AlphaKIT - Yearlong Letters: X and Z

Welcome to the 2021 AlphaKIT in the 2021 Category Challenge.

So glad to see 2020 in the rear-view mirror. I hope everyone is doing as well as possible and looking forward to at least a partial return to normality once vaccine becomes widely available.

As to the AlphaKIT, the rules are: NONE! Well, other than to enjoy your reading.

and

The letter images are thanks to helenliz ! Thanks so much, they're lovely.

Please remember to update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2021_AlphaKIT#Yearlong_Letters:_X_and_Z

For X I'm going to read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.

For Z I'll probably read something by Zadie Smith.

I read The Journeys of Trees by Zach St. George for Z.

Z is an easy one for me: I read Nowhere in Africa by Stefanie Zweig last year and I'm eager to read the sequel, Somewhere in Germany. X is another matter, though!

>4 MissBrangwen: What about Ibram X. Kendi?

>5 justchris: Thanks! Haven‘t heard of him, but his books certainly look very interesting and absolutely relevant!

>5 justchris: Wrong, I remember seeing him on TV! I knew his face looked familiar, but I just remembered where from. It was a very compelling interview.
I just ordered How To Be An Antiracist. Thanks again for bringing him to my attention!

>7 MissBrangwen: My pleasure. We read that book for our social justice book club last year. I should go look up the interview--I can believe he's a very compelling speaker.

>7 MissBrangwen: My workplace book club chose this book last year too! I went with the audio thinking it would be important to hear his voice; but he’s no Ta-Nehisi Coates as far as narration goes and I ended up wishing I had gone with print.
Coincidentally, Ibram X. Kendi was giving a live-stream presentation right before our meet-up, so that gave some added value to the reading experience :-)
For the book club meeting itself, the moderators diverged from the normal discussion format and brought in a group facilitator who ran us through some exercises that brought to the fore our individual hidden racisms. It was meant to make us uncomfortable and it succeeded!

>9 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Wow, that sounds like it was a great book club meeting. Yep, really sitting with that discomfort is such an important step.

>8 justchris: I think it was on CNN, but I'm not entirely sure.

>9 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That sounds like a really deep and important experience! Thank you for sharing.

I read my first X book - Aunt Bessie Tries by Diana Xarissa.

>12 LittleTaiko: How did you like it? I'd love to read something taking place on the Isle of Man (and find another author with an X), but the reviews are very mixed!

>13 MissBrangwen: - I've been reading the whole series so I guess I'd have to say I like them. However, I can definitely see the flaws, especially when reading the books close together. There tends to be a lot, and I mean a lot of eating and rehashing the case. Sometimes it feels a bit repetitive. This one was sort of fun because there wasn't an actual murder, more of many attempted murders. You do learn a bit about the history of the Isle of Man which is nice along with a smidgen of language. I think I like them because Bessie is sort of living the dream - she's never needed to work, has a cute cottage on a beach where she goes for long walks, and she spends quite a bit of time reading. :)

I think I'll try it! It sounds nice and I love a cosy read and dreaming myself away to a cottage on the beach :-) I need more comfort reads, so I just ordered the first one!
Even if I don't like it that much, it's not too long, so worth a try.

I finished Aunt Bessie Assumes by Diana Xarissa, which is the first book of a series I first heard about because LittleTaiko posted about it here.

>14 LittleTaiko: I totally agree with your post above! There were a few aspects I didn't like in this book (mostly concerning the behavior of the police), but I still enjoyed it a lot because of the way of life described. I will continue this series and am looking forward to the second book! Thanks for this BB!

>17 MissBrangwen: - Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. It's a series I turn to when I need something light.

I read Irises by Francisco X. Stork for my X read.

I finished Ein Mundvoll Erde by Stefanie Zweig and I still have more books by her to go.

I am reading Haunted By the Things You Love by John Zaffis for my Z book.

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and I have begun her memoir Dust Tracks on the Road.

I finished my second X book: Aunt Bessie Believes by Diana Xarissa. Although it has its flaws, I liked it even better than the first book of the series. The perfect comfort read!

I've read The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi for my "Z" book this year.

For my Z choice I read Zero Avenue by Dietrich Kalteis.
Zero Avenue is an infamous address in British Columbia on the border between Canada and the US, and was a tempting route for moving pot. This is a hardboiled crime novel set in the punk music and marijuana scene of Vancouver in the 1970s and the writing style matches that atmosphere. I enjoyed all the local mentions and the crimes being committed against those already breaking the law. The bald, brutal, fast tempo writing is masterly, but I found the story less appealing.

COMPLETED The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, both by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I've just finished Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong the first book in the Inspector Chen series, a book bullet from numerous people.

For Z, read Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Historical fiction about the relationship between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I completed Intimations: Six Essays by Zadie Smith. 4.5 stars.

I have completed my "Z" read with The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner.

I read Ratking: An Aurelio Zen mystery by Michael Dibdin for my Z read. I loved it.

Just finished Aunt Bessie Believes by Diana Xarissa
It's a cute story but my goodness, what a lot of padding. Every minute detail of every pot of tea made has been included. Aunt Bessie is the Isle of Man sleuth who does most of the investigation over tea. The plot was very simple and easily guessed from the beginning but a mystery author cheats by wrapping up the case with a confession.

And another one for X that I've been browsing through for the last month: Building Stronger Bones Naturally by Xandria Williams

Starting The Last Human by Zack Jordan

Jeez! It's October and I still haven't read for either of these...

I guess it's rare I ever actually get in one for X, but I usually manage a Z!

>35 LibraryCin: I haven't gotten to X yet, although I know what I'm going to read. Good reminder that I'd better get to it pretty soon!

And here's my Z!

Hench / Natalie Zina Walschots
2.5 stars

Anna works for a temp agency that finds people to work for villains. She doesn’t particularly like “field work”; she prefers to work at a desk, instead. When she decides to branch out and do some field work, instead, she ends up injured and on crutches for months. During this time, she does research and some calculations to figure out that heroes actually do more collateral damage (she figured out the math!) than it’s worth. So, she decides, when she can work again, she will find a way to bring down those heroes.

Ok, I’m not much for superhero stories, anyway. I had hoped to like this one more, but I think it just wasn’t my “thing”. There were parts that were interesting, but mostly I just wasn’t all that interested. I also didn’t quite agree with her hypothesis – yes, there is some collateral damage to innocents, but much of it is to the “bad guys”, anyway. The guys who are intentionally trying to do bad things to innocents! The author’s note at the end was interesting, though.

Another Z for me. Wish by Mia Zabrisky

Currently reading A Case of Two Cities by Qiu Xiaolong

Read Nana by Zola for a Z.

Finally found an X read. Xmas Marks the Spot by Kris Pearson.

One last Z read. Vox Populi by Alex A Zudor

It feels fitting that I'm closing out the year with a Z read, Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology by Jess Zimmerman.