February RandomCAT: Laissez les bons temps rouler

In the tradition of Mardi Gras, which is a big thing here and in cities across the Gulf Coast, this month's RandomCAT is to read a book in some way connected with a celebration/ holiday that isn't just your run of the mill national holiday, but one that is popular but a bit different. Examples: Holi, Mari Gras, A Pirate Festival, Up Helly Aa, Hogmanay, Guy Fawkes Day, Bastille Day... Hopefully you get the picture. If you're desperate, a family reunion, wedding or anniversary or even birthday would fit.

Here we celebrate quite a few things that are strictly local: Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival (the pirate attacked the town of Fort Walton Beach) and in Niceville we celebrate The Annual Mullet Festival (the fish, not the hair do). And a lot of other stuff, like Pioneer Day, Gumbo Festival and more.

Have fun with this. And don't forget to update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2018_RandomCAT

In the tradition of Billy Bowlegs Festival: http://www.billybowlegsfestival.com/ , I'll be reading a pirate book: Revenger.

Ooooh, this could be fun! Will have to think a bit about what I might want to read.

I'm going to have to think about this one. Does the celebration necessarily need to be a real one? (I'm thinking of whether I might have a fantasy revolving around a non-this-world holiday...

Ha! I have one on my tbr for Groundhog Day (I thought I would try focusing on February holidays to start.)

Before I Fall / Lauren Oliver

I'll see if this is easy to get from the library. If so, it's probably the one I'll do!

One tagged "Mardi Gras" that is also on my shelf (as an alternate) is:
The Dogs of Babel / Carolyn Parkhurst.

I'm thinking of reading Knee-Knock Rise for this one, since it takes place at least in part during a fair.

As part of my quest to funnel mysteries into the RandomCAT (and reduce the pressure on my main mystery category), I'll set aside Ten Days in Summer, by Susan Calder, for this challenge. It takes place in Calgary during the Calgary Stampede in July.

Ok, I put holds on both the audio and e-books. The audio might come in before Feb, so I may end up reading it before the month starts!

>7 rabbitprincess: Ooooooh, I live in Calgary! I'll be curious to see what you think!

I do see one in my TBR that has a Mardi Gras tag - Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs.

Great theme! I'm thinking of reading something from Scotland to celebrate Rabbie Burns Day, January 25th.

>11 VivienneR: That was my first thought too! I will be interested to see what you come up with :)

>9 LibraryCin: Nice! The book is at my parents' at the moment, so I might not get to it in February -- but definitely sometime this year!

>4 whitewavedarling: Fantasy or sci fi celebrations or holidays totally count.

>12 rabbitprincess: These are the titles I'll be choosing from:

The Lewis Man by Peter May
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey
Stonemouth by Iain Banks
Macbeth: a novel by A. J. Hartley
Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King

I'm considering Plum Lucky, which is set during St. Patrick's Day or Murder on Parade, which takes place on the 4th of July. There's a Rizzoli and Isles book, The Silent Girl, that I've heard takes place during Chinese New Year, but it's the 9th book in the series and I'm not quite there yet.

I live where there is mild weather from March through November so we have a lot of outdoor festivals and such. One of my favorites is the annual gardening show. The landscapers and nurseries set up actual gardens in the event center, some are really big and will have small tress and blooming (sometimes forced) plants. Last year one even had a small stream. There are lots of booths selling all sorts of things and there are also classes and some competitions. I love to go see everything.

You may have heard of P. Allen Smith, the professional gardener who has had a program on PBS for a lot of years and has also written many books on the home garden, home decorating, cooking, etc. Sort of a friendly, down to earth Martha Stewart. Allen was trained in Manchester, England although he is from Arkansas (when he mentions going to Manchester, he says "cornbread goes to England)." His 600 or so acre farm home, Moss Mountain Farm, is located about an hour from my home and I usually go there for a tour (and delectable lunch) at least once a year. In the spring there is Daffodil Days when his 400,000 daffodils and 15,000 tulips are blooming in mass. An absolutely glorious sight that I try not to miss.

So for this CAT I'm going to read a book related to gardening. I have two in consideration and the choice may come down to how much reading time I have. I have pawed through Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired The Classic Children's Tales by Marta McDowell several times but never read it from cover to cover. There is also a cozy mystery on my shelves with a professional gardener as the protagonist, Between A Rock and A Hard Place by Marty Wingate. Either way I'll get a TBR off the shelf.

