1Helenliz
Welcome. What are you reading for BingoDog as we head to the end of the year?
The Wiki can be found here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_BingoDog
The categories are:
1. An Award Winning book
2. Published in a year ending 2
3. A modern retelling of an older story
4. A book you'd love to see as a movie (maybe starring your favourite actor)
5. A book that features a dog
6. The title contains the letter Z
7. Published the year you joined LT
8. A book by a favourite author
9. A long book (long for you)
10. A book you received as a gift
11. The title contains a month
12. A weather word in the title
13. Read a CAT
14. Contains travel or a journey
15. A book about sisters or brothers
16. A book club read (real or online)
17. A book with flowers on the cover
18. A book in translation
19. A work of non-fiction
20. A book where a character shares a name of a friend
21. A book set in a capital city
22. A children's or YA book
23. A book set in a country other than the one you live
24. A book by an LGBTQ+ author
25. A book with silver or gold on the cover
The Wiki can be found here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_BingoDog
The categories are:
1. An Award Winning book
2. Published in a year ending 2
3. A modern retelling of an older story
4. A book you'd love to see as a movie (maybe starring your favourite actor)
5. A book that features a dog
6. The title contains the letter Z
7. Published the year you joined LT
8. A book by a favourite author
9. A long book (long for you)
10. A book you received as a gift
11. The title contains a month
12. A weather word in the title
13. Read a CAT
14. Contains travel or a journey
15. A book about sisters or brothers
16. A book club read (real or online)
17. A book with flowers on the cover
18. A book in translation
19. A work of non-fiction
20. A book where a character shares a name of a friend
21. A book set in a capital city
22. A children's or YA book
23. A book set in a country other than the one you live
24. A book by an LGBTQ+ author
25. A book with silver or gold on the cover
2christina_reads
I still have one more square to fill, the LGBTQ+ author. I think I'll probably read Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris to fill it, unless something else comes up!
3lowelibrary
I have one square left. #14 contains travel or a journey.
5VivienneR
Death in a Darkening Mist by Iona Whishaw
In December 1946 Lane Winslow, a former British spy, is still settling in her new home in a remote area of British Columbia when a dead man is discovered while she is visiting the local hot springs. His friend speaks Russian so Lane acts as interpreter when it is determined that the man, a Russian pacifist from the Doukhobor community, was murdered. There is a secondary crime of banking theft that also affects Lane.
I really enjoyed this intriguing mystery that could be regarded in the cosy genre but is dark enough to keep it more interesting. The characters are well-developed and sense of time and place is excellent.
This is set in the exact area where I live which made it even more appealing because I know all the place names so well. I've even been to the hot springs where the (fictional) murder occurred.
Filling the weather word square, that completes my bingo card.
In December 1946 Lane Winslow, a former British spy, is still settling in her new home in a remote area of British Columbia when a dead man is discovered while she is visiting the local hot springs. His friend speaks Russian so Lane acts as interpreter when it is determined that the man, a Russian pacifist from the Doukhobor community, was murdered. There is a secondary crime of banking theft that also affects Lane.
I really enjoyed this intriguing mystery that could be regarded in the cosy genre but is dark enough to keep it more interesting. The characters are well-developed and sense of time and place is excellent.
This is set in the exact area where I live which made it even more appealing because I know all the place names so well. I've even been to the hot springs where the (fictional) murder occurred.
Filling the weather word square, that completes my bingo card.
6Helenliz
>5 VivienneR: hurrah!!
7sturlington
I have two squares left and nothing on my tbr that fits. I need a title with a Z and a title with a month. I'm not sure if I'll seek these out. I prefer the Bingo squares to match up with what I was planning to read anyway, but I guess these two squares were too specific for me. Still, almost filling the card is pretty good, and maybe something that fits will turn up in the next two months!
8majkia
>7 sturlington: There are always squares i can't fill. Book club read. Not in book club so no idea how to fill that one. And I'm not planning on reading non-fiction.
