August AlphaKIT: O and H

Welcome to AlphaKIT for August.
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!

August AlphaKIT letters are : O and H.

and

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

I'm planning on Odd Thomas and Hidden Empire

Another two for the price of one. My reading group is reading the Odyssey in August.

Here are my 20 possibles:

✔All the Devils are Here
✔Be Our Ghost
Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
✔Cast Iron Alibi by Victoria Hamilton
✔Checked Out for Murder
✔Death by Blueberry Tart by Lee Hollis
Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen
Larceny and Old Lace
Murder Once Removed
Murder at the PTA by Lee Hollis
No Ordinary Time
✔On Borrowed Crime
✔One Fatal Flaw
One Last Summer
✔Out of the Picture
Poppy Harmon and the Hung Jury
✔Proof Of Murder
Queen's Secret by Karen Harper
✔Still Knife Painting by Cheryl Hollon
Study in Murder by Callie Hutton

I'll be reading Overstory for my book club and also hope to read A Head in Cambodia, Return of the Sea Otter, and Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser.

I think I'll be reading The Lover's Knot by Clare O'Donohue and Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks this month.

I am planning on reading The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary and The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman.

Right now my plan is Iron Horse by John Hart and Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien.

My plan is to read Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman.

I will be reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith. I reserved this form the library to read in April for S only it got held hostage due to lockdown and has only now been released.
I usually use the letters to select an orange listed author by name, not title, but I think things being a bit topsy turvey lately mean I can allow myself a bit off piste!

I was going to read The Obelisk Gate this month but now I'll wait and read it in August.

I plan to read A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber and Off the Shelf by Emily Thomas.

Right now I'm thinking about Kent Haruf's Our Souls at Night, which will work for both letters.

It's not looking like things I have for my other challenges are fitting (though I still have a couple to be announced), so here are some other options for me:

- An Available Man / Hilma Wolitzer
- Enchantments / Kathryn Harrison
- Delirium / Lauren Oliver (or, by same author, "Hana" or "Annabel", both short stories, that do go with the series)
- Once Every Never / Lesley Livingston

I'll be reading Oregon Hill by Howard Owen

I was happily cruising through Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton and decided to save the second half for August for H. I'll be picking it back up today.

I just finished listening to Hard Magic (Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles; by Larry Correia; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - This is the first book in a series taking place in an alternative 1930s US wherein occult magic has been introduced into the world! This is an action-packed adventure filled with blimps, gunfights and, superhero-like characters... but be aware that Correia is a Sad Puppy and he shows his bent a couple times in that his protags decry Roosevelt's New Deal, the Labor movement, etc. Bronson Pinchot narrates but while I usually find his narration mesmerizing, this time it fell way short of my expectations. The narration feels slow (deadly so during action scenes) and, there are times when the a line of dialogue didn't seem to match the tone of the scene or even the other lines that surrounded it. I'm not quite sure how this title ended up in my Audible library: Either it was free or on sale and/or; I thought it was the first in the Monsters International series which seems to be very popular. Whatever, I will not be continuing with this series.

I haven't decided on my next book yet,... maybe There There (by Tommy Orange...

I was hoping to read Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach last month for R...but since my library hold just came in, now I can read it this month for H!

>2 majkia: I can see The Odyssey on my shelf where I am sitting so maybe a good month to read.

I have finished The Old Reliable by P.G. Wodehouse, Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (reread for the Lord Peter group read), Headaches Can Be Murder by Marilyn Rausch and The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin.

I finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper for H.

I finished Off the Shelf by Emily Thomas for O.

The Werewolf of Bamberg / Oliver Potzsch
4 stars

In the mid-17th century Bavaria/Germany, two brothers are executioners at neighbouring towns. Bartholomaus had come to replace the executioner, who disappeared at the end of the witch trials about 40 years earlier. Although the brothers are estranged, Jakob agrees to attend – with some of his family – Bartholomaus’ wedding. When they arrive in Bamberg a few days prior to the wedding, they discover that people have been going missing and parts of some of them have been found. Locals are convinced there is a werewolf attacking the people of Bamberg. This is beginning to be reminiscent of the witch trials from decades ago.

