September AlphaKIT: F and W

Welcome to AlphaKIT for September

The rules are... none! Use the letters however you like to choose your reads for the month. Well, okay, there is one rule: Have Fun!

September AlphaKIT letters are : F and W.

and

Please remember to update the wiki and enter books alphabetically: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2019_AlphaKIT#September:_-_Letters_F_and...

I've got quite a few options here but I think I will choose Full Moon by P G Woodhouse to go for a double.

There will likely be things I read for other challenges that will fit, but I'll figure out something for F, just in case. In case there isn't another W (or I might read this one, even if there is another), one option for me:
- The Woman Who Can't Forget / Jill Price

I have Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay for this month, an orange prize listed book.

My reading plans for this year have kind of fallen off the rails. But my plan is to read Laws of Murder by Charles Finch and The Martian by Andy Weir.

>2 Robertgreaves: - Excellent choice! You can never go wrong with a Wodehouse book.

Not sure what I'll be reading but am eyeing Choked Off by Andrea Frazier and Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper.

I'm planning on Jasper Fforde's The Woman Who Died a Lot, which works for both letters! Other possibilities for "W" are Well Met by Jen DeLuca and A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas.

I have a lot that will fit but I think I'm going to read The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan and maybe
the next Jacqueline Winspear for W.

These letters work out nicely for me as I am hoping to read Waiting for Wednesday by Nicci French, Panopticon by Jenni Fagan, Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse and The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker.

I just was talking about Wolf Willow by Wallace Stegner in another thread, and now I see there's an F in the subtitle . . . .

I'll be reading Wheels within Wheels by F. Paul Wilson for a double.

I'm pondering Witchmark , Foundryside, Waking Gods and Who Buries the Dead

I have a few that fit both letters. I'll read at least one:

Fried green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
The Devil’s Feather by Minette Walters
Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford

This is an opportunity to read Witold Gombrowicz's Ferdyduke, which covers both letters. It's been on my shelf for a while.

Some authors I am considering; Faulkner, Winterson.

I think I have way too many candidates for this month:

✔Bound For Murder
Clarets of Fire
✔Country Inn Murder by Faith Martin
✔Crepe Expectations by Sarah Fox
Digging For Trouble
✔Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
✔Fatal Cajun Festival
✔Fields' Guide to Abduction
First Hit of the Season
✔Flour in the Attic
Gown With the Wind
Little Shop of Found Things: A Novel
Michelangelo : the Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel
Murder on the South of France
✔Past Due For Murder
✔Pie Hard by Kirsten Weiss
Street of the Five Moons
✔Temptation of Forgiveness
Thread on Arrival by Lea Wait
Toxic Toffee by Amanda Flower
Tudor Dawn by David Field
✔Vanishing Man by Charles Finch
✔Wed, Read, and Dead
✔Yeast of Eden by Sarah Fox

I am planning to read Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary, since that fits with my Newbery Award personal reading category. Not sure about the "W" yet, although I have two in mind.

>18 LadyoftheLodge: that is my most favorite Ramona book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I will read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Works for W 3 ways.

I will also read Vile Bodies in September. Evelyn Waugh.

I read two books by Wanda Brunstetter et al for NetGalley, so I will count those for my W selection.
Amish Front Porch Stories and The Brides of Big Valley.

Read Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. Now for some title fun, I'm going to start Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane.

I have completed my read of Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse for "W".

Finished Vile Bodies by Waugh. It was a quick one.

Frederic F. Van de Water has just the right initials for this challenge, and he wrote The Eye of Lucifer, which I just read. This 1927 murder-mystery-thriller showed its age, and not very attractively.

Finished Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh.

Finished my first "W" Waiting for Bojangles 5 Stars!

Currently reading another double "Lingua Franca" by William Thacker.

COMPLETED Lingua Franca by William Thacker

COMPLETED Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate for a lot of Ws.

I started the Murderbot Diaries (by Martha Wells) - This series is about a killer security unit ("SecUnit") who disables its governing module and, instead of going on a killing spree as expected, starts watching and listening to thousands of hours of media, in particular a TV drama/soap opera called "Sanctuary Moon!" With free agency, the Murderbot sets its own agenda. These are rather expensive given that they are only about 150+ pages or so each in length so I recommend borrowing them from the library. I got the first one, All Systems Red in e-book form (only $3.99!) and the second one; Artificial Condition via a comp code from Downpour (Not a fan of the audiobook narrator: In a situation where the main character is described as genderless, the audiobook publishers decided to cast a young, Africa-America male. In reading it in my head, the voice is much more neutral.) I borrowed the third book, Rogue Protocol from my Library/Libby and placed the fourth one on hold. Hopefully it will come in before the month is over!

