March AlphaKIT: U and R

Welcome to the March 2021 AlphaKIT, an unofficial challenge in the 2021 Category Challenge Group.

The rules are: 1. Use these letters any way you wish to select reading for the month. 2. Enjoy your reading.

and
The letter images are thanks to @helenliz ! Thanks so much, they're lovely.

Please remember to update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2021_AlphaKIT#March:_-_Letters:_U_and_R

At the moment I'm looking at The Female Man by Joanna Russ and "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers but they may change depending on other challenges.

I'll be reading Uncanny Collateral and Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Here are my possibilities so far:

✔Cold Reading Murder
✔Coming of the Third Reich
Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn
✔Death Gone A-Rye
✔Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico
✔Long Island Iced Tina by Maria DiRico
✔Murder Can Confuse Your Chihuahua by Rose Pressey,
✔Murder Can Haunt Your Handiwork by Rose Pressey
Murder Once Removed
✔Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn
✔Room With A Roux
✔Ruby Red Herring
Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
✔Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
✔Under Cover of Murder
Until Proven Guilty

Thinking about The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva and Aunt Bessie Understands by Diana Xarissa.

Hmmm, I'm guessing I'll be reading something for R without having to find something specifically for it, but U I'll probably have to come up with something.

I always find U one of the trickiest letters! I'll probably go with The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong. I haven't picked an R book yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to find several options on my TBR shelves!

I've picked out a U, in case I don't come up with something else, anyway:

Uprooted / Naomi Novik.

I haven't yet come across an R I'm considering for other challenges, but I haven't finished looking.

I am planning on reading Rabbit, Run by John Updike and Algonquin Sunset by Rick Revelle.

I've planned on Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson and The Courbet Connection by Estelle Ryan.

I'm going to plan on reading Utopia by Lincoln Child for my 'U' book, and Sleep Donation by Karen Russell for my 'R' book.

It's an odd coincidence that these two letters are both in yellow with red(ish) surrounds.

Completely undecided on this one at the moment.

Some of my possible R reads:

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
River of Time by Jon Swain
Race by Toni Morrison
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

There are sooo many - as others have noted in this thread, it seems like R is a very easy letter to complete!

I have two unfinished books starting with a U, so I hope that this challenge will push me to finally finish them:

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
Ungebremst leben by Heidi Hetzer

Other possibles:

Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
Unterm Rad by Hermann Hesse

U is a bit harder, but there are more than I first thought!

>13 MissBrangwen: I love A Room with a View, if that helps!

I'll start the month with a two-fer, Clammed Up by Barbara Ross. Then there are a couple of R books on my list as well: HRF Keating's The Perfect Murder and Rory Clements' Revenger.

I've finished The Courbet Connection by Estelle Ryan.

I read Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie and A Perfect Amish Romance by Shelley Shepard Gray.

Finished Utopia by Lincoln Child. Full review written, but I'll just say this was the best action-suspense novel I've read in quite a while.

COMPLETED The Trilisk Ruins by Michael McCloskey

I have finished Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

The Richest Woman in America / Janet Wallach
2 stars

Hetty Green was born in 1834 and, despite being a girl, learned about money and investments from her father (hmm, on reading the blurb, this may not have been where she learned this – at least not directly). She also seemed quite litigious and took offense when inheritances she thought should go to her didn’t. She was a very wealthy woman.

I listened to the audio, and though the narrator didn’t appear to have an accent, she did pronounce some vowels oddly, which distracted me. Combine that with really being kind of boring and I wasn’t impressed. Because of being somewhat boring, I may not have the summary exactly right, as I wasn’t paying attention to parts of the book. And I didn’t particularly like Hetty. In some ways, she was obviously before her time.

I read The last man who knew everything by Andrew Robinson. Not sure it achieved what it set out to do.

Finished Ice Hunt by James Rollins

I've read a couple of books that fit this challenge.

Aunt Bessie Understands by Diana Xarissa
Shucked Apart by Barbara Ross

April thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/330563

>25 majkia: Thanks for posting! I can‘t believe we are in the middle of March already. This month is just flying by. I do hope that I‘ll get to my planned U and R reads, I was so much looking forward to them!

I've been using the AlphaKit challenge to get through my Friday Night Romance Reads. I read Mr. CEO Jerk (Loving a Bennett Boy #1; by Loni Ree) last weekend. It turned out to be a M/F insta-love short story just full of "Hell No!"s from me. All sorts of overreactions, a caveman kidnapping, and... and... and just no. The other Romance I knocked off my Kindle app was Whiskey Secrets (Whiskey and Lies #1; by Carrie Ann Ryan). From the pre-novel note, this was a plot that the author's husband helped deconstruct (and presumably) rebuild; but he passed away before the work was published. It's the first of a spin-off series, but there isn't that parade of other characters from other novels that other romance writers sometimes can't quite seem to resist doing! This was a low-stakes romance-- no angst, other woman/man, or big, huge misunderstanding. It was all about open communications. The sex scenes were graphic, but I skimmed over them looking for more meat to the story and not finding much there. Though better than the short story by Loni Ree, I won't be continuing either series.

