January - What are we reading for BingoDOG?

Ok, I saw that someone wanted a monthly thread for BingoDOG, so I went ahead and am making a thread for it, as I've just "ticked" off my first BingoDOG read.

Feel free to share what you will be reading, what you've read, and/or your thoughts on it. Or wherever else you want to take the conversation.

Just realized there's probably a wiki for BingoDOG, so I'm adding the link here, too.
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2015_BingoDOG

My first BingoDOG read checks off "Reminds me of Childhood":

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress / Rhoda Janzen
3.5 stars

Rhoda Janzen grew up in a Mennonite community. She left, became an English professor, and married an atheist. After he leaves her for a man, Rhoda decides to head home to spend some time with her parents.

I enjoyed this. It was quick to read, there were humourous bits, and I liked the tidbits of Mennonite life. Of course, I recognize some of it, as my Dad's family is Mennonite. It's always fun to see our last name in books (pretty much only ever a book with Mennonites in it!).

My first was Stephanie Alexander's A Cook's Life set in Australia. In spite of those who confuse Austria and Australia, they are different, and I live in Europe and have never been to the Antipodes.

I expect to finish Silence today. I do not read Japanese.

Both of these are wonderful books that I can recommend wholeheartedly. I suppose it helps if you like food for the first, and mission history for the second, as I do, but both are also very well written.

BTW Alexander's The Cook's Companion and Kitchen Garden Companion became two of my favourite cookbooks as soon as I got them.

Thanks for starting the thread, LibraryCin!

I'm still reading Black Ships but hope to finish it today!

My first Bingo dog, a book recommended by someone else (book club pick), The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Story set in Middle East during 70 CE, based on historical evidence of Masada. Two women and 5 children were said to have survived. This book was not the typical Alice Hoffman book.

My first BingoDog check off is - based on a fairy tale or myth

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Date Finished: 1/1/2015
Genre: YA
Notes: Lunar Chronicles
Opinion: Cinder is an unwanted cyborg who becomes involved with the prince when he asks her to fix his android - I think Cinder is a great retelling of Cinderella so far - it is different and futuristic and I totally loved the prince :) - I look forward to reading the rest of Lunar Chronicles books
Rating: 7/10

I've got 3 so far!



22. The Christmas Thief ***

A cute , occasionally funny, cozy mystery - not a great piece of literature, but a quick, fun read.

>3 MarthaJeanne: Finished Silence.

>4 majkia: No problem!

>6 lovelyluck: That's one I have considered reading. I like fairy tale retellings and I like the cover. I try not to base reading decisions on covers, but sometimes it's hard to resist!

>7 LoisB: You're using purple markers! I just kept with the "default" green, at least so far.

>9 LibraryCin: per LShelby,

You can use any of the following colors: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green, lime, maroon, navy, olive, orange, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow

Last year, I found that it helped to have a different color so that I could easily identify my card as I was scrolling through the posts - we were all using the same card background.

Finished my first placed in box 24: Myths and Legends:

Black Ships - Jo Graham

Genre: Historical Fiction/Magical Realism
Rating: Very Very Good

A retelling of the Aeneid, told through the eyes of a young girl enslaved when Troy falls. She is hurt, and no longer able to work, is then given to the temple of the Lady of the Dead as an acolyte, who when grown, becomes the chosen of the Lady and the Sybil to Aeneas.

Written beautifully, plainly and clearly told with no fake embellishments, moving and engrossing.

What a great book to start the year with.

>10 LoisB: Good thought! Is the name of the colour just typed into the code? I'll go take a look...

ETA: Yup, now i'm playing a bit to see what I like!

>12 LibraryCin: Yes - just find the word "green" in the code and replace it with the color from the list.

I finished and marked another square :)

Title: The Next Best Thing
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Date Finished: 1/4/2015
Genre: Adult Fiction
Notes: Recommended by my boss
Opinion: I enjoyed it immensely! - The main character and her grandmother were enjoyable - there were many funny parts and a wonderful ending - Ruth wants to be a writer/showrunner - she grew up with her grandma as her care taker after an accident left her scarred and parentless - her pilot is a spin on her life and it's might just be picked up by a network - I thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters - and now know that recommendations from my boss are acceptable
Rating: 8/10

ETA: It is the Read a CAT square :)

I have covered two squares so far, number 1 and number 18. For number 1 I read An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bradley which took place in England. The premise is that Queen Elizabeth visits a mobile library on the spur of the moment, is eventually influenced to become a reader, and her attitude towards her duties begin to change. Liked it a lot. For number 18 I read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, an LT author. Now I'm reading the Song of Achilles and will be able to count it as number 22.

