January AlphaKIT: D and U

Welcome to a New Year of bookish fun! January begins with

and

Remember to update the wiki here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2016_Unofficial_AlphaKIT#January

I've got several lined up:

Dark Lady - Colin Falconer - (an Early Reviewer book I need to get to)
An Expert in Murder - Nicola Upson
Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham for the Horror Challenge

Currently I'm planning on reading Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger and Dino by Nick Tosches.

I've marked Dracula (by Bram Stoker) has my AlphaKit read for January.

If I have time, I might read Uncle Tom's Cabin (by Harriet Beecher Stowe.)

I have a lot to choose from - mostly ROOTs too :)

for D:
Don Casmurro by Machado de Assis (also works for GeoCAT)
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel (this one isn't a ROOT)
and I have a bunch of Michael Dibdin mysteries to read...

for U:
Underworld by Don DeLillo (though I guess this could count as a D as well!)
Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad

I'm looking forward to participating in the AlphaKit this year. I have decided that I will only use author's names for this challenge and so for January I will be reading:

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter
Bad Penny Blues by Penny Unsworth

D is going to be easy but U is a terrible way to start the year!

>2 majkia: Day of the Triffids is on my wishlist but I really don't think I can get to it in January.

Here's my list for January....

And Only to Deceive
✔Beastly Things by Donna Leon
Deadly Notions
Deadly Readings
✔Death Overdue
✔Deep End
✔Diva Digs Up the Dirt
✔Diva Haunts the House
✔Golden Egg by Donna Leon
✔Monument to the Dead
✔Murder Under Cover
✔Six Strokes Under
✔The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

I don't see anything from my RandomCAT list that fits here, so I'll likely wait a bit to see if anything I'll be reading for other challenges fits here before I choose something specific to this challenge (if necessary). U is likely to be the trickier one! (And I admit to having an initial reaction to match >7 Robertgreaves:!)

I'm going to start with Devices and Desires by P.D. James and The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart. I might also try to get to Daniel Deronda (George Eliot) and Under Fire by Henri Barbusse.

>8 Robertgreaves: & >2 majkia: I also really want to read Day of the Triffids but might have to hold off on that!

I'll be reading Dancing on my Grave and Usagi Yojimbo.

oh excellent, a double letter catch!

Okay so I will definitely be reading Bitch Planet, Vol 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick and I will try to bookhorn in Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm.

Whewww. My book club has chosen Unbroken for our January book, so that takes care of that.

>15 Robertgreaves: What a fantastic book that is.

>16 luvamystery65: agreed, it was on my best reads list for 2014!

Starting "The Year of Reading Dangerously" by Andy Miller

COMPLETED The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

I have already veered off my plan and am listening to the audiobook of Death at Wentwater Court.

Finished Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger and have now started Dino by Nick Tosches.

>21 LittleTaiko: Did you enjoy Beautiful Lies? I did when I read it a few years back!

>1 majkia: hey! Would Scott O'Dell qualify for "D"?

>23 fuzzi: Sure, why not?

>24 majkia: yippee!

>22 LibraryCin: - Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy it overall. I found it to be a page turner, but the overall story didn't work for me, especially all her inner dialogue/explanations. I did like getting a better sense of life in New York though.

>26 LittleTaiko: That's too bad.

I read Stone Cold by David Baldacci and I've pulled out Unquenchable Fire, which I've had for a long time and so it will also count for the SFF KIT.

I finished the Brazilian classic Dom Casmurro...

Skellig / David Almond
3.5 stars

Michael and his family have just moved. His baby sister is not doing well, health-wise. When Michael is exploring he finds someone – a little... different – in the garage.

It was good. It's children's lit, so it moved quite quickly: sentences and chapters were short. I mostly enjoyed the story, but I am unsure whether or not I liked Michael's new friend, Mina. It was a short book, so it was a quick read.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches / Alan Bradley
3.5 stars

*******SPOILER FOR PREVIOUS BOOK IN SERIES********
When Flavia's mother, Harriet, comes home, Flavia learns more about her disappearance and her parents' histories.
*******END SPOILER*********

As always, Jayne Entwhistle is the perfect Flavia! The stories aren't always as much to write home about, but overall, they turn out enjoyable. This one was interesting to learn more about Flavia's mother.

COMPLETED Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

Could we have a thread for X and Z, please?

I am listening to the audiobook of Don Juan in Hell which is a section of G.B. Shaw's Man and Superman which is sometimes performed as a stand-alone play.