I also listened to "Unspoken" (no touchstone) (written and narrated by Luke Daniels for Audible Originals). This is a three-hour-or-so recording of a piece the narrator wrote about the short (21-months) life of his son. I learned a little about the narrator, what happened to his son and, I cried. It's not the best structured story and you can feel how lost the narrator still is five years later, but I'm glad I took the time to listen.

I've started listening to A Slanting of the Sun (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell) - This is a short story collection that take space in Tipperary, Ireland. When I started, I forgot that is was a stand-alone collection of shorts, so my brain was in overdrive trying to make connections not only to each story but to two other novels that Ryan has published. Once I did a quick check though, I'm allowing to just let the author's words soak into me. The narrator takes on all voices/POVs; but doesn't get in the way of the story as you might suspect (i.e. when he tells the story from a female POV). Beautiful writing, but about tragic topics. I should wrap this one up in a couple days and it'll probably net 4+ stars from me.

I finished a reread of The Unfinished Clue, a mystery by Georgette Heyer. An enjoyable GA mystery with a touch of romance and plenty of suspects.

The Dreams of Ada / Robert Mayer
4 stars

In 1984, in the “town” of Ada, Oklahoma, Denice Haraway left her job at a convenience store/gas station with a man (they simply looked like a couple). When the people who saw them leave went inside, the clerk (Denice) was no where to be found. It appeared that the place had also been robbed. It was only later that they realized the woman they saw leaving was the clerk.

When composite sketches brought Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot to the attention of the police, they were brought in and questioned. When both confessed on camera, that pretty much sealed the deal. It wasn’t long before they recanted – said they thought their confessions (given under pressure) would easily be exposed as lies. But, despite a LOT of inconsistencies in those confessions, the two were arrested and charged.

I didn’t know the outcome of this. I may have when I heard about the book, but by the time of reading it now, I didn’t remember. I don’t want to say too much if anyone wants to read the book to see what happened and not find out things ahead of time. Even behind my spoiler tag, I haven’t specifically said, but I expect one might be able to figure it out, so you are warned!

Wow, I couldn’t believe it! Wow, I’m appalled! And to this day… Ugh! There were parts in the book that were a little more dry – sections that included things written by Tommy (he’s not very literate), and other legal details – but overall, it was interesting, particularly once they had the private investigator on the case. And suspenseful during the trials. This was originally published in 1987, but a new edition (with a new afterword) was published in 2006; the 2006 is the one I read.

I finished From Doon with Death by Ruth Rendell. An okay start to what I understand is an excellent series.

And Unclay by T.F. Powys.

>29 LibraryCin: Thanks for the high praise of The Dreams of Ada. I own this and have not read it yet. I have read The Innocent Man by John Grisham which is the same crime and inspired by this novel.

I did end up reading The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong, and I really liked it! And for R, I read Heaven's Queen by Rachel Bach. It was fine, but I wasn't terribly excited about it -- just glad to be done with the Paradox series now!

>31 lowelibrary: I'm certain I knew of "The Dreams of Ada" because of "The Innocent Man" (it's been a few years since I read that one).

But it's not the same crime. Grisham focused on Debbie C (can't recall her last name, but it started with a C)'s murder, a couple of years before Denice Haraway disappeared. It was pretty much the same bungling (my opinion, obviously, via the two books) police department, though.

I hope you find "The Dreams of Ada" interesting, as well. With the new afterword in this edition (hopefully you have the same), Mayer also mentions Grisham's book. So, they kind of cite each other.

I finished The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne and just started Magic City by Jewell Parker Rhodes. My planned R reads for the month.

I tried getting into one of my planned reads, Ungebremst leben by Heidi Hetzer. It's a travel memoir: She traveled around the world in an old-timer car when she was almost eighty years old.
I started this book last summer and loved the beginning, but for some reason I stopped reading. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it now - a travel story about freedom and exploring was not what I needed and it just made me sad.

Fortunately, I have more U books to choose from, and this one will wait until the timing is right again!

I read Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl for R.
and
Under an English Heaven by Alice Boatwright for U.

I finished up two more titles for the letter, "R"- both audiobooks by the same author:

A Slanting of the Sun (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell) - This is a collection of twenty short stories set in Tipperary, Ireland. Two stories had me gasping out loud and, the last story, "A Slanting of the Sun" is stunning. Wayne Farrell, who has narrated the author's books in the past, returns to voice multiple POVs of varying ages and genders without dropping into caricature. There are only two stories, where he doesn't quite rise to the occasion of narrating from female POVs and, it is surprisingly jarring. (In the past, the narrator has been able to deliver a performance effectively without getting in the way of the text.) Still, overall strong writing and performance. Four stars easy!

From a Low and Quiet Sea: A Novel by Donal Ryan; narrated by Alana Kerr Collins, Gerard Doyle, Alan Smyth, Vikas Adam and, Tim Gerard Reynolds) - This is a collation of four short stories that, at first seem separate from each other and oddly without that elegiac note that seems to be Ryan‘s signature. Then that last story wraps it all up and delivers the shiv to you where you stand! There is a slight connection to “A Slanting of the Sun” (short story in the collection of the same name) but you don‘t need to read either to enjoy the other. I love the writing, but the narrators range from "Just Okay" to downright awful.