Our local festival is the Tsawwassen Sun Festival as we are often sunny when other areas around us are not. To celebrate this sunnyness, I am going to read City of the Sun by David Levein.

>17 DeltaQueen50: - Hi neighbor!!!

I have 2 very local celebrations under consideration for this.


(1) Nanaimo's Bathtub Race This is a big deal in my home town. Complete with parade. And our vary own pirate. I was thinking of reading Will Save the Galaxy for Food, which is tag with "pirate".


(2) Parksville Sand Sculpting Competition & Exhibition One of my favorite childhood summer activities. And to enjoy the sun and sand, I was thinking Hell Hole wich is set in a New Jersey seaside community.

Decisions, decisions.

>18 dreamweaver529: Hooray! Another West Coaster. :) That is a hard choice I love books about pirates and I have read a couple of the John Ceepak books and find them very enjoyable!

>16 clue: - We used to have a great garden show which was in the middle of Feb and certainly brightened up the winter days. It was similar to the one you describe - garden exhibits, vendor sales, garden club and kid exhibits, and lectures. The last time I went (a couple of years ago), it wasn't as good as it used to be and they ended up stopping it after that year. I've always wanted to get to one of the bigger shows, but haven't yet.

I might resort to Murder under the Christmas tree in a slightly unseasonable read.

>19 DeltaQueen50: Alas, only a Wet Coaster in heart and sprite. Live and love (and money) have relocated the body to the Midwest (and after 13+ years I still don't know what's "mid" or "west" about it).

Will Save looks hilarious and I've enjoyed the first 2 John Ceepak books. At least I have a couple of days to decide. ;)

>20 dudes22: For several years a man that lived near me took tours to the big shows. I don't know what happened but he doesn't do them anymore and I could kick myself for not going on one.

I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where every year there is a nine day long festival called the Three Rivers Festival - there are a bunch of featured events, but two of the biggest are the raft race and the bed race. I was thinking about reading Bed-Knob and Broomstick to tie in with the bed race. Will this work? Is it a close enough connection?

>24 Crazymamie: Absolutely!

>24 Crazymamie: We have a rubber ducky raft race here. But alas, I can't think of a book that would work for that one!

>25 majkia:, >26 majkia: Awesome! And rubber ducky raft race!! how fun is that?!

Twice a year we have the Cottonwood Arts Festival which is something I always enjoying attending primarily because one of my best friends has a booth there. I'm thinking of reading an art themed book such as The Last Painting of Sara Vos by Dominic Smith.

>26 majkia: Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks?

>26 majkia: Or how about Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists and Fools Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them

>29 rabbitprincess: >30 Dejah_Thoris: ROFL

>26 majkia: Maybe Tender Wings of Desire? Granted it's chicken not ducks. But I hear they taste rather similar.

I have a feeling I've got at least a few fantasies in my TBR stacks that involve festivals/celebrations, so I'm going to endeavor to find one, but in the meantime, I'm also going to plan to read Poems for New Orleans, which I've been meaning to read for some time. I know it's got some poems in it related to Mardi Gras, so it will fit perfectly :)

>33 whitewavedarling: I'd love to hear what you come up with. I love fantasy novels and am always interested in a good recommendation.

>34 dreamweaver529:, I'll make sure to post a note here if I come up with anything. I read Flight of the Silvers last month, which involved an anniversary of a world event at the end which would have made it at least somewhat fit, but that's my only thought so far. (That said, that book was amazing--if you like blends of light sci-fi/suspense/fantasy, you should absolutely check it out. I'm reading the sequel now, and it's rare for me to move to a follow-up that quickly!

>35 whitewavedarling: Ohhh, looks interesting. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

And yes, please keep the idea coming.

I think a lot of cities have this, but here we call it Bite of Seattle. Lots of local restaurants gather together at the Seattle Center, in the shadow of the Space Needle, and offer lots of tasty treats at good prices over a three-day period. Our office is located 2 blocks away, so a group of us goes over there on Friday and has fun eating our way through the park. In honor of this food festival, I think I'll read Consider the Fork.

I've got a couple of mysteries which have been tagged Mardi Gras so I'll probably read one of them.

>37 owlie13: That's a great idea (from another Seattleite!).

