February BingoDOG reads

Hi all, and welcome to the February BingoDOG thread! Please share what you're reading for Bingo this month, and don't forget to update the wiki (link is on the group's main page).

Oh - I'd better go check out that wiki! I don't think I added all my January reads.

Going to count Hollow Kingdom, by Kira Jane Buxton, for the "three consecutive letters of BINGO in title" square.

>3 rabbitprincess: I am up to chapter nine of Hollow Kingdom at the moment!

I'm reading The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews for the "small press or self-published" square. The publisher is Perfectly Proper Press, which appears to be an imprint for Matthews's books only. Matthews is also an LT author, for anyone who needs to fill that square!

I read A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman for February's RandomCAT so have finally checked off the "Read a CAT" square.

will be counting Wolf Hall as the red cover.

I read Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing and put it in the Small Press square. It was published by Tin House Books of Portland, Oregon.

I used Garou by Leonie Swann for the pen name.

For the "proper name in the title" square, I'm reading The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay.

I'm going to try the Bingo card using only female authors. In which case, I managed 2 in January.
Book set in Asia Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips
10. Book with at least three letters of BINGO consecutively in order in the title (BIN, ING, NGO, GOB, OBI...the letters can cross words but must be in order and be consecutive) Mudlarking, Lara Maiklem

Medora Field, the author of Blood on Her Shoe, was a journalist—so I'm claiming that square.

I just finished Christmas Mystery of Love by Caroline Johnson. This was a short, clean read set in London, England. It was an okay read, mainly a romance and had very little to do with Christmas. Two ladies meet with love and romance and also danger as they prepare for a wedding. There were a few typos or other errors that needed to be corrected, and it was published by a small press. This fits for RandomCAT Leap Year challenge, since it was published in 2016, and also for the BingoDOG "small press" square.

I also read The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System for the BingoDOG "not set on earth" square.
With these two added, I completed another line across on my Bingo Card. Yippee!!

I have finished my first Bingo with Big Little Lies in the non-US/UK female author square (Lianne Moriarty is Australian) - that completed the first row across.

I'm reading The Awakening of Miss Prim for the "female author not from the US or UK" square -- the author, Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera, is Spanish.

I've added R.U.R. for the published in 1920 square and Full Tilt for the Read a CAT square.

I read Travelling In A Strange Land for the BINGO letters square - using the most obvious letter combination of ING.

Counting Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse, written by James Goss and illustrated by Russell T. Davies, for the "red cover" square. The actual hardback is red, and red is the only colour on the dust jacket.

I've claimed the Read a CAT square with this month's RandomCAT, a leap year book—The Black Piano by Constance & Gwenyth Little, published in 1948.

For the Read a CAT square, I read So Big by Edna Ferber, published in 1924, a leap year, for RandomCAT.

Read a CAT (NonfictionCAT)

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident / Donnie Eichar
3.75 stars

Nine Russian hikers disappeared in February 1959 while hiking in the Ural Mountains in Siberia. When they were found, their tent was all set up nicely, though it had a few rips, and their bodies were a ways from the tent. The oddest part was that they were in various states of (un)dress and not one of them was wearing their boots. This was in very cold -- far below freezing -- weather. The American author heard of the mystery and was interested in trying to figure out what happened.

The book was told in three different “parts” - the hikers (almost all in their early 20s), based on photos and diaries; the searchers, only a month to three months following the hikers’ disappearance; and the author’s trek to Russia to see what he could find out (including a trip to the place they disappeared, and interviews with a tenth hiker (in his 70s when the author met him), who had had to turn back early due to health issues).

I was particularly interested in the parts from the ‘50s. The author’s story, I didn’t find quite as interesting, until he came closer to the end where he ruled out many theories (and, of course, explained why he ruled them out), and put forth a scientific theory as to what may have caused the hikers to retreat from their tent, to ultimately succumb to the elements. There were plenty of photos included, as well.

Finished Local Is Our Future for the non US/UK female author square (author is Swedish).

And just finished The Girl Who Chased The Moon - great one to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon reading. For the LT author square.
So close to getting my first line - still waiting on a library hold.

I've finished Beyond Black for the book about death (it features a medium who communicates with the psirit world, so I'm thinking that counts - a number of the characters were dead in the conventional sense).
I also finished A Room full of Bones for the Mystery or true crime square.

I read Circe and used it for the Proper Name in title square.

