased March 2020)
7. A Fragment of Fear, by John Bingham (purchased March 2020)
8. The Haunted Lady (A Hilda Adams Mystery), by Mary Roberts Rinehart (purchased March 2020)
9. Murder, She Wrote: Gin & Daggers (Murder, She Wrote #01), by "Jessica Fletcher" and Donald Bain (purchased April 2020)
10. Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8), by Rex Stout (purchased May 2020)
11. Beezus and Ramona (Ramona Quimby #1), by Beverly Cleary (purchased May 2020)
12. A Few Figs from Thistles, by Edna St. Vincent Millay (purchased August 2020)
13. The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides (purchased September 2020)
14. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin #5), by M.C. Beaton (purchased June 2020)
15. Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky (purchased August 2020)
16. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, by Diane Muldrow (purchased October 2020)
17. Amok, by Stefan Zweig (purchased November 2020)
18. The Queen of the Tambourine, by Jane Gardam (purchased January 2020)
19. Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan (purchased December 2020)
20. The Bennett Case, by Diana Xarissa (purchased November 2020)

Love the pictures you found for your categories. Happy reading!

Great pictures! Have a good reading year!

Happy reading in 2020!

Hope you are able to fill your 2020 categories with excellent books!

Looks like a fun and manageable challenge! Enjoy browsing the stacks and filling out the BingoDog :)

Oh man, I could use a Kindle cleanse as well. Good luck with all your categories.

Somehow those kindle books get downloaded and then forgotten!

Love the pictures, especially the cats and dog. Good luck with your reading.

Good luck with your 2020 reading!

>9 MissWatson: Thanks! It's always fun finding pix for the challenge. Happy reading to you too!

>10 Jackie_K: Thank you. Hope you have a great reading year, too!

>11 JayneCM: Thanks! Hope 2020 is a wonderful reading year for you, too.

>12 DeltaQueen50: I hope so, too! Thank you, and happy reading in 2020!

Wishing you a fun year of reading and good luck with BingoDOG. Your category name for The Great Kindle Cleanse is quite inventive and probably something many of us could benefit from. :)

Great theme - and inspiring too! I love your pictures.

>13 rabbitprincess: I'm definitely hoping it's manageable! And I'm looking forward to giving BingoDOG another try.

>14 LittleTaiko: Thanks! I'm certainly going to need luck -- especially with the Kindle cleanse!

>15 hailelib: Yes, it's strange how that happens. And I'm always so sure I'll read them right away.

>16 sallylou61: Thanks! Good luck to you, too.

>17 Tess_W: Thanks. I'm eager to get started. Good luck with your reading in 2020, too!

I need to join you on that great Kindle cleanse! I always manage to knock off a few, but I need to be better about doing so.

Looks like you have covered off all the reading basics. Good luck with your 2020 reading!

>29 thornton37814: Yes, those e-books just add up so quickly! I'm really hoping to get a lot of them read this year.

>30 lkernagh: Thank you, and good luck to you as well!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Jan 4, 2020: Just doing a little planning for January’s reading. Will be interesting to see how many of these I actually read.

• Starting off the year with a quick read: Bitter End. It’s the first of the Nero Wolfe novellas Rex Stout published in magazines over the years. Should be a fun read — I’ve never read a Nero Wolfe I didn’t like.

• I’ve got an ARC I need to read this month — The Circus (no touchstones yet?), by Jonas Karlsson (to be published Jan 28, 2020); and an Early Reviewer book — The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster, by Cary Fagan.

• Also need to find a January book for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge (hosted by Bev at her My Reader’s Block blog). Right now, I’m thinking of In the Last Analysis, first of the Kate Fansler mysteries by Amanda Cross (pseud. of Carolyn Heilbrun). That would also work for January’s AlphaKIT (letters are A & U).

• So far (Jan. 4), I’ve only bought one new book -- Unexplained Laughter, by Alice Thomas Ellis (pub. 1985) — paperback from Amazon. Another book that would be perfect for this month’s AlphaKIT.

>32 jlshall: You're reminding me that I really need to check out Bev's crop of 2020 challenges! I just wrapped up my 2019 vintage mystery challenge, and I may want to branch out this year.

>32 jlshall: Thanks for the pointer to My Reader's Block! I had used her bingo card a few years ago, and I like the idea of seeing how my reading falls into the Calendar of Crime challenge :)

Love your library photo - is that your own pic? Good luck with your 2020 reading!

