February AlphaKIT: T and K

Welcome to the February 2021 AlphaKIT, an unofficial challenge in the 2021 Category Challenge Group.

The rules are: 1. Use these letters any way you wish to select reading for the month. 2. 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#2021_AlphaKIT

Morning (waves)🖐

I love the variegated ribbon around the "K".

My choices for this month will be Monkeywrench by P.J. Tracy and The Game by Laurie R. King.

>2 dudes22: Thank you. In case you hadn't already guessed, it's a alphabet blanket, T is for Triangles. K is supposed to be a Celtic Knot. Yes, I may have got a little bit desperate at times...

I've got We, the Survivors by Tash Aw on the shelf.

I'm planning on reading These Nameless Things by Shawn Smucker as my 'T' read, and Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim #2) by Richard Kadrey as my 'K' read.

Possibilities for me:

The Better Part of Valor - Tanya Huff
Three Parts Dead - Max Gladstone
The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson (author new to me)
The Fated Sky - Mary Robinette Kowal
Alice Payne Arrives - Kate Heartfield (under 200pp)

Right now I'm thinking about Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center, which will work for both letters, and The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas for another "T" book.

I'm currently planning on reading Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg and The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball.

Here's what I'm hoping to read in February:

✔Big Fat Greek Murder by Kate Collins
✔Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
✔Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
✔Courting Can Be Killer
✔Farm to Trouble
✔Figure in the Photograph by Kevin Sullivan
✔For Whom the Book Tolls
✔Killer Comfort Food
✔Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
✔Murder with a View by Diane Kelly
✔No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin
✔Peril in Paperback by Kate Carlisle
✔Spell for Trouble
✔Tourist's Guide to Murder
Trace Elements
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder
✔Wedding Tree

Among my possibilities there are:

A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
The Tea House on Mulberry Street by Sharon Owens
The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
They Came to Baghdad, Towards Zero and Third Girl by Agatha Christie
Torquato Tasso by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Tracks by Louise Erdrich
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Die Kameliendame by Alexandra Dumas
Katz und Maus by Günter Grass
Kein Ort. Nirgends by Christa Wolf
Die Vermessung der Welt by Daniel Kehlmann
Krabat by Otfried Preußler
Weiter leben by Ruth Klüger
Der Prozess by Franz Kafka

So much to choose from! I think that "T" books must be the most frequent in my library.
I will see where my mood takes me next month, but my goal is to read two K books and two T books.

I generally plan my other reads before the AlphaKIT in case something already fits, anyway. So, I'll be back with some of my options later.

I think my most likely contenders are going to be The Radium Girls by Kate Moore and "Thrush Green" by Miss Read

>11 Robertgreaves: Oh, maybe I will look for some Miss Read books too - they are so comforting.

I am planning on reading Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan and Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner.

>13 DeltaQueen50: Judy: Oooh, Thick as Thieves! *bounces*

>14 scaifea: Amber, your recent review of TaT had me scurrying to my shelves and planning when I could fit it in!

>15 DeltaQueen50: Yay!!

>9 MissBrangwen: I read Kidnapped for the first time just a couple years ago, and enjoyed it.

>17 fuzzi: Thanks for telling me! I think it's one I'm definitely going to read next month!

This month I'll be reading Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely for the double.

I've finished my first book for this KIT, Third Girl by Agatha Christie. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

>17 fuzzi: & >18 MissBrangwen: I love Kidnapped!

>20 MissBrangwen: I have read that one (and gave it 3*) but honestly don't remember it! Maybe it is time to reread it to see if I can understand your disappointment...

I read The Mystery of the Fire Dragon by Carolyn Keene and Dear Teacher by Jack Sheffield for this month.

>22 LadyoftheLodge: Ohh! Nancy Drew! I haven't read anything in that series since I was eleven years-old or so! I used to collect as many as I could and still have them!. The last time I moved, 17 years ago, I accidentally put them in a box marked "Tax Papers". LOL, When tax time came, our accountant was not so amused as she had to wait for me to rummage through storage boxes to find the tax stuff I needed!

>23 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Great anecdote! I also started reading the Nancy Drew books at a young age - my mom had several books from her youth that she lent me and then the public library helped fuel my desire. I still have a few of Mom's 1930s editions - it is interesting to see some of the revisions that have occurred over the years.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter / Theodora Goss
3 stars

Mary Jekyll (Dr. Jekyll’s daughter) and some other ladies who are daughters, descendants, and/or creations of Dr. Moreau, Frankenstein, and Mr. Hyde (and more), have gathered to tell their stories, including a story of working with Sherlock Holmes to solve some murders. All these men (except Holmes) were doctors, scientists, inventors, etc, and did plenty of (human) experiments, including in some cases, on their daughters. They were part of an Alchemists’ Society. Mr. Hyde’s daughter was unknown to Mary until after both of Mary’s parents had died. Together, these women tell their own stories in addition to their story of searching for a murderer.

