March AlphaKIT: G and C

Welcome to AlphaKIT for March.
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!

March AlphaKIT letters are : G and C.

and

Please remember to update the wiki and enter books alphabetically: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2020_AlphaKIT#March:_-_Letters:_G_and_C

I'm planning on European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss and Who Buries the Dead by C. S. Harris.

I'll be reading Raising Caine by Charles E. Gannon

Thinking about A Season in Sinji by J.L. Carr.

My Reading Group's choice for March is Circe by Madeline Miller and I will probably read an Agatha Christie for MysteryCAT, so C is taken care of.

I've got possibilities for G, but I will have to see how other challenges work out first.

Right now I'm planning to read Mr Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game by Chris Grabenstein and The Lies that Bind by Kate Carlisle.

Hoping to read The Doll's Alphabet by Camilla Grudova for this one.

I have pulled The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom and Searching for Grace Kelly by Michael Callahan down from the shelves for the March AlphaKit.

Possibilities for other KITS for me include Cs:

A Cast of Killers / Sydney D. Kirkpatrick
The Passage / Justin Cronin

Checking into G...

Ok, a couple of options for G:
Giant George / Dave Nasser
Stuff / Gail Steketee

Oh, I have one that works for both!
The Great Train Robbery / Michael Crichton

Lots of options:

Port Vila Blues by Garry Disher
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Miss Chopsticks by Xinran
Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty
"G" is for Grafton by Natalie Hevener Kaufman

I'll read something by Ann Cleeves.

Also:
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
Copperhead by Alexi Zentner

G by John Berger

Here are my candidates:

Am I Guilty?
Be Our Ghost
Book Charmer
Cast Iron Alibi
✔Coconut Layer Cake Murder
Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut
Devil's Gold
✔Field Guide to Homicide
✔ Guilty as Charred
Murder at Royale Court
Murder at the Arts & Crafts Festival (2)
Peach Clobbered
✔Time's Convert

I am reading Good Morning Midnight by Jean Rhys. Excellent.

I'm thinking of Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell.

I read my first C book, The House Without a Christmas Tree.

>17 fuzzi: I loved that book from the time I first saw the TV version of it. I still have the copy I acquired when I was a child.

I finished James Martin. SJ: In the Company of Jesus by Jon Sweeney for "C" and am planning to read Greengage Summer for "G".

>18 LadyoftheLodge: I've never seen the video, just picked up the book on Saturday.

I finished The Carter of 'La Providence' by Georges Simenon (also known as "The Crime at Lock 14") which covers both C & G.

I use Alphakit to pick Orange Prize winners by their first or surnamee. In which case I have another near miss (completely by chance) - Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls

I just finished His Unexpected Amish Twins by Rachel Good. The touchstone is not showing up here for some reason.

I bailed on G by John Berger. Instead I plan to read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

I'm currently reading Copperhead by Alexi Zentner. It's not great literature but so far it's a compelling treatment of an important dynamic in our country today. The pace clips right along and I like that.

I have finished a reread of Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin - I had forgotten how funny Crispin can be!

Just finished The Million-Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins for the C. This was a good historical crime novel. It's number 3 in the Nate Heller series and the end of the Nitti trilogy, but would stand alone. I found the readjustment of veterans to be a particularly poignant part of the story.

I've just finished Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman.

I finished another one for this month. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. It was on my TBR list for ages. It had quite a twisty ending!

Two C's so far:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Against the Claw by Shari Randall

Finished Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke and Genghis Khan: A Life from Beginning to End by Houry History

I finished Copperhead by Alexi Zentner -- 3 stars.

COMPLETED Murder on Camac by Joseph R. G. DeMarco

I recently read Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Richard John Neuhaus, which sneaked a C into its subtitle! Now I'm starting Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth for G.

I just finished They Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

I decided to switch my "C" book to Worth Dying For by Lee Child. I had to read it right away after the last one to find out if there was an explanation to what happened at the end of the last one.

I have read:

G: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
C: The African Queen by C.S. Forester

Her Little Majesty / Carolly Erickson
4 stars

When Queen Victoria was a child, she was treated fairly coldly, and mostly “used” by her mother and a friend of her mother’s, knowing that she would likely be on the throne one day. This backfired on them when Victoria did reach the throne just after her 18th birthday. She married a cousin she loved, and once they were married, he did most of the political work, but he died young. Victoria mourned for the rest of her life for Albert. They had 9 children. Victoria varied on whether or not she got along with various elected Prime Ministers over time. She ruled for decades and she lived to be 81 years old.

I really liked this. The book is not that long, so I’m sure there was plenty left out, but I thought it was very readable and almost read like fiction. Despite all her kids, I didn’t have too much trouble following who was who, but maybe the author made sure to remind us? I didn’t notice. I have read a couple of fictional works about her, but this, I think, is the first nonfiction. I liked some of the extras thrown in about things that were happening at various points in time over the course of Victoria’s life, including fashion.

The Thorn Birds / Colleen McCullough
3 stars

This tells the story of three generations of a family based on a ranch in Australia. Fiona (Fi)’s daughter Meggie (short for Megan) falls in love with the local priest when she is only 10 or 11 years old. The priest, Rafe(?), seems to also fall for Meggie as she grows up. Meggie goes on to marry a neglectful husband, Luke, but she misses home too much and leaves him to return, but only after having two kids of her own, Justine and Dane.

