January 2017 RandomCAT - Search and Rescue

For this month’s RandomCAT, I challenge you to read a book that meets any of the following criteria:

- contains the word “search” (or a synonym) in the title
- contains the word “rescue” (or a synonym) in the title
- is about a search for a specific person or object (a quest!)
- is about rescuing someone or something

For the title options, if you’re reading in another language, a word that means either “search” or “rescue” in the title counts.

Books about perilous situations from which people have to be rescued:
Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer
The Finest Hours, by Michael J. Tougias

Books about searches for specific people or objects:
Anything about the Holy Grail
The Arctic Grail, by Pierre Berton
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

As always, don't forget to add your choices to the wiki! http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2017_RandomCAT

I'm posting this a day early because (a) I have the time and (b) I have sufficient caffeine in my system to do this properly. Last time I posted a thread, I tried to do it in the early morning and ended up putting a 2016 thread in the 2017 group by mistake. It was the Christmas mystery thread, too, which would have been rather alarming.

For the RandomCAT, I will be reading Franklin's Lost Ship, by John Geiger, which talks about the discovery of HMS Erebus. Erebus, along with HMS Terror, sought the Northwest Passage.

This sounds like a fun way to start the year! My reading next month is more focused on fiction than nonfiction, so I think I'm going to go with Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature's Healing Secrets, which has been on my TBR for a while, and I've passed over it a number of times recently. I thought of it as soon as I read the post, so I think I'm meant to read it sooner than later :)

I am trying to stick to my TBR as much as possible next year and I have a book called Rescuing Rose by Isabel Woolf so I will be reading it for this challenge.

I'll be choosing from one of these, all on my tbr shelf:

The art detective: fakes, frauds, and finds and the search for lost treasures by Philip Mould
Darwin's ghosts : in search of the first evolutionists by Rebecca Stott
The lost city of Z by David Grann
Lost Fields by Michael McLaverty

I am planning to read David Brin's Earth, about an attempt to locate and recover an artificial black hole lost in the Earth's interior. How's that for an unusual search-and-rescue? :)

Since I want to read books from my TBR shelves as much as possible, I plan to read The Discovery of the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard.

>3 whitewavedarling: Yes! I love when the challenge comes up and a specific book immediately comes to mind. Go with those impulses!

>4 DeltaQueen50: Hurray!

>5 VivienneR: Ooh, the art one could be quite interesting. And I really liked The Lost City of Z. It's totally scuppered any thoughts of my ever going to the Amazon, but it was interesting to read about ;)

>6 mathgirl40: That sounds awesome!

>7 sallylou61: Yay! We'll be ship discovery twins this month :)

The Steerswoman seems to fit as she's on a quest to save knowledge. Nice CAT and set up!

>8 rabbitprincess: Scuppered

Very appropriate word from this year's nautical princess!

Nothing on my personal shelves really fits, but there is a book on my wishlist that should work out - A Partial History of Lost Causes which according to the description is about two people who are searching for meaning against insurmountable odds.

Here is the description of my next Hillerman novel : For acting Lieutenant Jim Chee, the murder of a Navajo Tribal Police officer seems like an open-and-shut case when he discovers a Hopi poacher huddled over the victim's butchered corpse. However, Chee's newly retired predecessor, Joe Leaphorn, believes otherwise.

Hired to find a missing biologist who was searching for the key to a virulent hidden plague—and who vanished in the same area and on the same day the policeman was slain—Leaphorn suspects both events are somehow connected. And the reported sighting of a "skinwalker"—a Navajo witch—has Leaphorn and Chee seeking answers to a deadly riddle in a dark place where superstition and science collide.

I think it fits so I'll go with this one. The First Eagle by Tony Hillerman

Oh... and since I've been talking about it everywhere else, and it fits here, I may as well mention again... Robot in the Garden; the book revolves around a search/quest, and I might be slightly obsessed with finding it more readers--it really was That good.