It was ok. For me, the idea of the story was better than the execution, but that doesn’t surprise me. I’m not a fan of Sherlock Holmes (or any of the classic characters in this book), nor have I even found any spinoffs that I really like. But I was still hoping. I listened to the audio, but I’ve heard this narrator before, so I don’t blame the narration for my “ok” rating. I did enjoy the little “breakouts” where the women would chat amongst themselves as they wrote their story; however, I will not be continuing the series.

I completed The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman for T.
A very enthusiastic 3.5 stars.

I finished Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse for my T -- I listened to the Jonathan Cecil audiobook edition which enhanced an already hilarious book.

>21 leslie.98: I'd be curious to know what you think of it should you decide to reread it at any point!

Finished When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.

>24 leslie.98: My girlfriends and I shared Nancy Drew books when I was in elementary school. My sister and I started to collect some of them a few years ago. I have some of them in the newer bindings and some in the old gray bindings. I found some at a used book sale a few years ago for about 50 cents each!

>28 MissBrangwen: I'll probably try to reread it this month now that we've had this little discussion - I'll let you know if I do!

>30 LadyoftheLodge: Wow, what a bargain!

I finished my first K read: Kein Ort. Nirgends by Christa Wolf. This is an account of a fictional meeting between German writers Heinrich von Kleist and Karoline von Günderrode in 1804. A five star read!

>31 leslie.98: Yes, let me know! :-)

I finished my first K of the month - King Henry VI, Part 2 by Shakespeare. Not quite as compelling for me as Part 1 was but now I have read the play which contains the line "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." :)

Two for this months Challenge so far, one book for each letter:

• So Cold the River (by Michael Koryta; narrated by Robert Petkoff) (Author K)
• Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales #2; by Olivia Atwater) (Title T)

I've also started The Good Girl (by Mary Kubica; narrated by Lindy Nettleton, Johnny Heller and; Tom Taylorson)-- another title for "K"

>34 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Oh, I also have that audiobook edition of The Good Girl... but I ended up with a mountain of library books this month so they have to take priority.

I read You're Strong, Smart and You Got This by Kate Allan. This works for T and K.
Affirmations and Drawings for depression and anxiety. Highly recommended. I follow her on Instagram and will be getting her other works.

I finished my second T read: The Warden by Anthony Trollope. I'm really happy because I'm sure that without the challenge, I wouldn't have picked it up anytime soon.

I've just finished The Game by Laurie R. King, the latest installment for me in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

So far I've read the following:

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg
The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

March thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/329750

>40 majkia: you rock!

The King's Speech / Mark Logue
3.5 stars

Mark Logue is the grandson of Lionel Logue, who left Australia with his wife to move to England in the early 20th century. This was after he’d started helping people with their public speaking. When he arrived in England, he continued his business there, and ended up with the future King of England as one of the people he was helping.

“Bertie” had a stutter and was terrified of public speaking (not so good when you are royalty!). Initially, he was not meant to become king, but when his older brother abdicated, Bertie (now King George VI) was next in line. Lionel was a lifeline for the king, as Lionel helped Bertie before every speech he had to make for a very long time. They became friends, as much as the king and a commoner could.

This was good. I have seen the movie, but I don’t think much time was spent on Lionel’s life. The book actually did spend more time on Lionel than the movie did. In addition to Bertie/King George’s life. Mark used many letters between the two men to write this biography.

There was a section in the middle, describing events during WWII that I lost a bit of interest in, but I quite enjoyed it before and after (and it wasn’t all the events of the war where I lost interest, so it may just have been that I was tired when I read that part!). We also get small glimpses into (now) Queen Elizabeth’s young life, as well. The book also follows both men to their deaths – though Logue was 15 years King George’s senior, Logue outlasted the king, but not by very long.

I read The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg for the K. LGBTQ. Coming of age/romance.

Read another K book. All I Need to Know I Learned From My Dead Cat by Chuck Reasoner

Two more "K" reads this past week, both for the author's last name:

The Good Girl (by Mary Kubica; narrated by Lindy Nettleton, Johnny Heller, Tom Taylorson and Andi Arndt)
Dirty Husband (Dirty Rich #3; by Crystal Kaswell)

I completed The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips for K. Four enthusiastic stars.

COMPLETED The Last Hero and Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Currently reading Eagles At War by Ben Kane

I've read Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less by Daniel Jones for T.

Just finished Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler.
This was my first Anne Tyler book but it won't be the last. It's a perfectly structured page-turner and yet there are no significant events or drama, just flawless storytelling.

Crazy Rich Asians / Kevin Kwan
3.5 stars

Rachel is a Chinese-American professor in New York. She has been dating history professor, Nick, for two years. Nick grew up in Singapore and was educated at Oxford. Although he is ridiculously wealthy (or his family is), he has told Rachel nothing about this, nor about his family. Rachel is in for a shock when she travels with Nick for the summer (and for Nick’s best friend (from elementary school… also ridiculously rich)’s wedding. The wedding is front page news in Singapore.