I have completed both books that I planned to read for this month's AlphaKit with Algonquin Sunset by Rick Revelle and Rabbit, Run by John Updike.

I plan to read Rescued by David Rosenfelt and just finished Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks.

>39 VivienneR: Uncommon Type was on my radar for this challenge as well. I don't get to it this month. Do you recommend?

Finished Cat Tales by Robin Upward for U and still reading my other U Uncle John's Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader.

I've finished Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson.

I finished How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana for my U book.

I finished Richard II (by William Shakespeare-- one more for "R"! :-)

>40 beebeereads: I expected it to be better. I'm having trouble remembering some of the stories.

Rescued by David Rosenfelt hits the letter R in both title and author.

Andy Carpenter, semi-retired lawyer, only takes cases related to an animal shelter. In this story, rescued dogs are being shipped in a semi to new homes. Seems legitimate, but there is something suspicious when a body shows up. I enjoy these light mysteries for the humour Carpenter contributes - and the dogs, of course.

>46 VivienneR: I love the Andy Carpenter mysteries! The comfort of knowing that there's another book around the corner, so nothing bad/tragic is going to happen to Andy, the humor, and the familiar "faces" are a big plus. I think outside of Andy and Tara, my fave character is Marcus! One of our favorite quotes around the house, after Winter Holidays when we procrastinate in taking the decorations down, is: "It's Always Christmas!" :-D
I haven't picked one up in a couple of years though. I should definitely catch up :-)

>47 Tanya-dogearedcopy: It was just my second Andy Carpenter book and I really enjoyed it. I like courtroom drama and Carpenter's lines are hilarious. I'll watch for the "It's Always Christmas" line. :)

>46 VivienneR: the Touchstone on Rescued goes to the wrong book.

>46 VivienneR: I think your touchstone is pointing to the incorrect book! I was going to take a look. :-)

ETA: #17 in the series! Yikes! It doesn't appear that they are all about animals. I'm one who does like to read in order... That's a long series!

I finished my first book for AlphaKIT this month.

Romantic English Homes by Robert O'Byrne is a coffee table book presenting fourteen beautiful historic houses and providing a lot of information, too.

And now I've also finished my first U read: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. It took me ages to read this (I started in January 2019!) but I'm glad this challenge finally made me sit down and get to it. Although many of the short stories featured are not very good, there are also some great ones which made it worth it.

>49 fuzzi: & >50 LibraryCin: Thanks for pointing that out. I've corrected it.

>50 LibraryCin: The series is not particularly about animals, but Andy Carpenter is a dog-lover and owner of Tari, a golden retriever. Dogs are mentioned often. You don't need to read the series in order.

>52 MissBrangwen: I agree, Mirjam. Uncommon Type was not what I anticipated.

COMPLETED The Female Man by Joanna Russ

Starting So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

>53 VivienneR: Thank you!

COMPLETED So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Starting "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" by Dorothy L. Sayers

I finished "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" by Agatha Christie

Uprooted / Naomi Novik
4 stars

Every 10 years, the Dragon comes to the valley to select a 17-year old girl to go with him. She is not seen again for the next 10 years. The people allow this because the Dragon makes sure the evil in the Wood that surrounds them stays at bay. Growing up, Agnieszka (and everyone else) always knew it would be her smart, beautiful best friend, Kasia, who is chosen. Possible spoiler, though it happens in the first couple of chapters: But, it’s not Kasia who is chosen. It’s Agnieszka.

I really enjoyed this. This one has (Baba) Jaga mentioned – she’s not a character, as she is long-dead, but she is mentioned and her effects are felt. Many know that I am not always a fantasy fan (depends on the type of fantasy), but I do like fairy tales. This one had a lot going on – not all at once, but one thing after another. Lots of adventure in this one.

I read The Home Front by Jennifer Ryan

I read Normal People by Sally Rooney for my R. Now I am reading Red Rising for R.

COMPLETED The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers

Last night I finished The Story of Rose by Jon Katz, another good read by this author.

I finished my book for R today: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.

I read Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.

>65 MissBrangwen: that's a good one!

>66 fuzzi: Yes, I enjoyed it a lot!

I read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I just finished a re-read of Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb. Still wonderful.

I finished a second U book: Und alles ohne Liebe by Burkhard Spinnen. It is a commentary on the novels written by Theodor Fontane, but it was rather disappointing.

I also finished a second U book - Ursula by Honoré de Balzac. It is even an actual novel (rather than a novella or short story as so many of his Human Comedy are)!

I am currently reading Redliners but don't think I'll finish it today...

I ended up reading another R book, The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. I liked it fine, but my favorite of her books is still A Desperate Fortune.

I finished my last book of the month, "Under Milk Wood" by Dylan Thomas.

Apparently I was all about the R authors this month!

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Shadow in the Glass, by Stephen Cole and Justin Richards
I Am a Dalek, by Gareth Roberts

A few more R reads for me this month.

Death Rattles by Casey Pletcher and Tattoo: The Soul Reaper by Kenny Sills