High Five by Janet Evanovich just showed on my reading list, and since Stephanie Plum IS a bounty hunter, I suppose it qualifies.

>13 whitewavedarling: - Ooh, yes. That was quite good. Thank you for your glowing recommendation that spurred me to promptly get the book from the library.

>15 LittleTaiko:, :)

A few possibilities:

Scent of the Missing / Susannah Charleson
A Dog's Purpose / W. Bruce Cameron
The Lost Dogs / Jim Gorant

Also, I want to reread this, but I always have a hard time choosing a reread over a book I've never read, so we'll see:
Into Thin Air / Jon Krakauer

I've wanted to read Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff and it's perfect for this challenge.

There's nothing that immediately jumps out to be read. The Search - my favorite Nora Roberts, must be because of the dogs - came to mind, but I try not to do re-reads.

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar would fit for both the AwardsCAT and the RandomCAT for January.

I have several possibilities in my TBRs, but I think I'll probably go with either Searching for Pemberley or In Search of Eden.

>19 sushicat: The Search - my favorite Nora Roberts, must be because of the dogs - came to mind, but I try not to do re-reads.

I've already read it, as well, and really liked it. Was also the first book that came to my mind. Probably also my favourite NR book!

Although I set aside The Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for the Dewey this month, it would also work for this challenge, so I may try to get into it again. I also have Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams. But that book is already packed for the move, so I'd either have to unpack it or get it from the library. I also took a BB from Jennifer (aka: whitewavedarling) for A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install and may try to get it from the library depending on the length of the hold list.

I will be reading The Lost City of Z by David Gren.

My read will be from one of about 300 on my Kindle: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankel. I wanted to use a book already on my shelves, so I hope this works!

On 2nd thought, I will continue my read of Moby Dick.

The book I'm choosing from my TBR shelf will probably be Lest Innocent Blood be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and how Goodness Happened, by Philip P. Hallie, which is about how a little French village rescued over 5,000 Jews during WWII.

>25 kac522: I've read that book! It's been several years at this point, but I do remember liking it.

>25 kac522: Glad to have positive feedback. I figured it was a better choice from my shelf than the other book that qualifies: The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn. At over 600 pages, it seemed a bit much as I have to read The Iliad in January for my book club.

>22 dudes22: Unbroken: by Laura Hillenbrand is excellent! Hope you can get to it in January.

>17 LibraryCin: The Lost Dogs was a very good read, too.

I've started Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner, which fits this challenge as it's about the search for a missing woman.

>29 RidgewayGirl: Oh, a fall back for me...I have it on request at the library.

I'm not a member at Category Challenge, but I might use this RandomCat to inspire me to read more nonfiction, and to read my own books.
The titles I have that fit this cool category are:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey
Hope to read at least one of them!

>31 raidergirl3: I'm glad you found us! The RandomCAT is always fun.

And after reading The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean, I spend about a year determined to remain at least a mile or two distant from any significant body of water.

I would highly recommend The Hunt For Red October, an example of brevity by Tom Clancy.

I'm starting my 2017 challenge early because I'm ready for this year to be over! I picked The Long and Faraway Gone, which is tagged "missing persons" and "cold cases," so I am confident there will be at least a search as part of the plot, although maybe not a rescue.

>34 sturlington: Shannon, I read The Long and Faraway Gone earlier this year and really enjoyed it, hope you do as well.

>35 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, it looks good! Another missing persons search book I read earlier this year and enjoyed was Descent by Tim Johnston--it would fit this challenge.

>31 raidergirl3: If you get around to reading The Wave, be sure to let us know how it is! And welcome! The RandomCAT is my favourite of the many challenges we host here :)

>36 sturlington: Oh, I really liked that one, too!

I have searched my shelves and so far my best option is The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden, which I think is ok as save is a synonym for rescue. So it may be that one for me.

I finished The Long and Faraway Gone. It was an interesting and different mystery, which I enjoyed a lot. There was definitely a lot of searching going on.