I really liked this. This is the 5th in the series and one of my favourites. Jakob’s two daughters are stubborn and strong. As I learned in the first book, at the time, executioners not only tortured and killed (it was their job), but they were also healers. They were the very bottom class of people and really were not permitted to rise above their station. Very interesting. Even more interesting was the brief author’s note at the end describing the panic surrounding werewolves at the time, not too long after witch trials that had happened. So, in addition to the characters being based on the author’s ancestors (he descended from the Kuisl executioner family), some of the events that make up the basis of the plot really happened.

I've finished Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks for my H this month.

September thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/323251

I have finished The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon, which works for both this KIT and the August MysteryKIT. Wasn't it lucky that my library hold came in this month!

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

and

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Both Completed.

Completed A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber. I have read all the other books in this series and enjoyed them. For some reason, I had a hard time keeping all the male characters straight. The plot seemed really convoluted although the twists at the end were engrossing. I also became weary of the constant references to Lady Darby's pregnancy. It just wasn't necessary to keep mentioning it, once the reader was made aware of it. Maybe I am just easily annoyed lately, as the book got good reviews. This works for both MysteryKIT and AlphaKIT.

Currently reading "Out" by Natsuo Kirino. I recently discovered that Natsuo Kirino is a pen name of Mariko Hashioka, so that makes it a twofer.

COMPLETED Out by Natsuo Kirino (Mariko Hashioka)

I finished Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman and really enjoyed it. Hits both letters.

Instead of reading The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary, I decided to read Girl by Edna O'Brien. I also completed my "H" read with The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman. Both these books were excellent.

Starting Viriconium by M. John Harrison

I've finished The Lover's Knot by Clare O'Donohue.

>30 Robertgreaves: Out has been recommended to me but it sounded a bit too graphically gruesome for me - how did you like it?

>35 leslie.98: It's a terrific read, but you do need a strong stomach. There is domestic violence, rape, murder, dismemberment of corpses, and necrophilia, all quite graphically described.

>36 Robertgreaves: Thanks - I think that I will skip it then. My tolerance for the graphic violence has waned over the past few years.

Enchantments / Kathryn Harrison
2 stars

This fictional book follows one of Rasputin’s daughters after he has been murdered. She (a teenager by this time) goes to live with the Romanovs and is there (I think) when they are taken away before they are murdered.

I can’t really tell you much more than that. I listened to the audio and it did not hold my attention at all. She seemed to be all over the place chronologically, which didn’t help. There would be something about her father, then living with the Romanovs and back and forth. Oh, and throw in some after the Romanovs were killed. Too bad – I usually do enjoy reading about the Romanovs.

For the letter "H", I finished reading His & Hers by Alice Feeney.

Have His Carcase conveniently supplied the "H". For "O," I read Death Takes an Option.

Finished The Coldest War: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam for H
Reading In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke which will satisfy both H and O (Hands, Holocaust, Opdyke).

I have finished a couple of more books for this month's AlphaKIT: On the Road by Jack Kerouac and One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross by Harry Kemelman.

I'm currently reading another O book, The Switch by Beth O'Leary.

I'm currently reading Tales From the Triple Crown by Steve Haskin.

>44 fuzzi: That one sounds interesting, especially since the Kentucky Derby will run sans spectators this year. Having been to the Derby several times, I can say that it is quite an event and spectacle. I especially enjoyed observing the hats and outfits worn by the spectators. Guess I will have to watch it on the TV this year though.

>45 LadyoftheLodge: the author is really good, writes well with enough trivia to keep you interested but not bog you down with TMI.

I would love to go to the KD some time, I envy you just a bit.

COMPLETED Death of a Red Heroine, the first novel in The Inspector Chen Collection by Xiaolong Qiu.

>46 fuzzi: I would not want to go every year, but it is quite an experience, especially if you do not mind crowds.

I was able to get four books for "H":

Helen McNicoll: Life & Work, by Samantha Burton
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (audio, read by Stephen Fry)
How Music Works, by David Byrne
Witch Hunt, by Jack Harvey (pseudonym of Ian Rankin)

For some reason I lost track of this thread in August.
I read Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky for O
and The Dutch House for H