I finished The Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis.

Another "D" done, Dark Horse Barnaby!

This is another good read by author Marjorie Reynolds, about a boy, his family, and a horse.

While this story isn't all sweetness and light, it's not all gloom and doom either: the kids are believable, and the issues with their parents and other adults isn't overdone, but seems about right.

I've finished my "D" author read with The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter. A rather dated Inspector Morse mystery set in Oxford.

I finished Dead Even by Brad Meltzer--my first work of his, but it won't be his last :) I'm planning on a 'U' read also, but haven't quite settled on what it will be...

Oh, and just realized the other book I finished today also fits 'D'! -- The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion int he Making of Consciousness by Antonio Damasio. Full review written. It's not an easy read, but it's certainly worthwhile if you're interested in the subject...

Finished John Darton's The Experiment. Sadly, only 2 stars.

I finished The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield which I found charming and amusing. Now onto my U title, Under Western Eyes by Conrad.

Hi all. I finally joined the group last week, and this is my first post. I've followed the group since Cindy told me about it last year, but I had such limited free time that I knew it would be difficult for me to participate much. I love the creative challenges and am happy my schedule now offers me a bit more free time so I can join in. Yay! (and now that Shelfari has announced its demise I may be here even more)

I finished Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb. I read my first book in the "In Death" series not too long ago and got hooked. I seem to read at least one per month. Sadly, I didn't like this book nearly as much as prior reads. Just 3 stars.

I have completed my "U'" read with Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth. I gave this 4 stars and I believe this is one that due to both it's dark crimes and references to pop culture will stay with me for some time.

I don't know when my choice for D will come in from the library so I will count Fables, Vol 7: Arabian Nights and Days by Bill Willingham instead.

Just finished Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson, and started Plan D by Simon Urban. Who knew deciding to read books for the 2016 AlphaKit would have me reading two books in a row with the word 'penis' on page 1. That's never happened to me before.

>41 bluebird_: welcome! Glad to have you. :)

>44 jeanned: It's a pity books with the word 'penis' on page 1 is not this month's RandomCAT.

Thanks for the welcome fuzzi.

Can someone explain how to enter a book on the wiki? I took a look at the help and editing help section but guess it wasn't quite helpful enough. Do I enter the book in the same way I did for the touchstone? Anything else of importance I need to know before I hit "save"?

I was planning to read the unquiet bones by Mel Starr, but with the end of Shelfari my reading is currently on hold while I make sure all my data is transferred and information I want to keep is saved. (Fortunately I was fairly good about entering at both sites, but not 100%). Hopefully this won't take too long and I'll get to finish the book before the month is out.

>47 bluebird_: See message #3 in the following thread for help on how to enter a book on the wiki

http://www.librarything.com/topic/195220

To be honest, I just copied what I saw others had done and that seemed to work out fine.

>44 jeanned: Wow!
&
>46 Robertgreaves: Bwahaha!!!

>47 bluebird_: I copy the wiki line above where my book needs to go (alphabetically by title, most of the time), and then replace the work #, title, etc. with my own information.

So, if the wiki reads like this:

* http://www.librarything.com/work/6008755 '''D'''ark Horse Barnaby - Marjorie Reynolds - fuzzi

And I want to add this:

Mom, There's a Bear at the Door

1. I copy the line for Dark Horse Barnaby
2. I paste it where my book needs to go, in this particular case, after The Lost Amazon
3. I then replace the work # 6008755 with the work # for Mom, There's a Bear at the Door
(you find the work # by clicking on your book, and copying the # after the word "work" in the url: "http://www.librarything.com/work/16878145/summary/124680733" which would be 16878145)
4. Then I replace the title and author info of the wiki entry with my book's title, author, and add my name, so it would now look like this:
* http://www.librarything.com/work/16878145 Mom, There's a Bear at the '''D'''oor - Sabine Lipan - fuzzi

You can put ''' before and after any item you want to put in a BOLD font.

Hit the save button, and if it says "whoops!", hit save again.

Addendum: the square brackets don't show in this post, but make sure you keep them before the "http" and after the title of your book.

>46 Robertgreaves: We'll keep that idea in our back pocket...

>48 leslie.98: Thanks for the link. I suspect I will find it quite useful as I navigate my way through the world of Wikipages.

>50 fuzzi:. Thanks for the step by step instructions.

I'll update the wiki when I'm on my computer. I'm sure I'll get the hang of things soon.