>33 christina_reads: and >34 rabbitprincess: I love Bev's challenges! She always helps keep me reading throughout the year.

>35 LisaMorr: Yes, the library in the photo is my own. Or rather, my hubby's and mine -- we're both book hoarders, and we've been acquiring books for MANY years! Good luck with your reading this year, too!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Feb 6, 2020: Looking at this month's reading.

• Almost a week into February. So far, I've only completed one book — Ramona and Her Father, by Beverly Cleary. A children's book, but one that's been on my TBR list for quite a while. And it works for February's AlphaKIT (letters are F & B).

• At the moment I'm trying to finish up one ARC from NetGalley (The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel), and then get started on another one (The Illness Lesson, by Clare Beams).

• Haven't been doing a very good job with my "From the Stacks" category. But I have started reading Jane Eyre, which has been on my Definitely-Must-Read list for decades. So at least I've made a start.

Looking back at February. Definitely not my favorite month of the year. But even with my usual midwinter depression, I managed to read several books.

Two classic children's books:
Ramona and Her Father (Ramona Quimby #4), by Beverly Cleary; illus. by Jacqueline Rogers ✭✭✭✭½ -- This was my AlphaKIT read for February (letters were F&B)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst; illus. by Ray Cruz ✭✭✭✭

A couple of ARCs from NetGalley:
The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel ✭✭✭½
The Illness Lesson, by Clare Beams ✭✭✭✭

A great true crime tale:
Evidence of Love (A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs), by John Bloom & Jim Atkinson ✭✭✭✭

And a picture book for "obsolete children":
You're Only Old Once!, by Dr. Seuss ✭✭✭✭ -- I'm using this one for the BingoDOG "human aging" category, seems like a perfect fit.

So, now... it's time to figure out what to read in March.

. . . . . . . . . .

March 2, 2020:

Reading plans in March

At the moment, I have a couple of books started:

● Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner (An ARC from NetGalley; expected publication in May. Weiner is a Library Thing author, so this will work for a BingoDOG category.)

● The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster, by Cary Fagan (An Early Reviewer book from several months ago, that I really need to finish asap.)

I've read about 10% of Big Summer, but only a page or two of Gretchen Oyster.

Other possible reads in March

Some possibilities for AlphaKIT (letters G & C) - books I already own:

• Act of God, by Jill Ciment
• Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, by Emily Carpenter
• Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, by Fannie Flagg
• Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell
• The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
• The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe #6), by Raymond Chandler
• Wandering Ghosts, by F. Marion Crawford
• Or just about any Perry Mason book (The Case of....) by Erle Stanley Gardner

I'll also need a March read for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge (hosted by Bev over at her MY READER'S BLOCK blog). Right now, I'm thinking of Murder on the Links or Murder in Mesopotamia, both by Agatha Christie, and both titles have words that start with "M."

. . . . . . . . . .

April 12, 2020

I've been so taken up with all the COVID-19 uproar, I forgot all about my planning post for April. Doing that now. More to come....

. . . . . . . . . .

May 1, 2020

Reading plans for May

I'm really hoping to get some reading done in May -- at least more than I did in April (which wasn't much). I probably won't get ALL of these read, but these are some of the books I'll be looking at....

◼︎ I have a number of ARCs (and freebies from authors/publishers) that I should get finished this month. In no particular order:

• The List of Things That Will Not Change, by Rebecca Stead
• Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby
• The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9), by Susan Elia MacNeal
• The Jane Austen Society, by Natalie Jenner

◼︎ And for May's AlphaKIT book (letters are L & P), I'm thinking of one (or more?) of these possibilities:

• The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron
• Lewis Percy, by Anita Brookner
• Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
• The Road to Lichfield, by Penelope Lively

◼︎ Also need to finish up a couple of books I started in April. So I should get reading!

>42 jlshall: Ooh, can't wait to see what you think of The Jane Austen Society! I'm excited about that one.

>43 christina_reads: I'm excited about it, too! Haven't actually started it yet, but it's next on my "to read" list. I keep hearing a lot of good things about it.

. . . . . . . . . .

June 2, 2020

Reading plans for June

Something will emerge. . . .

. . . or maybe not.

. . . . . . . . . .