I've read Love Lies Bleeding by Susan Wittig Albert for the Read a Cat square to start my Bingo Card.

Just like real Bingo cards, the ones we're using have different categories in different squares, so saying "square 1" means different things to different people. Maybe it would be more helpful if we said (briefly) which category it fits and maybe which other ones it might fit?

My second square was "Letters" and I used Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue. It's part of the Origami Yoda series and could also fit the "based on other fiction" category (Star Wars).

So far I've read two Bingo books: Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, for a book by an LT author, and Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Effect, for a book involving autism. Really enjoyed both of them, but make sure you read The Rosie Project before The Rosie Effect!

>17 BookLizard: Oh, thanks for the reminder, I clearly wasn't thinking!

19>It was an easy oversight to make. I keep confusing myself because I have a list of possible titles to read but the order of the list doesn't match the order on my BINGO card.

I'm up to three thanks to Schneebären lügen nie, a delightful picture book I plan to read to the kids at school next week. There is a bear in it.

I just ticked off another one unexpectedly as The Strange Library arrived in the post today and it was too beautiful not to read at once. I don't speak the original Japanese ... yet ... although I intend to learn.

My first two books of the year coincidentally fill two spots nicely. I suspect that the final squares will be hard to fill.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is a parody of the lost genre of the rural melodrama and so fill the "inspired by another fiction" and The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith is set in Botswana, which is a "country that's not my own".

Read my second Bingo book, Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie. I am using a different card, it fits Read a book about something you were unafamiliar, this is about the Biafra Civil War.

I think published in 1915 is going to be one of the 'hardest', at least in that you have to really pick something out for it.

I've got a couple of squares filled. I read Warm Bodies for the "genre bender" square. This is a combination zombie and love story. I also read The Bear by Claire Cameron for the "Animal is Important to the Story" square.

I realized at the end of my last book that it fit LGBTQ. But saying that is a spoiler, so I won't list it here. It is several other places if you are really curious. 4th square filled.

25> There will be a group read of Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in May. It was published in 1915 and it's short.

>25 MarthaJeanne: I agree that the 1915 one is likely the hardest. I have already looked "around" for something (I think I found a list of books on wikipedia that were published in 1915). Of course, there was nothing that was on my tbr, but I believe I found one by Arthur Conan Doyle that I might try.

I'll be reading Frankenstein for the square "correspondence or letters", since the story is told in a series of letters.

I finished A Fatal Winter by G.M. Malliet for my "opposite gender" square since the main character is Max, a male priest in a small village who used to be an MI5 agent.

Herland is acessable as free electronic text. I might join in that read in May

Jumping ships was not worth reading, but the main character was male. That makes 5.

I've finished Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo for "read a book translated from a language you don't speak".

I finished Black Ships and put it in the block for "based on a fairy tale or myth." This one would fit a lot of blocks--prophecy is part of the plot, and it's inspired by the Aeneid, and it's a genre bender. Good read, too.

Deryni tales is fan fiction - stories written in the world Of Kurtz's Deryni books. That makes 6, but not more than 2 in any row.

Just finished Conn Iggulden's Emperor:The Gates of Rome and placed it in the 'Owned more than a Year' square. My second for the challenge.

After finishing Michael Bedard's The Green Man, I think it fits "a book that reminds you of your childhood." It's the kind of book I would have loved when I was 12! Also, it has kind of a timeless quality to it -- few, if any, mentions of computers or cellphones.

Fits "Set in a Country Not Your Own":

The Dovekeepers / Alice Hoffman
3.5 stars

In Ancient Israel in the year 73 C.E. Romans attacked a small group of Jewish people who had already been pushed from their homes and lives in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Two women and five children survived. Alice Hoffman has created a fictional account to document what happened.

The book tells the story of four women who were there and how they got there. Yael, whose mother died when she was born. Her father was an assassin and blamed Yael for her mother's death. Revka was a baker's wife. She took care of her two grandchildren, who had been completely silent since their mother died. Shirah was a witch and Aziza was her daughter, who took on the persona of a boy.