>44 jeanned: and >46 Robertgreaves: OMG, hilarious, thanks, I needed that...

>44 jeanned: & >46 Robertgreaves: Good one! Watch out for a re-appearance of the topic on RandomCAT or BingoDOG next year!

I read Person or Persons Unknown by Bruce Alexander and Untold Stories by Alan Bennett. I'm currently nearing the end of Dressing Up for the Carnival by Carol Shields that hits both letters.

Just started the audio for Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley.

>44 jeanned: & >46 Robertgreaves: - If all else fails this will be the challenge I use when it's my term to pick Random Cat later this year. :)

>41 bluebird_: Hi, Bluebird! Nice to see you here! :-) I'm hoping more shelfarians will join us!

>48 leslie.98: Yeah, that's what I did, too! :-)

February AlphaKIT is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/215490

>57 LittleTaiko: I can see it now...a month of raunchy romances and who knows what else. Plan D is turning out to be a good alternative history / mystery, despite the main character thinking about his genitals a lot.

>61 jeanned: ROFL

I finished Unquenchable Fire and I just started Of Love and Other Demons.

I have just finished Deanna Raybourn's A Curious Beginning, an excellent start to her new series - A Veronica Speedwell Mystery.

Finished My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell for my D book. Cute memoir about his experiences when he was 10 living in Greece.

Dropping in from time to time. I just finished The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson. This is a character driven mystery set in the high desert of Utah. It was a good read - just a little rough around the edges, but a great start for a first novel.

I finished Under Western Eyes...

I discovered Dog Culture, a library book, under a stack. Since it's due this week, I moved it up to #1 in the queue.

Yesterday, I finished Man of Two Tribes by Arthur Upfield. For those of you also participating in the GeoCAT, I know there are a lot of great choices for June, but I would definitely recommend a book from this 1950s detective series. The descriptions of the Australian landscape, and how man copes in this vast and deadly environment with little or no technology, are wondrously written and thought shifting.

>69 jeanned: I've read quite a few of these mysteries and rate them highly.

Starting "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

>69 jeanned: I will endorse your recommendation of Upfield's mysteries -- the setting (both time & place) make them worth reading even if the mysteries weren't as excellent as they are.

>71 Robertgreaves: oh, that's a really GOOD one!

My read for D was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. I doubt I will get to U.

Finished The Unblinding: Poems by Laurence Lieberman. Full review written, adding it to the wiki now!

COMPLETED Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Starting "Doña Bárbara" by Rómulo Gallegos

Just started The Unincorporated Man by Dani and Eytan Kollin - didn't realize I was getting both U and D until I started it!

Finished An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson. Good start to a series.

Just finished this one. The U is almost lost in the middle of this long title The Clothes They Stood Up In and, The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett.

COMPLETED Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos

Starting "A Drink of Deadly Wine" by Kate Charles.

I started Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm. I don't think I"ll finish it by the end of the month but I'm going to try!

Finished The Undressed Art: Why We Draw - Peter Steinhart ; currently reading Despatches from the Frontiers of the Female Mind: An Anthology of Original Stories - Jen Green, Sarah Lefanu , eds.

COMPLETED A Drink of Deadly Wine by Kate Charles

Starting the same author's "The Snares of Death"

Just added All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Finished Day of the Triffids .

I have finished Diary of a Nobody -- I have gotten a lot of D titles done but only one U. I think I will reread The Unfinished Clue as I am in the mood for a Heyer :)

Us / Richard Mason
3 stars

Julian, Jack and Adrienne knew each other in university in England. They each have their own memories of each other and the main person who linked them, Julian's sister, Maggie.

It was ok. Each chapter changed viewpoint, but it was marked at the start of the chapter, so fairly easy to follow – at first. In the second half of the book there were shared chapters that alternated viewpoints each section, so that was trickier. I didn't really like any of the characters, so that never helps in liking a book for me. There was a slight surprise ending.

COMPLETED The Snares of Death by Kate Charles and starting the next one in the series, "Appointed to Die".

My fifth book for this challenge has been read and reviewed: The Angry Hills by Leon Uris.

I completed The Unincorporated Man by Dani and Eytan Kollin today.

I've added several 'D' books to the wiki, but I only got in one 'U'. I hope I'll do better next month - I already have several 'J' and 'B' books lined up.

Unbecoming was good. The story is about a heist and it's aftermath but it's really about who people really are.

I finished rereading The Unfinished Clue. A fun Golden Age mystery.