August AlphaKIT: M and F

Welcome to the 2022 AlphaKIT. This is an unofficial challenge for the 2022 Category Challenge Group. Each month has two letters selected for you to use however you choose.

There are no rules. Just have fun and enjoy reading. August letters are M and F.
and

Please remember to update the wiki with your reading:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_AlphaKIT#August:_-_Letters:_M_and_F

I think I will go for a twofer, "The Flight from the Enchanter" by Iris Murdoch.

I am currently planning on The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan and The Ivory Grin by Ross Macdonald.

So many to choose from!

✔Behind the Frame
Burning Maze
✔Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini
✔Fatal Booking
✔Fatal Chapter
✔Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder
Little Shop of Found Things
✔Margin for Murder
✔Marlow Murder Club
✔Measure Twice, Murder Once
Midnight House
✔Mischief, Murder and Merlot
✔Murder at Wakehurst
Murder on Cold Street
✔Peanut Butter Panic by Amanda Flower
Trespasser by Tana French

I am still trying to get to Full of Beans and also My Dearly Depotted which have languished on my desk for months.

I think I'll probably read Conviction by Denise Mina and One Bad Day After Anotherr by Max Folsom.

I have a possibility for the AuthorCAT that would cover both letters here:
Five Little Indians / Michelle Good

I'm planning on reading The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore as my 'M' book and Flesh by Kylie Scott as my 'F' book.

I'll be reading a Margaret Atwood for M.

I finished my choice for M a little earlier than anticipated: Still Midnight by Denise Mina.

I'm planning to read One or the other by John McFetridge that hits both letters.

I've started theis month's challenge a little early and am reading Flashman (Flashman #1; by George MacDonald Fraser).

I read Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

>12 bookworm3091: Nicely seasonable then? >;-)

I read Mint Chocolate Murder by Meri Allen and Full of Beans by Jennifer Holm.

I just finished the excellent A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold.

COMPLETED The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Starting Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann

>15 christina_reads: The dinner party scene in that one is such a masterpiece--so many characters in one place, so many disasters great and small.

I just finished Making Numbers Count.

I finished The Child in Time by Ian McEwan.

Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell
3 stars

It’s the 16th century. 11-year old Hamnet and Judith are twins and have an older sister, Susanna. When Judith becomes ill, Hamnet tries to find someone to help.

I didn’t like the characters. The story was told as it followed different characters and in fact, went back and forth in time. I found it hard to follow at the start, maybe the first 1/3 of the book or so: who was who and how are they connected to each other? I wasn’t a fan of the writing style: everything felt detached to me – maybe this is why I didn’t like the characters? Why oh why did we need to include the magical realism (did NOT like that at all!): in addition to Agnes’s (the mother’s) foresight, which wasn’t bad, there was another part that changed a huge part of the story, and I thought it was stupid! I really did.

I thought there were “spoilers” given away in Historical Note at beginning of book! Given this, I assume they weren’t meant to be spoilers and I had heard before I read it, but I feel like I might have enjoyed it more if they had remained unknown until revealed in the book. I feel like with everything I didn’t like, I should rate it lower, but I am rating it ok, based on the story itself.

>13 Helenliz: Ha ha, rather early for Christmas but it had both of this month's letters :)

I've finished One Bad Day After Another by Max Folsom.

COMPLETED Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann

Starting "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch

I have completed both my August AlphaKit Reads with The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan and One Monday We Killed Them All by John D. MacDonald.

I’m listening to The Siege of Krishnapur (by J. G. Farrell; narrated by Peter Wickham)— another for the “F” column when I finish (probably by the end of the week).

I just finished Flying Solo by Linda Holmes, a well-written and low-angst novel.

COMPLETED Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I got another M with I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston.

I finished Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood for M.

The Castleton Massacre: Survivors' Stories of the Killins Femicide / Sharon Cook, Margaret Carson
4.5 stars

In May 1963, Robert Killins, a very intelligent man and a former United Church minister, murdered his (estranged) wife, his daughter, his sister, and his wife’s youngest daughter. He’d been stalking his wife and daughter for years since wife Florence tried to leave and travelled across the country from B.C. to Ontario to get away. His wife and daughter were both pregnant at the time of the murders. Two more of Florence’s children watched in horror as the murders happened, and were able to get away. They were 12- (Margaret) and 10-years (Brian) old at the time.