I've used Murder in the Mill-Race for the Legacy Library Square. Apparently it was in Dwight D Eisenhower's library. I wonder why; was he a fan of golden age mysteries?! The mind boggles!!

>26 Helenliz: It seems like a lot of famous 20th century people had a weakness for detective novels -- I've seen a ton of those Golden Age mysteries in the Legacy Libraries!

For a book about books, bookstores, or libraries, I'm reading I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel.

I just finished Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym for the "published in the year of your birth" square.

I've decided to fill in my "read a Cat" block with The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert which I read for the February Random

The Bertrams appears in the Legacy Libraries of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.

I have read Classified as Murder by Miranda James for the pen name square. The author's real name is Dean James; it is an example of a male author using a female name. The author primarily deals with male relationships in the portrayal of the characters.

>31 sallylou61: I didn't realize Miranda James was a pseudonym. I guess I can use the Miranda James book (File M for Murder) that I read for that square. I'd always thought it odd that a female author used a male amateur sleuth, but since the author is actually a male, it makes sense.

For the "published in 2020" square, I'm reading Lucy Parker's Headliners, the newest book in her London Celebrities series.

For "weird title square I'm reading The tale of Despereaux: being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread by Kate DiCamillo.

>31 sallylou61: >32 thornton37814: "Miranda James" is a librarian, a cataloguer. I am a cataloguer and I first heard about the series, as he was promoting it himself on a library cataloguing listserv! I've read 2 or 3 of the books, and have been enjoying them.

>35 LibraryCin: I'm a cataloger, but I haven't participated in AUTOCAT for a long time. Is that the listserv to which you refer?

I've finished The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus for the "epistolary novel" block.

>36 thornton37814: Yes, that's the one! It's really slowed down the past 5ish years, maybe. I think a lot of questions now go to the rda list, and after Mac Elrod passed, I think that slowed it down more, as well.

I'm going to count Ape and Essence, by Aldous Huxley, for the "book in a Legacy Library" square. It's in Huxley's library, of course.

Also just realized I forgot to check off the "published in 2020" square with Successful Aging, by Daniel J. Levitin.

>38 LibraryCin: I might be able to keep up with it now if it's slowed down.

Periodic table element

Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof / Blaize Clement
4 stars

Pet sitter Dixie is watching (with the help of her elderly friend, Pete), a service dog to a little 3-year old boy (who needs to be in the hospital for a surgery). Next door, Dixie meets Laura, a beautiful woman who recently moved in. Dixie and Laura quickly become friends when Laura reveals that she recently left her husband and is hiding from him. It’s not long before Laura is found murdered in her house.

This is a pretty good rating for a cozy mystery from me (often they are 3 or 3.5 stars). It’s a light book and a light series, but I really enjoyed this one. Of course, I love the pets in these stories and I love some of the secondary characters – Dixie’s friends and family – particularly her brother Michael, and his partner, Paco.

I've finished 2 more squares.
Royal Escape for the Historical event
Faces on the tip of my Tongue for the wierd title

Set in Asia

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats / Jan-Philipp Sendker
2 stars

Julia’s father disappeared, so she heads to Burma to find him. When there, she meets someone who tells her a tale of her father and another woman, a women who was not her mother.

Summed up in one word: boring. I have no idea what prompted me to add this to my tbr! Even just before starting, I looked at the title, and wondered about that – based on the title, it did not sound like something that I would like... and I was right. It actually started a bit creepy, I thought, what the man (who ultimately told the story) said to Julia. It might have been more entertaining for me had it stayed creepy! The end was super-unrealistic and eye-rolling.

I'm starting Water Witch by Cynthia Felice and Connie Willis, which is set on a fictional desert planet and hence "not set on Earth."

For the Folklore square I read Noah Barleywater runs away by John Boyne. It was a lovely story.

For the true crime or mystery square I read The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman. It was interesting but certainly not one of my favorite books. It is the first book assigned for an adult education class in which we will be reading and discussing four mystery novels, three of which are by new for me authors.

I've just finished Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass for the "three consecutive letters in Bingo" block ("ing" and "ngo")

The Testaments is my epistolary novel, as the story is told in documents (memoir and witness testimony). Great read.

I am gleefully counting a Doctor Who novel for the "real historical event" square. The Plotters is an adventure in which the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki are in London at the time of the Gunpowder Plot and encounter Guy Fawkes.

I just finished The Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burdette for the "published in 2020" square. I really enjoy her Food Critic mysteries, set in Key West.