This was good. I found the stories of the younger women (Yael and Aziza) more interesting than Revka's and Shirah's stories. I also thought the last bit really picked up and that's when I really wanted to keep reading.

Fits: "Fairy tale...":

Calamity Jack / Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
3.5 stars

This is a graphic novel that focuses on Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel. Jack was a boy who always got himself into trouble. When he got older, Jack got into trouble and had to leave town, so he went West for Rapuzel and brought her back. When they returned, his city was run by a giant; a giant who had been his neighbour and had always been a bully.

I enjoyed this. It was cute! I quite like the illustrations in this one, as well.

I finished Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand for book set in a country not my own. India. It's a story of one day in the life of an 18 y/o young man who is in the lowest caste. It is set in 1930s.

Here's what I've read so far:

Read a book where prophecy, signs, or portents are part of the plot: The Death of Nnanji by Dave Duncan
Read a book by an LT author: Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
Read a book whose author shares an ancestor's first name: The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood
Read a book with a protagonist of the opposite gender: A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd (the 17 Ian Rutledge mystery)

I've decided not to count rereads and I'm not counting a book set in England as my Country Not My Own book, although England is clearly NOT my country. I need to read about someplace else! I have a huge number of books tagged 'England'.....

I'm somehow still not 100% sure what counts as a genrebender. But I think The Alloy of Law should work for that category, since its prominent tags include fantasy, western, and steampunk. I've enjoyed lots of Brandon Sanderson's other books, but always put off this one because his Mistborn trilogy was my least favourite and I haven't actually read the third one. Eventually someone told me that reading the first trilogy wasn't a requirement for reading this one, so I'm happy to get to it at last. So far so good.

For the prophecies and portents square, I'm reading Sophocles 1: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. I figure Oedipus Rex is probably the canonical example of a story about prophecies. And I've never actually read it, because I stupidly used to think that I should only read Greek works in Greek, which takes forever and is unrealistic. I'm really enjoying the translation :)

Finally, for a book on an unfamiliar subject, I'm reading On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City by Alice Goffman. Recent events have made me aware of how ignorant I am about what life is like for a huge group of people (poor, and predominantly black, excessively criminalized by the police and the system). So this has been really informative, if discouraging.

I should really read books one at a time rather than all at once, but I think I still have plenty of time to get through these by the end of the month.

Zoe, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City looks interesting and I look forward to reading your thoughts about it.

"Read a book where prophecy, signs, or portents are part of the plot"

I think this was discussed quite a while back, but I think I need a reminder on what it entails... This might be a tricky one for me.

>45 LibraryCin: Well, it's up to you how you interpret it, but any form of premonition of what is going to happen in the future would work. It could be a "seer" of some form (be that Cassandra in Agamemnon or Danny Torrence in The Shining. It could also be something like the Harry Potter series (particularly book 5) where there is the prophecy of Harry and Lord Voldemort.

>46 PawsforThought: Ok, thank you!

The other one I meant to ask about at some point... "Chosen by someone else". Are people specifically asking others to choose something for them, or are people using Book bullets and such and considering that something "chosen" by someone else?

47> Book Bullets are something you choose for yourself. I used a book from SantaThing. If you're part of a book group, what someone else chooses for the group would count. Some people are asking someone else to just choose.

Completed The Rosie Effect, the sequel to The Rosie Project tonight. This one fills the book on autism square. I'm about 80% through The Song of Achilles which I hope to finish tomorrow.

>44 RidgewayGirl: It's definitely interesting so far! I'm about three quarters of the way through and have learned a lot. I'm also looking forward to the afterword, where the author will hopefully say more about her role among the people she describes. There's also been a bit of controversy surrounding the book that I'll have to read up on once I'm done.

>49 clue: I somehow managed to finish The Rosie Effect on December 28, just too soon to count it for the bingo card! :P

I'll look for your thoughts in your thread.

>51 _Zoe_: I finished a book based on letters on the 30th. Oh, well, probably something will come along this year. I'm not going to worry about it in January.

>52 MarthaJeanne: Hehe, that does make me feel better :)

I don't think autism should be a particularly hard category to find another book for, either. But I can't help feeling a bit silly anyway.

>53 _Zoe_: Always glad to help.

Anyone reading Swedish or German, Und im Wienerwald stehen noch immer die Bäume was an interesting book. Probably even more so for those with a Swedish background. The book was written in Swedish, but the original letters were German, and they seem to have been smart enough not to retranslate those. It is about a Jewish teenager who was allowed to immigrate to Sweden during WWII.