Read Anthony Trollope's Doctor Wortle's School. Just what I wanted: multi-dimensional characters, a sure moral sense (which reminds me of Jane Austen), humour, and happy endings for the deserving.

Finished The Devil's Feather by Minette Walters that hit both letters. Not a bad read, but not one of Walters' best.

Finished my second W this month Twisted Threads by Lea Wait. Meh...I was lured in by the cozy seaside setting and the needlework theme, but the writing and plot didn't hold up for me. Satisfied two challenges in one though!

Finished Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane which covers both letters.

COMPLETED Full Moon by P. G. Wodehouse.

Starting The Gardens of Delight by Ian Watson

October thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/311202

Finished Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist for my F.

I have completed Murder in Greenwich Village by Liz Freeland and Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather.

What the Night Knows / Dean Koontz. 4.5 stars
4.5 stars

When John was a kid, his entire family was murdered. He killed the murderer. His family was the last of four families to be murdered at the time. John is now married with kids of his own and is a cop. 20 years later and another family is murdered, seemingly by the 14-year old son. But there are too many similarities to the first of the four family murders 20 years earlier for there to be a coincidence…

I really liked this. It drew me in immediately. It did slow down in the middle (but in part, I also think that’s because I had shorter amounts of time that I could sit and read; I would have liked to sit for longer periods of time for this book), and it picked up again at the end. It is horror, it is violent. I found many parts of it, especially at the start, very creepy (which I love, but wasn’t great to be reading right before bed, which I mostly was for this one!). Definitely creepy...

I have completed Dead Lovely by Helen Fitzgerald for my 'F' read.

The Personal History of Rachel Dupree / Ann Weisgarber
3.5 stars

Rachel is a black woman who married Isaac, on a deal to get land in South Dakota. Fourteen years later and five kids with one more on the way (and two in the ground), and they are suffering the worst drought, and don’t know how they will survive. It’s 1917, as they struggle, and it’s even more difficult due to being the only black family for miles.

This was good. They may have been the only black family, but there were “Indians” nearby; Isaac hates the Indians, so Rachel took her cue from her husband (though she would need the help of one of the women later on). I especially liked the way it ended, and would love for there to be a sequel, as I’d love to know what happens next!

I've finished The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch.

>43 LibraryCin: I loved this but was horrified to think I might ever be put down a well!

>45 clue: Oh, that poor little girl!

Fables, Vol. 21. Happily Ever After / Bill Willingham
3.5 stars

******Possible SPOILER for earlier volumes*******
Bigby is back (sort of) but on a rampage.
******END SPOILER******
Magic is no longer concealing Fabletown (and, in particular, a castle) from the residents of New York City. We are gearing up for a battle between the sisters, Snow White and Rose Red.

Well, I wouldn’t say this lives up to “happily ever after”! There is one more volume to go. As usual, there are lots of different stories going on in this one volume, so I enjoyed some stories better than others. I found one story particularly interesting, as we learn of Snow and Rose’s mother’s story (which extends to their own story). We even had a couple of surprising deaths in this one. Not my favourite, but still a good volume in the series.

>43 LibraryCin:, I had this on my desk for awhile to read but had to return it to the owner. I was intrigued by it.

>48 Kristelh: Are you still planning to go back to it, at some point?

Heating & Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly counts for my F in this cat.
A smile and a tear...what a beautiful way to create a memoir. Told in a series of vignettes this poet has shared poignant and ordinary moments from her life in a way that draws the reader in and doesn't let go. To say that her prose is lyrical is to state the obvious whenever a poet turns to prose. The stories of her life are interpreted with humor and a deep sense of reflection. Highly recommend this little gem.

I read a couple of books by Fiona Davis this month - The Chelsea Girls and The Address.

Another W book this month The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber. Historical fiction is my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about this time and place (The Badlands 1903-1917) to judge its historical accuracy. The story however was compelling and a great read focusing on determination, finding a path forward and dealing with consequences of decisions made and opportunities lost. The main character is a black woman who bargained a trip to The Badlands in the early twentieth century. The suffering she and her family endured is palpable, from hunger, thirst and physical injury to loss and vain hope. It is definitely worth reading to sharpen our empathy skills to the challenges that are made harder by racism and poverty.

>43 LibraryCin: I agree...I would be on board for a sequel.

Also for anyone interested, I found this on the author's website
https://annweisgarber.com/the-personal-history-of-rachel-dupree/book-talk/the-tr...

Managed to get a W book for September: Medicine Walk, by Richard Wagamese.

Finished 13 of the 24 on the list for the month, Wahoo!!!

No W books this month, hmmph. I did read 4 F books, though.

>55 fuzzi: LOL, I read 4 or 5 books, but all "W"s!

>56 Tanya-dogearedcopy: so we balanced out each other!