I am considering a reread of Watership Down, as a "quest" book, and as a memoriam of the author Richard Adams who passed away this week.

I'm still traumatized from that book. You're a stronger booky than I, fuzzi.

Would Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad work, being a search (or quest) for freedom? I've started it already, but I doubt I'll have time to finish before the new year begins.

>42 majkia: you talking about the movie or the book Watership Down?

I love that book, have reread it a number of times.

OTOH, I read The Plague Dogs and DESPISED it. Never, never, never again.

>44 fuzzi: the book. I loved it but sobbed way too much through it. no desire to do that again.

>39 Roro8: Yep!

>43 virginiahomeschooler: Sure!

I'm thinking of reading So That Others May Live: Caroline Hebard & Her Search-And-Rescue Dogs by Hank Whittemore

I read Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris, which was initially published under the name shown in the touchstone. This is a nicely crafted mystery, but it is the setting that captured my imagination. Saudi Arabia as described seemed to me a dystopian landscape: too hot to be habitable, governed by arcane and mystifying customs with more in common with The Handmaid's Tale than my life.

I am thinking that Ethan of Athos which I am reading for the culture cat will fit for search and rescue (looking for reproductive parts to rescue the race), any thoughts?

I just realised that Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit fits here, since it involves John Franklin's search for the Northwest Passage.

>49 Kristelh: there are other "search and rescue" aspects of that book, too. I think it qualifies.

>49 Kristelh: & >51 fuzzi: I agree.

>51 fuzzi:, I am finding that to be a case as I get further into the book. I will be using it

Just read about a new book The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story that sounds like it would fit this category. I had a sample sent to my Kindle.

Finished Ethan of Athos. it was a good read and fit the random cat.

>55 Kristelh: Good to know that Ethan of Athos fits the RandomCat as I hope to get to it later this month.

Finished my selection: Franklin's Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery of HMS Erebus, by John Geiger and Alanna Mitchell. Great photography and accessible text.

So, I'm really late on planning my reading this month; just came back from vacation last Wednesday.

Anyway, I'm planning on reading Elizabeth is Missing, which I think fits in with the theme this month.

Also, I wanted to share something on this topic - on the cruise that I was on over the holidays, someone was declared missing and the belief was that they went overboard in the middle of the first night of the cruise. We spent our first day at see in a coordinated search and rescue effort with the US Coast Guard which was called off without success at the end of the day. It turned out the victim was suffering from depression and anxiety. Very sad for the family.

>58 LisaMorr: Oh no! How awful for the family.

>58 LisaMorr: omg! That's awful!

I've been on several cruises and the only huge mishap I heard of was that an elderly lady managed to fall off the side of the gangplank to/from the ship in Belfast. One of the crew jumped into the water to save her and she was taken to hospital and couldn't finish the cruise. It was big news as the crew member was roundly praised for his efforts.

I've finished A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install. Good story about a robot and the search to find who made him so he could be fixed.

Finished Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature's Healing Secrets, and it was a wonderful read. If you find yourself interested, it's worth your time! (And it will also fit into some of the CultureCat months, should you be following along with that challenge also.) In any case, there's a full review written, and I'm about to add it to the Wiki :)

As usual plans get thrown out the window. I picked up Bulles by Daniel Torres at the library. In this graphic novel a man is confronted with the state of his life and spends time talking to the fishes in an aquarium in a quest to find purpose for his life. Though this was not the original pick for this challenge, it fits very well. A very intelligent use of the medium. Unfortunately I don't think there is an English translation (yet).

> 63 'They're really guidelines, anyway."

As I browsed my TBR today, I decided that I could read The Four Feathers for this CAT. It has searching and rescuing!

My book is Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, a Canadian author, who writes about the rescue of a Jewish boy from a Polish city during WWII by a Greek geologist as German soldiers are searching for Jews to send to the death camps. Excellent so far.

I completed Saints at the River by Ron Rash. In this case, the search and rescue began with the search for the body of a 12-year old girl who drowned in a river.