>54 MarthaJeanne: I recognise that book! Haven't read it, though. But I have read a few accounts of Jewish (and Roma) people who immigrated here during WW2. Fairly popular WW2 subject over here, I'd say.

>54 MarthaJeanne: That sounds really interesting. Something to keep in mind if my German ever gets much better :)

This month, I'm reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and A Wizard Abroad by Diane Duane for the BingoDOG.

A Wizard Abroad will be for the "Read a book with a mythical creature" square. It should have fairies, but I won't know until I actually read it.

As for The Golden Compass, I've started that one already. It's for "Read a book where prophecy, signs, or portents are part of the plot" square, and apparently there's some kind of prophecy (or something like it) about the main character Lyra, which she has no clue about. Nor does the reader, except that it entails her going North and being in danger.

>48 BookLizard: Thank you for the ideas! Hmmm, I could also use a f2f book club book...

I just finished City of Sorcery for signs and portents, but my Bingo card has disappeared.

>59 MarthaJeanne: What do you mean by "disappeared"?

I had an empty message there, but when I clicked on edit the text was still there. It's back now. Just took a looooooooong time to load, I guess. I thought I had waited long enough.

Still no more than two in a row.

>61 MarthaJeanne: Oh, alright.

>61 MarthaJeanne: You're not nuts - mine failed to appear for a while this morning, too.

>61 MarthaJeanne: I've often had trouble with the loading, but usually it's fine if I just refresh the page rather than waiting.

I had tried reloading. What it needed was time.

Anyway, it's working fine now as I add in Die Entschlüsselung des Himmels as a book about a subject I don't know much about. It would also fit as a CAT book or a book with scientists.

I now have a line with three.

I have owned Call the midwife for over a year.

Two for me:

"Takes place in a country other than your own" - In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana)

"Owned more than 1 year" - The Quilter's Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini (since 2010)

Another for me:

Owned for more than a year: Tribe of the Tiger: Cats and Their Culture by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Finished my third, To Say Nothing of the Dog. A book where an animal is of importance.

I added a Darkwing Duck GN, The Duck Knight Returns to mine for "reminds you of your childhood", as that was one of my favourite cartoons growing up. And The Luck of Troy, by Roger Lancelyn Green, fills the "based on a fairy tale or myth" square.

>69 majkia: That's so true! And not at all obvious to begin with, lol.

69 & 71> That's right. The cat is very important.

There is a book in Member giveaway that would work either for letters or LT author. More copies available than on offer. Not my cup of tea, but if it might be yours. I did find a couple of others that might be useful for me.

Using this for "Major Historical Event" (WWII)

Life After Life / Kate Atkinson
3 stars

In this book, Ursula lives her life over and over again. She is born in 1910 and dies. She is born again (starting over in 1910), lives a different life, making different choices and dies again. Over and over making different choices and doing different things each time.

I know so many people loved this. I liked the *idea* behind the book, but I just didn't find most of Ursula's lives very interesting. Some of them were, but I was bored through others. I also liked the idea of being able to “try” different decisions and make different choices and seeing where it would lead. Overall, though, this book was merely “ok” for me.

Portuguese irregular verbs had a lot to do with language - or at least with linguists. It is very funny.

I read Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg for inspired by another piece of fiction, but it could also be used for with correspondence and letters. It wasn't that great but it was short.

A different book that I would recommend is Black Ships by Jo Graham. It could be used for mythology, prophecies, other country (unless your in Greece, Egypt or Italy), inspired by another piece of fiction, and maybe event a major historical event (takes place between the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome).

I got my third square: Territory by Emma Bull is a genre bender, mashing up Western and fantasy. Unfortunately, it was only an okay read for me.

I was able to check off two more squares:

LT Author - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Topic I am Unfamiliar With - Stagolee Shot Billy by Cecil Brown; had absolutely no knowledge of the Staggerlee/Stagolee story until reading this book.

>78 LittleTaiko: Yay! I just started Station Eleven, so I already know which square to use it for. And I thought that would be a tough square to fill.

Just finished Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson which I put in 'read a book with a protag of opposite gender'.