I listened to the audio. It was fairly slow all the way through. It did pick up – at least enough so that I didn’t lose focus – particularly after Meggie got married, I thought. I wasn’t as interested in Rafe’s point of view. That was some of when I lost interest, during his parts. (Oh, look – see what happens when you listen to the audio... apparently his name was Ralph! And for a while, I couldn’t tell if it was Rafe or Wraith!) I’m not sure I really liked any of the characters. Looking at some of the other reviews, it seems there was romance? Hmm, really? I didn’t notice. Overall, I’m rating it ok. For a while, I thought about upping that to good, but I’m dropping it back to simply ok. I did like that the audio kept my attention (mostly, especially after Meggie and Luke got married). It was mildly entertaining.

>35 clue: I never thought about reading The African Queen but watch the movie when it is on TV. How close is the movie to the book?

>36 LibraryCin: I have been to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London many years ago. I will add this book to my TBR list. Good review.

>38 mnleona: if I might chime in here and add my 2 cents, the movie was way better than the book, which I didn't like much. And they weren't close.

>38 mnleona: The two principals were presented as bumblers, not at all the impressive characters that Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart portrayed, and the author patronised them snobbishly. The book was much more British than the film. I liked the book, but I read it before seeing the film.

>39 mnleona: Thank you! I hope you like it!

COMPLETED Crimes on Latimer by Joseph R. G. DeMarco

Starting "Circe" by Madeline Miller

COMPLETED Circe by Madeline Miller.

Starting Three Tales About Marriage, excerpts from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

I finished The Strange Case of the Alchemist Daughter by Theodora Goss. For my C (Case) and G (author's last name).

April thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/317656

I finished Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet and enjoyed it.

>45 Kristelh: I enjoyed The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter a lot. I've just started reading book 2 of the Exciting Adventures of the Athena Club.

>48 majkia:, will be looking for your thoughts.

I'm reading Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. Luckily it hits both letters because I'm not getting much reading time this month.

>44 Robertgreaves: I just started Circe and am really enjoying it so far.

Finished The Cinderella Killer by Simon Brett. Entertaining.

Completed Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. 3.5 stars.

>52 pamelad: Said the same thing again!

I finished The Canary Murder Case and am now reading The Galactic Gourmet…

COMPLETED 3 books by Agatha Christie:

Cards on the Table
Dumb Witness
Death on the Nile

A Cat Abroad / Peter Gethers
3.5 stars

This is Gethers’ second book about his travels with his Scottish Fold cat, Norton. In this one, Gethers, his girlfriend Janis, and Norton head to France for a year in the countryside. The author would just like to relax at the house (castle?) they are renting for the year, but Janis wants to see as much as she can. Of course, Norton joins them on all their travels.

These are enjoyable stories. A little bit of humour thrown in. A lot of food on this trip (they are in France, after all). It looks like I rated the first book slightly higher at 4 stars. There is one more and I will plan to read it.

I completed European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss. What a fun series.

Few more books:

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs by Caitlin Doughty
Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie
Miss Chopsticks by Xinran
Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley
Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

I haven't been very successful with the AlphaKIT so far this year, but I did end up getting one read for 'C' this month: The Thief of Always: A Fable by Clive Barker.

COMPLETED Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

And for G: John Tyler by Gary May

>61 Robertgreaves: I liked Moist von Lipwig! A fun addition to the Discworld cast of characters.

I have finished The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker, the 4th Bruno Courrèges mystery. Nice to get both letters at once!

I thought I had posted my reads here earlier this month, but I don't see it. I've a few for both letters:

G
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, 3.5*
Glass Houses by Louise Penny 3.75*
Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn, 4*

C
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire, 4*
Circe by Madeline Miller, 4*
Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh, currently reading

My latest read for this challenge:


John Henry: Racing's Grand Old Man by Steve Haskin

Another excellent bio by Steve Haskin, this time about a cheap throwaway thoroughbred yearling that sold for $1100 but became a world champion and the all-time winnings leader.

As with his other books, the author gives enough information to keep both the non-horsey reader and the avid racing enthusiast interested. Definitely recommended.

Giant George / Dave Nasser
3.5 stars

George was the runt of his litter, a Great Dane who came home with Dave and Christie when he was only 7 weeks old. By the time he was fully grown, though, he was almost 250 lbs! (Almost 100 lbs larger than the average adult Great Dane!) He was also very friendly and loved people. George eventually made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest dog.

This was a good story. He’s a sweet dog. There are photos included, as well.

COMPLETED two by Neil Gaiman for the G:

The Doll's House and

Dream Country (for a double)

I have completed both my reads for this months AlphaKit with the mediocre Night She Won Miss America by Michael Callihan and The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom which was very good.

Finished Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. She is one of my favorite authors and this did not disappoint. 5* read for me.

Last book of the month fits the AlphaKIT: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani.

I completed one more: The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty. It could work for either letter but I put it in the wiki for C -- double that.

Oh, and four enthusiastic stars.

Apparently I read a lot of books in March that would fit the AlphaKIT:

G
Gun Before Butter, by Nicolas Freeling
Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe, by Nancy Goldstone
Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Serial Reader)

C
Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute, by Matthew Williams
Murder in Mesopotamia, by Agatha Christie
The Day She Saved the Doctor, by Jacqueline Rayner, Jenny T. Colgan, Susan Calman, and Dorothy Koomson
Watership Down, by Richard Adams (audio, read by Peter Capaldi)

G *and* C
City of Death, by James Goss

I did manage to read a "C" book this past month! :-)

I read Dark Matter (by Blake Crouch) - This was a fast-paced thrilled that starts with a man being kidnaped, beaten and, waking up on a lab table where he is "welcomed back!" This had enough science to please "science-y" people, but not so much that it would turn off those who are not so inclined. Strictly speaking, it's not a time travel book though there are tantalizing bits about quantum physics ;-)

I decided to count a book I read in February for the G: The Black Piano by Constance & Gwenyth Little. And while this book could also go towards the C, I actually had designated another book read in March: Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan

Finally got a G read done - Girl, Woman, Other.