July 1, 2020

Reading plans for July

◼︎ At the moment, I'm just concentrating on finishing the books I started in June -- at least some of them. Mainly these:

• The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9), by Susan Elia MacNeal (an Early Reviewer book that I need to finish up quickly and review)
• Jill the Reckless, by P.G. Wodehouse (reading for July's AlphaKIT challenge - letters are J and R)
• Or What You Will, by Jo Walton (an ARC from Tor Books; coming out next week)

◼︎ Also another couple of advance copies of books that are being published later in July:

• Knot of This World (A Quilting Mystery), by Mary Marks
• Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea

>46 jlshall: Wodehouse seems like the perfect reading choice for these days -- light and humourous :)

. . . . . . . . . .

August 2, 2020

Reading plans for August

◼︎ I've still got a number of ARCs to read, from earlier in the year. (Shame on me!):

• The Jane Austen Society, by Natalie Jenner
• Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby
• Or What You Will, by Jo Walton
• Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea

I probably won't get all those read in August, but I should try for at least a couple.

◼︎ And for the August AlphaKIT (letters are H and O), I'm thinking of one of these possibilities:

• The Case of the Howling Dog, by Erle Stanley Gardner
• The Girl Who Ran Off with Daddy, by David Handler
• The Rules of Magic, by Alice Hoffman

Or maybe one of these children's lit titles (would also be good for one of the Alphabet Challenges I've got going):

• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain, by Alice Dalgliesh
• Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorensen
• Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry
• Olive's Ocean, by Kevin Henkes

Of course, if August is like most months, I'll end up reading absolutely nothing on this planning list!

If it helps, I thought The Jane Austen Society was a very pleasant escapist read!

>49 christina_reads: Thanks. Several people have told me similar things about that one, and I'm looking forward to reading it. Lately I'm having a really hard time sticking with anything long enough to finish it. So an escapist read sounds like just what I need!

. . . . . . . . . .

◼︎ In September, I finished three books:

• The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea

(The suicide theme there is just a coincidence -- not something I intended. Although with all the dental work I've had lately, sometimes I do feel like I've had more than I can take.)

• Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage, by M.C. Beaton (for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge; also works for AlphaKIT)

◼︎ I'm also counting this one as a September read, even though I'll be finishing the last few pages in October:

• The Talented Miss Farwell, by Emily Gray Tedrowe (an Early Reviewer win, and I'm very late in getting it read)

◼︎ And one more that I started in September, and haven't finished yet (so it could be a September or an October read -- haven't decided which):

• Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary (for the Newbery Reading Challenge)

>51 jlshall: Oof, dental work is no fun! I hope that that is it for dental work for a very long time!

>52 rabbitprincess: You are so right - it is definitely NOT fun. I've been getting some implants and I'm almost done, but it seems like it's taking forever. And, of course, COVID hasn't helped speed things up. At least reading takes my mind off all that.

>53 jlshall: Oh dear, that sounds painful. My sympathies, and I hope your reading is good!

. . . . . . . . . .

October 1, 2020

Reading plans for October

Right now my only plan is to finish up The Talented Miss Farwell, by Emily Gray Tedrowe, probably tonight or tomorrow. But I'm counting it as a September read, since I read most of it last month.

So, more plans for October will emerge. Eventually. I hope.

October 31, 2020 - Update

Read in October:

• Snow (St. John Strafford #1), by John Banville (2020; fiction / mystery; ARC from NetGalley; 304 pages)
• Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, by Diane Muldrow (2013; fiction; 96 pages)
• Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary (1983; children's fiction; Newbery Medal 1984; 160 pages)
• The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1), by Agatha Christie (1930; fiction / mystery; 307 pages)

. . . . . . . . . .