I also just read a book with a protagonist of the opposite gender: Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli. I found the plot somewhat confusing (there's an art theft, and a blackmailing scheme, and everyone wants Mortdecai dead for some reason), but I loved Mortdecai's narrative voice! It's very reminiscent of Bertie Wooster, if Wooster were more self-aware and clever/amoral enough to be a criminal.

Assuming my pre-ordered copy arrives today, I'll soon be reading First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen. It's set in a world pretty much like our own, but there are some magical elements. I'm wondering whether it can be considered a "genre bender." What do you all think? I honestly can't decide!

>82 christina_reads: It's more of that romantic magic realism genre, isn't it? But if you want to use it, I don't think anyone will yell at you for it!

I'm not sure if I want to read it, as Garden Spells was my least favorite of Addison Allen's books, but I expect I will end up reading it eventually.

>82 christina_reads: I would have considered Garden Spells a genre bender, so if it's like that, then I think it would count.

>83 RidgewayGirl: Yeah, "romantic magic realism" definitely covers it! Which could be defined as one genre or a mashup of different genres (romance + fantasy), depending on how you look at it. Gah, ambiguity!

>84 sturlington: I think it will probably be similar to Garden Spells…in fact, it follows many of the same characters!

I just finished a (third) book for HistoryCAT, so I now have a full diagonal line on my Bingo card.

Clan of the Cave Bear

>86 MarthaJeanne: Congrats!

>86 MarthaJeanne: Congratulations! That was quick! I hope you enjoyed all the books.

>86 MarthaJeanne: Congratulations!

I look at it this way: The one I did not enjoy wasn't a total loss, because I got to count it on BingoDOG. On the other hand, I probably could have found a book with a male main character that I would have enjoyed.

Has anybody read Posession, I'm currently reading it and hadn't planned on it being a Bingo Square and then came across a whole chapter with letters between two characters that. Think that would count as a book with correspondence or letters? I wasn't sure if the intent for BingoDOG was for the whole book to be the correspondence or not.

I adored Possession. And yes, letters are very important to the plot so I certainly think it could count for the correspondence square on the Bingo card.

I agree that Possession works for the epistolary square.

Possession is one of my favorite books - I agree that the letters are important. Count it!

Yippee! Thanks for the advice. I love it when I accidentally stumble into a Bingo read.

>95 LittleTaiko: I was the one to propose the letters square, and I don't know possession but the intent was just that letters play a part in the story so it's fine! That being said, I'm looking forward the review :)

86> How did you like Clan of the Cave Bear? I have it down as a possibility for one of my squares, but I don't want to read all those pages if it's not good.

I've now Read a CAT for my Bingo square.

River God / Wilbur Smith
3.5 stars

In ancient Egypt, Taita is a slave, eunuch, and doctor. When his mistress, young Lostris, is betrothed to the Pharoah, Taita goes with her. Lostris, however, is in love with Tanus, also a friend of Taita's, so Taita helps them steal time with each other. The time period of the book covers almost the entire lives of Lostris and Tanus, so there are also wars and travel in the book.

It was good, but long. That is, the story was good, but I can't say I particularly liked any of the characters. Taita was just way too good to be true, in fact. Not only was he a doctor, but he was a horse-whisperer, a chariot-designer and builder, a play-writer, an astronomer, a philosopher and more and he excelled at all these things. Not bad for being a slave! I didn't really like Lostris or Tanus, either, and I didn't like some of the things they did. I also didn't like the hunting scenes in the book. Now, despite this fairly negative-sounding review, I didn't really think that badly of it. I did like it, overall.

Here's my list to ddate:

3. Call the Midwife
7. On The Brink
8. Narrow Road to the Deep North
12. Belfast Noir
13. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
22. The Christmas Thief

I added 3 more:

Unbound by Jim C. Hines for a protagonist of the opposite gender.

Raging Star by Moira Young for where an animal is of importance (the crow). (I could also say for the red herrings, but I won't.)

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch for set in a country other than your own (although I've read so much 19th century British literature, that I sometimes forget that England is not my country).

>97 BookLizard: I love the series, and have read it several times, but not for a few years now, so I intend rereading the whole series this year. I have made the rule for myself that I can count books over 500 pages as two on my categories, but Clan is 49_, and I admit to thinking that it ought to have those few extra pages. Good, Valley of Horses is longer.

>99 LoisB: The numbers aren't enough, as the various boards have the squares in different orders. On my board 3 is 'reminds you of your childhood'. I suppose that could apply to Midwife, but I hope you grew up somewhere healthier.