I added Bellwether to my reading for this CAT as it involves the scientist's eternal intellectual quest for the reason why things happen.

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership With a Search-and-Rescue Dog / Susannah Charleson
4 stars
272 pages

This is primarily the story of Puzzle, but there are also bits and pieces about her handler (and the author). The author has been helping with search-and-rescue of missing humans for a while. She helps with the SAR dogs that are sometimes called out. She eventually decides she would like to be the handler of the one of the dogs, herself, so she finds a golden retriever puppy and trains her. Interspersed with stories of Puzzle’s training, the author shares stories of various searches she has been on.

This was very interesting, I thought. The entire training and certification process was interesting and I also found the search stories interesting: toddlers, elderly, teenagers, also searching after disasters… I do wonder, though, how the trainers can have jobs, but still go running when they are called to help.

>69 LibraryCin: I read that book, and enjoyed it as well.

>70 fuzzi: And I think it's a perfect fit for the SAR RandomCAT! :-)

Agreed! Too bad I already read it... :(

I finished and enjoyed two books that fit: Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures by Robert K. Wittman and Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists and
the Search for Justice in Science by Alice Dreger.

I've read two books that fit this category this month. First, was The First Eagle by Tony Hillerman in which retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is looking for missing vector control inspector that has disappeared. The search overlaps with Jim Chee's murder investigation which he thinks is clear cut, but it's not.

I also read Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. In this tale, a human engineer Leo Graf, helps rescue the Quaddies, a genetically modified people who have four arms. They are considered property by the company that created them. Nice side story in the Vorkosigan series.

I read The Fireman by Joe Hill and it fits for this random cat because there is a big search and rescue scene.

And I finally finished The hare with amber eyes with its search for the history of a collection of netsuke.

As soon as I saw the topic I thought 'Aha!' I've been planning to read Mendelsohn's Lost: the search for six of six million for a very long time. But on reflection, I don't think it's a book I can read that quickly. So, I'm leaning toward A Robot in the Garden which has also been on my list for a while. Thanks for the reminder!

ETA: Unfortunately, A Robot in the Garden has been checked out of the library by someone else - glad someone else is reading it. I'll look around for another one this weekend.

I have completed my January RandomCat read with Rescuing Rose by Isabel Wolff. Although I really liked the previous book by this author that I read, A Vintage Affair, this one didn't capture my interest and I found it a bit of a slog to get through.

I finished Elizabeth is Missing which was an excellent book and fit this month's RandomCAT well. It's about a woman in her 80's suffering from (I'm assuming) Alzheimer's (it's not ever said) who is searching for her friend Elizabeth; at the same time, she has memories of when her sister disappeared without a trace 70 years earlier. Really well done.

I've been reading The Lost Civilization of Suolocidir (no works page for this, apparently), a novel by Susan Daitch. I'm only about halfway through so it won't be done for this month's challenge. I picked it up at the library only because the title fit and I'm liking it more than I expected to. It tells the story of the search for an ancient lost city in the wildlands of Iran. The storyline is made up of several braided threads, one for each of the explorers who searched for it through the years. One thread is told through journal entries and letters, another is internal dialogue (quite LovecraftIan in an odd sort of way, but without monsters, so far anyway). Locations shift and political scenery changes frequently. Sounds chaotic but it actually pulls together quite nicely. I'll try for a full review when I'm done, but for now I'd say watch for it.

>80 muddy21: If you started it in January, I say it still counts ;)

Thanks, everyone, for joining this challenge! Lots of good choices.

>81 rabbitprincess: Thanks for this category. I am still waiting for my choice to be available at the library. I am looking forward to reading The Lost City of the Monkey God and I never would have chosen to read it if not for this Cat. Missed the month, but added a good book to my TBR list.

I'm a bit late checking in, but I did finish Earth by David Brin (about a search for a black-hole-like singuarity) and The Dispatcher by John Scalzi, which includes a search for a missing person.