This is a challenging category. I'm trying to think of something that will connect to Bumbershoot, an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. It takes place every Labor Day weekend at the Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair. The name of the festival was taken from bumbershoot, a colloquial term for umbrella, probably coined in the 19th century as a portmanteau of the words umbrella and parachute.

So if I can think of something with umbrellas.... Or the World's Fair....

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I've decided on Restoration by Rose Tremain for the Portland, Oregon Rose Festival.

Portland, Oregon celebrates the Rose Festival every year, so in honor of that I am reading a book with a rose-colored cover. ( I am after all, trying not to buy new books but read things off my shelf!). The Winner is the sequel to Life after Life by Kate Atkins: A God In Ruins.

>40 EBT1002: - I couldn't decide between Bumbershoot, Folklife, Seafair or the Bite. Finally settled on the Bite, since Consider the Fork was already on my TBR list.

>40 EBT1002: For Bumbershoot, Souless by Gail Carriger Parasol Protectorate series.

>42 owlie13: I am saving Consider the Fork for the ColourCAT challenge--gray! : )

>40 EBT1002: A recent non-fiction book is Brolliology, all about umbrellas in life and literature.

I hadn't really been thinking locally on this one. The only local festival / holiday that we have that would have potential for a book tie-in (we have a Peanut Festival - Planters started here, but I can't think of any good nut related books. There's probably a good joke to be made here) is HarborFest.

"For three memorable days, the Downtown Norfolk Waterfront transforms into an exciting playground for people of all ages. The historic waterfront festival offers a weekend packed with exciting activities on land and sea!

Harborfest® includes tall ships and the Parade of Sail, the largest waterfront fireworks show on the East Coast, local, regional and national entertainment, family activities, unique and unusual performances, water activities, work boat races, build-a-boat contest, and much more."

I've been thinking of reading Sail, by James Patterson for the AlphaKIT (J and P) and as a survival story for the ScaredyKIT. I think it would also work for this.

Maybe I will reread Johnny Tremain (which is about the events celebrated on Massachusetts' holiday Patriots' Day - for more info about this state holiday, see this Wikipedia article). That would also work for Feb. AlphaKIT...

The first thing that I thought of for this challenge was the Cranberry Festival which takes place every fall in Chatsworth, NJ which is near where I grew up. It celebrates cranberries, of course, and the local Pine Barrens culture. Then I thought, how am I ever going to find a book related to it. Upon some research, I was surprised to find a book which seems to take place in a NJ cranberry bog town, so I will be reading Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco. I may also read a non-fiction selection about the Pine Barrens if I have the time.

I love hearing about all the local festivals! A challenge to find books related, but still the tales about the festivals are great.

We have a chilli cook-off in February, the Highland games in March and the Dogwood festival in April. Don't know what I'll read, I may call on The Cooking Gene as a cooking memoir to go with the chili cook-off.

Ooh, ooh, ooh! WMSE, my favorite Community Supported Radio, has the Rockabilly Chili Fundraiser. There's a lot of food there (a lot of food), which is an even stronger tie to Will Save the Galaxy for Food.

Perfect, now I just have to wait for February.

Ah, my book came in from the library already! And it's an audio, and I just finished my previous audio. I guess I'm starting early, but I'm afraid I may finish early, as well!

>52 LibraryCin: I have the same problem (sort of: mine aren't audiobooks)! Nearly all of my February CAT/KIT/DOG picks have come in from the library already - yoicks! I'm trying to figure out how to balance holding them off and getting them read in time to return them (most are ILLs and so I can't renew them).

>52 LibraryCin: >53 scaifea: I'm a firm believer in cheating... ;)

>54 majkia: Ha! Well, I'll likely start them before February begins, but I'll at least try to *finish* them in February...

>52 LibraryCin: >53 scaifea: >54 majkia: Me too! I picked out most of my CAT reads in advance and will read them during the year as the mood strikes :)

>53 scaifea: I just got another audio today for the challenge over in the Reading Through Time group, as well! Unfortunately, it takes me longer to get through audios, so I just hope I can get through them both before they (esp. the second one) is/are due back!

>54 majkia: LOL! I just might be doing that! :-)

>55 scaifea: I'm hoping I'll be able to stretch it to finish in Feb. It's YA, so I have to hope - it's not a long one!

So, as I get further into my audio book, it seems that it's not really about a holiday at all. I chose it, as it was tagged "groundhog day" multiple times, based on the font size. It seems that was referring to the movie, not the holiday! Sigh... I guess I should have also read the description! It is one on my tbr, anyway (though I don't recall when I added it or why).