I just realized, I haven't been good about the wiki. Done now, although there doesn't seem to be a place for 'read a CAT'. Or am I blind?

>102 MarthaJeanne: I think that not all the squares are in the wiki.

102 read a cat is like the free square so that's why it's not on the wiki.

101> Thanks! I have a "Brick" category - a book 500 or more pages. The Kindle version of Clan of the Cave Bear is 516 pages. :-)

I haven't been good about the Wiki either. Oops.

>104 sturlington: That makes sense; and all the CATS already have their own wikis, so it's easy to check there to see what people have read.

I was thinking it might be fun to have a thread where everyone posts their bingo cards, but I can't decide whether it would be worth the effort to update yet another place.

>104 sturlington: That's what I figured.

I think I know what to read for outside my comfort zone.
First, I am not a cat person.
Second, I don't read comics, graphic novels, whatever you call them. (Exceptions really only for Asterix, and I haven't read those for years, either.)
Third, this comic uses cursive writing, which I hate reading, even in English.
And I prefer not to read translations.

So I'm not quite sure why I bought Die Katze des Rabbiners. But I looked at it in the store, and I actually think I might enjoy it. But it is definitely outside my comfort zone.

>106 _Zoe_: Maybe we could have a bragging thread where we can post our card once we get a bingo! Or if we complete the whole card. Whatever we're going for. All purely optional, of course.

106 & 108> I'm just afraid such a thread would be slow to load.

What about a section on the Wiki where we can post links to our Wiki - alphabetical by our names.

>101 MarthaJeanne: Thanks, I didn't realize that the numbers were different. Here's my card:



3. Call the Midwife
7. On The Brink
8. Narrow Road to the Deep North
12. Belfast Noir
13. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
22. The Christmas Thief

Well, now that I read >109 BookLizard:, I realize that you don't want cards posted. Sorry about that! I won't do it again, although I will say that we did post cards last year for the "100" Bingo challenge and it didn't seem to impact performance.

You can see my card at http://www.librarything.com/topic/185276

>107 MarthaJeanne: I've heard good things about The Rabbi's Cat. I don't read graphic novels generally, but this one is on my list of books to take a look at if I run into it.

Yikes - forgot about the wiki! Updates have been made.

I just finished my fourth book for the Bingo. My grandmothers' name was Dorothy, so The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers fit the "Author Has Same Name as Ancestor" Square.

I think I have forgotten the Wiki and am now on my way to add my completed books.

>102 MarthaJeanne: I noticed that last night, as well.

>104 sturlington: And that was my assumption as to why it wasn't there! :-)

Hmmmm, maybe I'll post a link to my card with each review I post for one of the squares...

I just finished Sexing the body, which talks about the way culture and science have influenced each other as our interpetation of gender have changed. There are lots of scientists in here. But the overwhelming thing I noticed about the book was the tiny type face.

The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat

According to CK this was first published in 1915. It is available from Gutenberg.

Oops! This was for Opposite gender protagonist

Dissolution / C.J. Sansom
3 stars

It is the 16th century in England. Anne Boleyn was beheaded about one year earlier and Queen Jane Seymour has just died after giving birth to Edward. Monasteries all over England are being closed. At one that is still open, someone has been murdered, so Thomas Cromwell sends lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, to investigate, along with his helper, Mark.

It was ok. For some reason, although I quite enjoy historical fiction and I like mysteries, historical mysteries don't always appeal to me quite as much. It took me quite a while to get into this story, and I still found my mind wandering at times. I did like the ending, though – I certainly didn't see it coming!

And for Scientists:

The Poisoner's Handbook / Deborah Blum
3.75 stars

The author looks back at the early 20th century in New York City as scientists learn more about various poisonous chemicals. She looks at various deaths (often murders, or suspected murders, but in some cases, accidental deaths) caused by the poisons. Various chemicals she focuses on include chloroform, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, radium, cyanide, carbon monoxide, and more.

I listened to the audio, and although I was interested, I still managed to get distracted at times. I suspect it would have been a full 4 star book for me had I read it in print or ebook. Of course, the true crime aspect makes it a little more interesting, still, with “real-world” applications to the findings. Probably no surprise, but I didn't like the animal testing that was done/described. This one's nonfiction, but it reads like a novel.