November 1, 2020

Reading plans for November

So far, I don't have any firm plans for my reading in November. The letters for AlphaKIT this month will be I & Q, and I've got a few possibilities in mind. I'm hoping to stick with books already on my shelves or already downloaded to my Kindle. So the most likely choices would include these:

• An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro (This would fill in one of the BingoDOG squares too. Also would work for my Author Alphabet Challenge.)
• The Man in the Queue (Inspector Alan Grant #1), by Josephine Tey (Been meaning to read this one forever.)
• Murder in the Queen's Armes (Gideon Oliver #3), by Aaron Elkins (This would work for the challenge, but I haven't read either of the earlier books, so I'm not sure if I want to start with this one.)
• A Murder of Quality (George Smiley #2), by John le Carré (Read the first book in the series a year or so ago and really enjoyed it.)
• Quartet in Autumn, by Barbara Pym (This would be a re-read, but it's one of my faves.)
• A Question of Inheritance (A Very English Mystery #2), by Elizabeth Edmondson (This was one of those free-or-cheap downloads from Amazon. I read the first book in the series and liked it enough to want to try the next one.)
• The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (Inspector Morse #3), by Colin Dexter (Haven't read a Morse in quite a while, but I always enjoy them.)

Finished my first book for November: Stefan Zweig's very short novella, Amok, first published in 1922.



Rating: ✭✭✭

I've been looking for a "Z" book (or author) for my AlphaKIT read, and I found this one lurking around on one of my "Books You Should Read" lists.

In the book, set in 1912, a nameless narrator travels by ship from India to Europe on the ocean liner Oceania. Also on board is a mysterious man who avoids contact with everyone on the ship. Eventually, the narrator gains the man's trust and learns more about him and the circumstances that caused him to sacrifice his medical career and reputation. Naturally, there's a woman involved, but the story is much more complicated than a simple romance.

I've liked everything I've read by Stefan Zweig, and this one was enjoyable. But I didn't think it was up to the standard of, say, Chess Story, so...just three stars.

>57 jlshall: I'm glad you liked Chess Story, because that's on my to read list.

>58 Tess_W: I read Chess Story several years ago, and it was my introduction to Zweig's works. Definitely worth reading.

. . . . . . . . . .

December 1, 2020

Reading plans for December

I wouldn't call this a plan, exactly. But I do need to do a little finish-up reading this month, so....

For December's AlphaKIT, the letters are W and N. I'm hoping to read books I already own, so some of my possibilities are:

• Death in a White Tie (Roderick Alleyn #7), by Ngaio Marsh
• If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino
• The Man Who Lived by Night (Stewart Hoag #2), by David Handler
• The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (Inspector Morse #3), by Colin Dexter

Also need to read one more book, for the year-long AlphaKIT letter X, and I'm thinking that will probably be The Bennett Case (Markham Sisters #2), by Diana Xarissa, another book already in my library.

The Queen of the Tambourine, by Jane Gardam (published 1991; winner, 1991 Whitbread Award for Best Novel)



Read: November 2020 / Nov AlphaKIT ("Q" title)
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

As the back-of-book description notes, this novel "traces the emotional breakdown — and eventual restoration — of Eliza Peabody, a smart and wildly imaginative woman who has become unbearably isolated in her prosperous London neighborhood."

However, much of the book — in the form of Eliza's letters to her neighbor, a woman she might or might not actually know (and who might or might not actually exist) — is frequently very funny. I loved most of it, though I thought the wrap-up in the last chapter or two was a little too abrupt and tidy. But I definitely want to read more Gardam.

An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro (published 1986; Booker Prize Nominee, 1986; Whitbread Award for Novel and Book of the Year, 1986)



Read: Nov - Dec 2020
Rating: ✭✭✭

Nov AlphaKIT ("I" book)
BingoDOG (Book set in Asia)
Alphabet Challenge (Author's name beginning with "I")

In the years following the end of World War II, the celebrated artist Masuji Ono tries to enjoy a happy retirement in the midst of family and old friends, and in the house and garden he loves. But his past involvement in the rise of Japanese militarism, before the war, keeps bringing memories and doubts that disturb his tranquil existence.

I've started several books by Kazuo Ishiguro, but this is the first one I've been able to stick with long enough to finish. And even this one took a lot longer to get through than I would have expected. Ishiguro's style in this early novel is a bit meandering (well, actually more than a bit), and the story tends to wander around and double back on itself. As Masuji tells his tale, one memory will spark another memory which brings up another memory, which takes him even further from his original subject. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, but now and then I started wishing he'd just focus and get to the point.

Also, I came away from the novel not really understanding exactly what the main character was trying to say about his past, or how he ultimately felt about his wartime activities. Unreliable narrators can be entertaining, but Masuji Ono is so unreliable (or possibly just reluctant?) that I found a lot of his story sort of confusing. So, for me, it was an interesting read, but also a disappointing one.