It is YA and it seems the high school has its' own little made-up holiday, similar to, though not the same as, Valentine's Day: Cupid Day. So, if I finish in Feb, I might still use it based on that (I think it was decided somewhere that fantasy holidays could work (or was that conversation part of my imagination!?), so I'm thinking a little high school "holiday" might count, as well), or I could read something tagged "Mardi gras" that's also on my tbr. We'll see.

>58 LibraryCin: Yes, fanatasy holidays definitely work.

Well, I decided not to count it, after all. As I listen to the book further, it seems like "Cupid Day" is just the name the school gives to celebrate Valentine's day at school.

I'll use my book tagged "mardi gras" instead. And maybe I'll even actually plan to read that one in the proper month! LOL!

Like in most of the US, last year's solar eclipse was a big deal around here, and we had a bit of a celebration. So I'm going to read The Shadowed Sun by N. K. Jemisin.

>61 lavaturtle:

That's a great choice. Our town was in the center of the totallity band and it seemed like everyone was having an eclipse party. The university even published a book about the event.

Our book club's February selection, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline is a reread for me. One of my favorite annual events in Charlottesville is the Virginia Festival of the Book. Ms. Kline was the luncheon speaker at the festival last year, and spoke about writing this book. I will be doing a complete reread of the book, and plan to count it for this challenge. I may also read another book/books bought at previous festivals; for all of them I heard the author speak.

I finished my selection for this one:

Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
Egan travels to a nearby town to stay with his aunt and her family during the local annual fair. This fair isn't the usual thing, though - it's held in honor of and to celebrate the monster who lives on top of Kneeknock Rise.
This is a fabulous story about the difference between fact and truth, about people's willingness to believe even when evidence to the contrary is right before them, and about the strange power of myth. I loved it, of course. Babbitt can weave a special kind of magic into her tales.

I finished The Scar which fits my pirate theme. Great book, btw.

I found Creole Holiday by Phyllis A. Whitney, which involves Mardi Gras at the public library. It's pretty short--only 207 pages in the large print edition they owned.

ETA: Competed 3 Feb 2018

I've read A Journey to Elsewhere: Poetry through the Seasons of Life by Leonard Tuchyner. It reminds me of the Virginia Festival of the Book since I heard Mr. Tuchyner read some of his poetry and purchased this book during it in 2016.

Mardi Gras

The Dogs of Babel / Carolyn Parkhurst
3.5 stars

When Lexy falls (or jumps?) from a tree and dies, her (and Paul’s) dog, Lorelei, is the only one who knows what happened. Paul, a linguist, decides to teach Lorelei to talk so she can tell him. The story also goes back in time to tell Lexy and Paul’s story.

It was good. Can’t believe Paul would take Lorelei with him to that meeting!!! Poor Lorelei. Have to admit, I didn’t really connect with Paul (or Lexy), so I didn’t really feel that badly about Lexy’s death. I maybe felt more badly for Lorelei! Paul just seemed distant or something; he didn’t even seem that affected… or that might have been how it was written. Overall, though, it was still good.

I was really wracking my brain trying to come up with something for this theme. We have a lot of local festivals. There is the Noosa Food and Wine Festival, the Gympie Country Music Muster, Big Pineapple Music Festival, the Noosa International Film Festival, Surfing festivals. So many choices. I don't know why I was finding this difficult. I am reading Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner, a dual time period story set with the filming of Gone With the Wind as a "back drop". I figure this ties in with the Noosa International Film Festival.

I'm reading The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey, which is set in Scotland, a link with Robert Burns Day in January.

Hoping this isn't stretching the rules too much. I read Powder and Patch which is a romance. February 14th is, of course, St Valentine's day, the day when romance is celebrated to the full.

I'm thinking of reading The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory...February is Black History Month, and the book has a black protagonist...or is that too much of a stretch?

I read a book that ended up working for this challenge - Aunt Bessie Enjoys is a cozy mystery set on the Isle of Man during the Tynwald Day celebration.

>71 Helenliz: It works!

>72 christina_reads: It works!

>73 LittleTaiko: Thumbs up!

My choice for the RandomCAT is Biikebrennen, "beacon burning", a holiday in my neck of the woods.
On February 21, fires will be lit all over Northern Frisia, the so-called "Biiken". It's an old custom, revived in the late 20th century and nowadays popular as an event to attract tourists in the off-season. Originally it probably marked the end of winter.
The book is a mystery that starts on the day of the Biikebrennen.