Unfortunately for Rachel, Nick has also told her nothing about his snobby, gossipy family. The family (especially his mother) who gets in their heads before they even meet Rachel that Rachel is a gold-digger, and the family will do everything they can to make sure the two never marry.

Ok, the first few chapters left me reeling and confused. There were so many characters and I never did really figure out who was who in many cases, or how they were related. Though – for most – I did figure out who the nicer friends/family were and who the horrible snobs were. Once we were introduced to Nick and Rachel, though, it got better. And some of their nicer friends I liked. In the end, I liked it, and I will continue the trilogy.

I finished "The Truths We Hold" by Kamala Harris.

I finished another K book: "Heinrich von Kleist - Ein preußisches Schicksal" by Heinz Ohff. This biography was a quick and easy read.

Finished several T/K books this month -
Tales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanislaw Lem
Dogs by Nancy Kress

and three books by a T/K author :D - T. Kingfisher
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
The Hollow Places
The Twisted Ones

(note to self: added to wiki)

For K I read What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

A child is missing: this is the type of book I normally avoid. The opening scene is the stuff of nightmares but the story was gripping. This is Macmillan's debut and I'll be watching for more.

I have completed both my "K" read with Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan and my "T" read with Thick As Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner.

I added another T last night with Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen.

This month I read Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid for K
and The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas for T
I just abandoned a book that would have provided another K but it was not for me. Moving on...

COMPLETED:

Eagles At War
The Shrine
Hunting the Eagles and
Eagles in the Storm

all by Ben Kane

I finished Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Hartfield and Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope.

The Shoemaker's Wife / Adriana Trigiani
4 stars

It’s around 1900 in Italy. Ciro and his brother are only about 5 and 6 years old when their mother, who has just lost her husband (the boys’ father) and just can’t cope, drops them off at a convent. She tells them to be good, help out, and she’ll be back in 6 months for them. Well, she doesn’t come back. At 15-years old, Ciro is hired out to dig a grave for a little girl, when he meets, Enza, that little girl’s oldest sister. There is an instant connection. But, something happens soon after and they are kept apart.

Some time later, they both separately arrive in America – New York City, to be exact. Ciro is a shoemaker’s apprentice, while Enza is working as a maid (very ill-treated), and also finds a job as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera. We follow their lives as immigrants in the US in the early 20th century.

I really liked this. It didn’t move fast, but I really enjoyed the story, and was rooting for Ciro and Enza. I liked the characters and their relationships. The author’s note at the end tells us that this is based on Trigiani’s grandparents’ lives.

I finished a T . Scene of the Crime by Tim Wride and James Ellroy. I don't know what was creepier, the pictures or the fact my husband is fascinated by these types of books.

Managed to finish Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy.

Read five more "T" books, will update the Wiki shortly!

I just finished Thorn by Intisar Khanani, which works for both letters. A very enjoyable retelling of "The Goose Girl"!

Just finished Saving Montgomery Sole by Marino Tamaki for my T. This was a free audio sync book from 2018. A goofy, teenager angst girl who doesn't fit in, has a Hugh chip on her shoulder. Also a LGBTQ book. Not really a favorite of mine.

COMPLETED Thrush Green by Miss Read

Starting Winter in Thrush Green

I finished An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir and enjoyed it very much. I can't wait to read the sequel!

COMPLETED Winter in Thrush Green

Starting News From Thrush Green

For my 'T' selection, I read Till We Have Faces. You can find my review here.

Couple more books during the last couple of weeks for this challenge:

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T E Kinsey

T books
To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure, by Henry Petroski
Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, by Ozan Varol

K books
Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury, by Ray Bradbury

One last "K" title from me this month (I had no "T"s!):

Hard Crush (Back to You #1; by Mira Lyn Kelly). This is a contemporary M/F romance set in Chicago where the guy is a tech mogul who returns to his old high school where his old flame is now teaching. The story was a bit angsty, but not in a melodramatic way. Real issues about staying, going and, letting go... There are a couple sex scenes, graphically portrayed by nothing kinky or porn level.

Riviera gold by Laurie King is my contribution for the month.

The Tao of Martha / Jen Lancaster
3.5 stars

In this memoir of Jen’s, she looks back at 2012, when she made an effort to emulate her idol, Martha Stewart. She wanted to get organized around her house and throw great parties…

The memoir included more than Martha Stewart… it included other happenings that year, such as the loss of her beloved dog Maisie. That was the toughest part of the book, in my opinion, but it certainly hit my heart. The other memorable part, for me was her mammograms. Other bits of it were off and on funny. I’m not a Martha Stewart fan, personally, so that wasn’t a draw for me at all. I listened to the audio, narrated by Jen herself, and she did fine with the narration.

I read The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer.

>75 VivienneR: This seems to be the year for Ian Mortimer! I just finished Edward III: The Perfect King (4+ stars!) and am looking forward to his biographies of Henry IV and Henry V :-)