The book backs up in time to give a biography of both families – beginning with Robert’s and Florence’s parents, then Robert and Florence and their siblings and everything leading to 1963. It also included a section after the murders where Margaret and Brian came to live with their Uncle Harold and his wife and their youngest daughter (a teenager, the only child still living at home), Sharon, and the two tried to come to terms with what had happened and what they’d witnessed. The last bit of the book also talks about domestic abuse in Canada, in general. Margaret and Sharon are the authors of the book. They undertook a lot of research and got oral histories from many of the people still alive who remember it.

Wow! First a bit of advice – don’t read the chapter that describes the murders close to bedtime! It was terrifying and violent. With one of the authors having been there and the oral histories given by her brother who was also there and a couple of other people who tried to help, all put together, you get an awful feeling of being hunted (as I’m sure both Margaret and Brian felt)! That being said, I am a fan of true crime, and I do like biographies, so all put together, a very very good book. And murders I had never heard of before this.

I’ve started The Mischief of the Mistletoe (Pink Carnation #7; by Lauren Willig) - Set in 1803, it takes its inspiration from Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, The Watsons.

Starting "An Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears

September thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/343527

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I enjoyed that novel quite a bit. I hope you like it. Might want to check out the touchstone though.

>33 LadyoftheLodge: Thanks! Fixed! 🙂

ETA And finished with the alliterative title, The Mischief of the Mistletoe (Pink Carnation #7; by Lauren Willig)!

Read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami for M.

I finished these two today:
Mothers of Enchantment - Kate Wolford
Murder at Beechwood - Alyssa Maxwell

Starting The Night Manager (by John Le Carré) :-)

I read Remember Love by Mary Balogh. I love the author, but this book isn't her best.

Finished both The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore (reviewed) and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (review in progress).

I finished The Runner by Peter May for M.

I have mixed feelings about May's books. While I really enjoyed the Lewis trilogy, the Enzo Files series had much less appeal and this book falls into the latter group. Some authors can write intimate scenes well, May can be cringeworthy.

This is the first I've read in this series and I found the story to be well written with likeable characters and it provided a good overview of China and Chinese culture as they prepared for the 2008 Olympics. Li Yan is investigating a series of deaths among China's top athletes. Margaret Campbell, who is only a month away from delivering their first child, is performing the autopsies. The investigation becomes a diplomatic minefield, not unlike the private lives of Margaret and Li.

COMPLETED An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Peters

All Around the Town / Mary Higgins Clark
4 stars

Laurie was only 5-years old when she was kidnapped. Two years later, she was let go, but she had blocked out everything from the time she was with her abductors. When Laurie is in the early 20s and her sister Sarah, a lawyer, now in her late 20s, their parents die. More trauma. Laurie is now in college and has a good relationship with one of her professors, but when he is found murdered, signs point to Laurie. She doesn’t remember.

It wasn’t fast paced, but many psychological “thrillers” aren’t. This was much about the psychology. Really interesting read; I imagine the author would have had to do a chunk of research on this. I’ve not read much about it; I think I have only one other book tagged multiple personality disorder, which is actually surprising as I do find it fascinating.

Five Little Indians / Michelle Good
3.5 stars

This book follows a few First Nations people who went to a residential school in B.C. when they were young. It follows them from the school, as they leave, and as they try to make lives for themselves after the traumas they experienced at the school. They wind in and out of each other’s lives.

Lucy is 16 when she is put on a bus to Vancouver from the school; luckily she knows Maisie who left the school a year earlier; unfortunately, she does get into a sticky situation before making it to Maisie’s place. Kenny managed to escape the school when he was younger, but he and Lucy had crushes on each other back then. Carla is a friend of Maisie’s. Howie gets into trouble with the law when he encounters “Brother” from the school as an adult.

I listened to the audio book. It was good. I wasn’t as interested in Carla’s story, so I missed a few things there. I also don’t think I liked Carla very much; she was very pushy. The book jumped between characters, and it often jumped forward large amounts of time, so at the start of some of the chapters I needed to try to figure out how many years later it was (and there was one bit with Carla that felt like the timing was out of sync with her character vs the rest of the story… but I’m not sure – that’s where I lost a bit of interest and missed a few things). And of course, there were memories of the school for all of them. There was at least one event that I think I missed altogether and when it was mentioned later in the book, I wondered what exactly had happened about that, so not sure if I missed it or it just wasn’t detailed or what happened there.