>47 sallylou61: What did you not like about The ritual bath? What are the other books you'll be reading for this class? I hope you like them better than the first one.

>50 rabbitprincess: Congratulations!

My February BINGO dog reads are

Resurgence by C. J. Cherryh (not set on earth)
My degeneration: a jourey through Parkinson's by Peter Dunlap-Shohl (small press)
Scarlet Fever by Rita Mae Brown (mystery)
An American marriage by Tayari Jones (epistolary novel)

I'm sure I won't get four in any other month - the squares get harder as the year goes on (I rarely look for a book that will fit a square unless it is the last square I need to complete a row.)

I finished Mew is for Murder by Clea Simon for the "LT author" square.

I picked up a couple of kids' books that deal with New Orleans, since I just got back from there. I read The King Cake Baby for the "mythology and folklore" square on BingoDog. This story is a spin-off from the Runaway Gingerbread Man tale. I have collected quite a few of the spin-offs from that story, and it is fun to see how they are set in different locations and cultures.

For the published in 2020 square I read The Last Passenger by Charles Finch. Wonderful mystery!

I just finished A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas for the "LT author" square, as well as Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice for the "Legacy Library" square -- it was owned by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Astrid Lindgren, and Carl Sandburg. Craig Rice is also a pseudonym, in case anyone is looking to fill that square...and either book would count as a mystery! I really enjoyed both books.

I'm checking off the "read a CAT" square with Tessa Dare's Do You Want to Start a Scandal, which was published in 2016 and therefore fits the February RandomCAT (published in a leap year).

And I have used Reise nach Arabien for the historical event. This is an account of a Danish expedition to the Yemen in 1761-1767 and would also be a great book for the March GeoCAT.

I've started to delve into this challenge as well and have two squares to contribute:

King Rat by China Mieville for the "3 letters of BINGO" square, and
The collapsing Empire by John Scalzi for "not set on Earth".

For a book involving a real historical event, I'm reading Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Richard John Neuhaus, which obviously centers around the crucifixion of Jesus.

I finished Treachery in Bordeaux by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen for the "By a journalist/about journalism" square. Jean-Pierre Alaux is a French journalist.

I completed four squares during the month of February:

- A proper name in title: Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman
- A periodic table element in title: The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards
- Published Under a Pen Name: The Year At Thrush Green by Miss Read
- Three Letters from the Word Bingo are in the Book's Title - The Vanishing Raiders by Fred Grove

The Strangler Vine is set in Asia, in India in 1837, to be precise, and a very satisfying read, even if it has a very slow start.

I've used London Transports for the proper noun & She-merchants, buccaneers and gentlewomen : the lives and times of British women in India 1600-1900 for the red cover. There's not all that much red on the dust jacket, but underneath the covers are a dazzling scarlet!

Just finished up The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan for, obviously, the Red square.

I finished a few squares this month:

Periodic table of elements: Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis
Published under a pseudonym/anonymous: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Epistolary novel: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

>67 staci426: Taking a BB for Life As We Knew It. I see there are four books in the series. Are you going to keep reading them?

Thanks to the leap day falling on a weekend, I was able to squeeze in another book into this month. Finished The Right Sort of Man at 4.30 am this morning, for the "pen name" square. A fantastic murder mystery.

I've just finished The Flinck Connection by Estelle Ryan for the "small press or self-published" block.

I doubt I'll finish anything else today, so my Feb BingoDOG reads are:

By journalist/about journalism: Trace: Who Killed Maria James?
Proper name in title: The Mont Saint Michel
Read a CAT: Tallinn: A Medieval Crossroads for the Feb GeoCAT

Just finished Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce a 4-star read for the journalism/journalist square.

Pearce describes realistic WWII conditions in blitzed-out London, especially as they apply to women. In turns funny, sad, and poignant, the story illustrates the astonishing courage of the most ordinary people during the blitz. Recommended.

I only added one this month.

PROPER NAME IN TITLE: Bon Jovi: The Story by Bryan Reesman

>68 JayneCM: I didn't realize it was part of a series until after I started reading it, but definitely plan on continuing with the rest of the books. I'm actually hoping to get to the second one some time in March. Hope you enjoy it!

I fit a couple of earlier February reads into this (besides the one mentioned earlier)

Library or thing: Julio Bunny Goes to the Library by Nicoletta Costa
LT author: Corned Beef and Casualties by Lynn Cahoon

I've created a March thread here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/317362.