And this is my Bingo card as it stand currently. Not doing it on purpose, but for some reason, I seem to be filling up the top half much quicker!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/179949#4959505

Just finished The Bobbsey Twins At The Seashore for the Reminds me of Childhood square. Here is a link to my card:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/180957

Finished two more books:

Letters - Possession by A.S. Byatt
Scientists - Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Really happy to get these two categories checked off as I thought they might be some of my harder squares to fill.

Have a couple of other books coming up that I'll be able to use.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott - Major Historical Event (Civil War)
Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse - Owned over a year
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - Language

It turns out that Testament of Youth uses letters a lot, but it is over 600 pages, so it's taking a while to read.

>113 RidgewayGirl: I finished it this morning. Actually very good, and enough theology to keep my interest. Still not comfortable with the whole thing, though.

Finished Station Eleven by an LT author. Highly recommended.

I finished The Prestige by Christopher Priest, in time to include it in January's SFFFCAT, although if I hadn't finished it on time, it would fit nicely in February's RandomCAT.

I'll finish Being Mortal by Atul Gawande tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm reading it with my father and I'm looking forward to the conversation we'll have about it.

I finished Sophocles I: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus for a book where prophecies or portents are part of the plot. I'm glad that this bingo square, combined with the HistoryCAT time period and theme, gave me the push I needed to read all of these at last.

I'm also happy with the pattern on my bingo card so far, though I'm sure it won't last: https://www.librarything.com/topic/186190#4995418

I started my February RandomCAT book early and will be using it for my "outside my comfort zone" square: Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham. I used to read more creepy serial killer mysteries when I was younger (as well as watching all of the CSIs and reading the odd true crime book), but I burned out on them and have not been keen on picking them up since.

I've had a pretty good January, but not as good as some of you!

Actually Read

• Read a book with a mythical creature: Soulless (Vampires & Werewolves)
  
• Read a book translated from a language you don't speak/read: The Strange Library (Japanese)
• Read a CAT: Fever Crumb (SFF CAT January)
  
• Read a book that's completely outside your comfort zone: Call the Midwife (Social History)

About to Finish

• Read a book that's been on your shelf for over a year: Clockwork Prince

I'm not specifically targeting the BingoDOG squares this month so it's not bad going for chance!

It's early in the year for targeted Bingo reading IMHO, and some of the squares I've filled I had meant to fill with another book.

>133 MarthaJeanne: Ha! I also filled some that I'd earmarked for something else. I'm just pleased that at least one of the books that I've had for over a year got read in January. I've just decided not to compare it to the number of new books I acquired ... there lies the road to madness!

I agree that for the most part there's no need to worry about specific squares so early in the year, but I do find that it's helpful to keep the possible squares in mind when choosing books for monthly CATs. The prophecies/portents square definitely influenced my selection of Oedipus the King (et al.) for ancient myths/legends this month.

I realized I have a question about another square, though: for a work inspired by another piece of fiction, what exactly counts as a "work of fiction"? Specifically, are you counting ancient epics etc. as works of fiction?

>135 _Zoe_: If you mean the Odyssey or the Aeneid, I sure would! But I have Lavinia slated to read later in the year, so maybe that's my bias talking.

I am reading Rites of Passage by William Golding which will work for Correspondence. It is written as a journal to for his patron in England.

I managed three books for the Bingo this month:
A book inspired by another piece of fiction Die Nebel des Morgens
A book set in a country other than your own Walpurgisnacht
A book that reminds you of your childhood Aruna

And I can add a fourth:
A book whose author shares an ancestor's first name Distant tyranny by Regina Grafe who shares a first name with my grandmother.

I'll be using The Riddle of the Labyrinth, by Margalit Fox, as my "book about language".

I finished Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery for "reminds you of your childhood".

I ended up completing 6 squares in January.

An Animal Is Important - The Bear by Claire Cameron
Owned for More Than A Year - The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
A Genre-Bender - Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Based on a Fairy-Tale/Myth - Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Author Shares Ancestors' Name - Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers
With an LGBTQ Main Character - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

I finished Flaubert's Parrot. It would meet the has an animal (though the bird is stuffed). It would be a good genre bender; it is a biography within a work of fiction, it is about writing, it is a book about books.

Is there a February BingoDOG thread set up? I don't mind doing it, but I don't want to repeat it if there is already one I'm not seeing!

I haven't seen one. Go ahead and start one!

>144 majkia: Thank you! I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing it.

Here's the February thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/187427