Ashfall / Mike Mullin
4 stars

When 15-year old Alex’s parents leave him alone for the weekend for the first time, little do they know that (literally) disaster will soon follow. Alex is in the house when something hits it and suddenly there is a fire. Not only that, part of the house heaves and collapses and he is underneath a desk. He manages to pull himself free and get out, but with no phones working (cell or landline), he runs the few blocks to the fire department. The power is also out. Luckily, Alex’s neighbours are willing to take him in, but no one really knows what’s going on. The “thunder” is ridiculously loud and continuous throughout the night. They wake up to utter darkness, inside and out (it’s daytime). Things happen (that I won’t go into), but Alex later finds himself travelling toward Illinois (he is in Iowa) via skis to find his parents and younger sister. Hopefully they made it to his uncle’s place.

This was really good. It drew me in right away. I thought the author did a really good job of the descriptions – of the noise, of the dark... It’s scary the kinds of things people will do following a disaster like this (the characters – and the reader – did find out the next day what had happened, although I’ve left that out of my summary). Some of the people Alex comes across are helpful, but many are not. I believe this is a trilogy, so it didn’t fully finish. There was a short author’s note at the end, as well, to talk about this kind of potential disaster.

Starting Hands Like Clouds by Mark Zuehlke

I just finished Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold, a fun interlude in the Vorkosigan series.

Finished Augustown by Kei Miller.
Interesting read, there's a lot in here.

Finished Flesh by Kylie Scott, and loved it. I'm picky about romance, but I love the way Kylie Scott writes it. For folks who want a heavy dose of erotic romance in their zombie horror, this book is pretty perfect... (full review written too).

Another M book, Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. This is a fun historical romance/adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously.

I've finished Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal for my "M" book.

I read Frames: a Valentino mystery by Loren D. Estleman for my F book. This is the first in the series.

I've read Code Girls by Liza Mundy.

I read Light in August by William Faulkner for the F.

I read The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima, for my second M book.

M seems to be the letter for me this month! I just finished the excellent Mad about You by Mhairi McFarlane.

And another M, Major Crush by Jennifer Echols, a decent teen romance that I'm happy to be able to rehome now.

I just finished reading Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro.

This has to be my last M book for the month -- I'm cutting myself off! The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford was a pleasant Regency romance. The author is hit-or-miss for me, so I'm glad this one was a hit.

COMPLETED Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Howard

I've just realised that the first volume in the trilogy omnibus I'm reading (The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell) fits the AlphaKIT as "My Family and Other Animals"

COMPLETED "My Family and Other Animals", the first book in the omnibus volume The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell.

One more completed. Amsterdam, Ian McEwan for M.
All my qualifying titles or authors this month have been for M, no F for me at all!.

I managed to squeeze in one more F book, Behold a Fair Woman by Francis Duncan -- a solid but not spectacular '50s mystery.

My F & M reads this month:

M
What Matters in Jane Austen, John Mullan
At Home in Thrush Green, Miss Read
Truman, David McCullough (audiobook)
Hester, Margaret Oliphant
Epitaph for a Peach, David Masumoto
The Perfect Peach, David Masumoto

and one lonely F:
Father, Elizabeth von Arnim

Starting The Bloody Wood by Michael Innes. If I don't finish it today, it will work for tomorrow as by Michael Innes.

>64 kac522: I am glad you got to a Miss Read this month. She is my "go to" comfort reading selection.

>66 LadyoftheLodge: instant nostalgia

I seemed to favour the M books this month!

M books
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, Vol. 1, by Izumi Tsubaki (translated by Leighann Harvey)
Meet Me at the Morgue, by Ross Macdonald (double M!)
Poison, by Ed McBain
The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet, by Nell McShane Wulfhart
Edge of the Grave, by Robbie Morrison

F books
Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit (Serial Reader)

>64 kac522: I try to do a Miss Read every other month (or sooner!) And I haven't read them all yet, so I still have some months to go before re-reading!

>67 Robertgreaves: Oh yes! Another series that evokes the same nostalgia is the Jack Sheffield series, such as Teacher, Teacher.

>69 kac522: I have read them all, more than once, and they still seem new when I re-read them. I have more than one copy of some of them--I saw them at a used book sale and could not let them just sit there. I am glad they are out in digital format now too.

I finished Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan by Usman T. Malik and absolutely ADORED it. Probably the best single-author collection of horror or SFF I've ever read. Full review (finally) written.