Finished Poems for New Orleans, which had a number of poems on the subject of Mardi Gras. I can't say I ended up enjoying the collection, much as I'd looked forward to it, but I guess I am glad I finally got around to reading it, long as it's been hanging about on my shelves.

I went to Scotland to celebrate Robert Burns Day with Josephine Tey and The Singing Sands.

Just noticed my January choice was The Grass is Singing. It seems I have a theme going!

I finished a reread of Johnny Tremain. Patriots' Day (now sadly no longer on April 19th but on the nearest Monday) is a state holiday here in Massachusetts and the battles of Lexington ("the shot heard round the world") and Concord are reenacted yearly. This book doesn't involve the holiday per se but is about the events the holiday celebrates.

I read another one set in Scotland in honour of Robbie Burns Day: The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

I read Krabbenbrot und Seemannstod which is set in a shrimp (Krabben) fishing community in East Frisia, in memory of the shrimp fishing boat regatta held in Büsum, which was my favourite childhood holiday destination.

An unexpected fit for this CAT was On the Night of the Seventh Moon, in which important events take place on the evening of an annual, fictional, local celebration on, well, the Night of the Seventh Moon. Who knew?

Also, it turns out that Mardi Gras (a parade, in particular) has a role in the very good children's book Trombone Shorty, which I highly recommend.

As do many other towns in the U.S., Macon, here in middle Georgia, has a fabulous Cherry Blossom Festival (aka The Pinkest Party on Earth) every spring - next month, in fact. I have a few cherry blossom books I'm hoping to get to. Surely I'll manage one....

Another local favorite is the Juliette Festival (aka The Green Tomato Festival) in October. The perfect book to read for this one is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe because the small town of Juliette was where much of the movie was filmed and believe me, they make the most of it! There is a Whistle Stop Cafe and you can indeed get some excellent fried green tomatoes.

My favorite aspect of this CAT has been learning about so many local festivals and events. It's been fun.

I have finished my book for this theme, City of the Sun by David Levien gives a nod of recognition to my local festival, The Tsawwassen Sun Festival and was a very good start to a new-to-me series.

My event was a garden show and I've read two books that are related. Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Marty Wingate and Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton. I liked them both but Agatha Raisin is the biggest hoot.

Wasn’t sure I was going to make this RandomCat but I am reading Barkskins by Annie Proulx and it mentions St. Anne’s Day (July 26 is the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, and the grandparents of Jesus. This was formerly only the feast of St. Anne) I think this is a Canadian (Quebec) holiday as much of this book is Canadian. I will finish before the end of the month.

Wasn’t sure I was going to make this RandomCat but I am reading Barkskins by Annie Proulx and it mentions St. Anne’s Day

I've got two more to add:

I joined Lori >66 thornton37814: in reading Creole Holiday and I completely forgot about adding Ludmila: A Story of Lichtenstein in which there is a annual celebration when the shepherds and animals return to the valleys from their high mountain summer grazing lands. Odd little book. Poor cow.

How about a Jewish celebration? I just read Exodus, and in it the people make a golden calf, then strip down naked and dance around to celebrate.

>87 fuzzi: Doesn't sound very Jewish to me, but sure, pagan celebrations count!

>87 fuzzi: Plus, Passover is in Exodus too!

I thought I posted here yesterday, but the internet is spotty here so I guess it didn’t take. I just finished Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs which takes place during Mardi Gras.

>88 majkia: thanks!! :)

>89 christina_reads: correct! I was thinking of "weird" celebrations and the dancing naked around the golden calf just popped in my head...

I'm a bit late updating this thread, but I did read two books for the February theme. The first is Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs, featuring Asian American characters. This goes with the Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 16, which is celebrated by many Asians.

I also finished Satellite by Nick Lake. It's a science-fiction book but it also has lots to say about family relationships, and I thought it was an appropriate choice for Family Day, a holiday that we celebrated here in Ontario (and in some other parts of Canada) on Feb. 19.

I finally finished The Shadowed Sun last night. Took me a while to get into this book.

>93 lavaturtle: Good for you for hanging in there!

I stretched celebration/holiday to include World's Fair by E.L. Doctorow. It was very enjoyable, it called itself fiction but it really seemed like a memoir.