9christina_reads
>8 majkia: You could always read a book from a celebrity book club -- like Oprah's or Reese Witherspoon's book club, if any of those books appeal.
10dudes22
>5 VivienneR: - Yeah for you!
11lowelibrary
>8 majkia: I thought I wouldn't get the book club square, I am not a member of any book clubs. I counted the group read of Maus here on LibraryThing for that square.
12rabbitprincess
>8 majkia: My MIL is in a book club, so I use whatever books her club reads (or considers reading) for that square.
13MissWatson
I have finished Die Muskeltiere und Ewig Fünfter which is a delightful story for children set in Hamburg.
14MissWatson
I have also finished Robinson Crusoe in which he spends quite a lot of time travelling, more than I remembered from my abridged children's version. The original was quite a revelation.
15LibraryCin
Looked for this when I started a thread the other day, but didn't find it! Thank you, Helenliz, for pointing me in the direction!
16LibraryCin
Z in the title
The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia / C.W. Gortner
Rating: 3.75 stars
This book follows Lucrezia Borgia from when she was 13-years old and her father became Pope until she was about 20-years old after her second husband died. In that time, she was married twice, may have had two children – possible spoiler here:one possibly via incest/rape (though this is speculation), and had to deal with a power-hungry father who was Pope and two power-hungry brothers, one whom she loved and got along well with (Cesare) and one whom she did not get along with (Juan).
History has not been kind to the Borgias, including Lucrezia, although Gortner states that, in his research, he found that - like many women of powerful families of the time (and (my added comment here) for centuries before and after), she really was just a pawn. His research did not show she was cruel and power-hungry like her father and brothers. I found this very interesting, as the little bit I’ve read about the Borgias, I also had the impression she wasn’t any “better” than the others in her family.
Gortner does a really good job of historical fiction from the viewpoint of a woman, though I’m not sure anything will beat “The Last Queen” for me (his first book). In all honesty, through most of this book, I was ready to give it an ever-so-slightly lower rating, but I upped it in the last ¼ of the book or so, after Lucrezia married her second husband, Alfonso, whom she loved (at least according to Gortner in this book).
The afterword goes a bit further into history after where the book leaves off so we know what happened to all the major players in the book, in addition to talking a bit about the author’s research. I also loved that he mentioned, in the acknowledgements his pets and does a bit of animal rescue promotion.
The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia / C.W. Gortner
Rating: 3.75 stars
This book follows Lucrezia Borgia from when she was 13-years old and her father became Pope until she was about 20-years old after her second husband died. In that time, she was married twice, may have had two children – possible spoiler here:
History has not been kind to the Borgias, including Lucrezia, although Gortner states that, in his research, he found that - like many women of powerful families of the time (and (my added comment here) for centuries before and after), she really was just a pawn. His research did not show she was cruel and power-hungry like her father and brothers. I found this very interesting, as the little bit I’ve read about the Borgias, I also had the impression she wasn’t any “better” than the others in her family.
Gortner does a really good job of historical fiction from the viewpoint of a woman, though I’m not sure anything will beat “The Last Queen” for me (his first book). In all honesty, through most of this book, I was ready to give it an ever-so-slightly lower rating, but I upped it in the last ¼ of the book or so, after Lucrezia married her second husband, Alfonso, whom she loved (at least according to Gortner in this book).
The afterword goes a bit further into history after where the book leaves off so we know what happened to all the major players in the book, in addition to talking a bit about the author’s research. I also loved that he mentioned, in the acknowledgements his pets and does a bit of animal rescue promotion.
17MissWatson
Gold or silver on the cover: Death of a stranger by Anne Perry. This was a rather weak entry in the series.
18MissWatson
Irene Redfield in Passing shares her name with a friend.
20LibraryCin
Title contains a month. And I'm finally done!
Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 / Joseph Balkoski
3.75 stars
This is a detailed account, much of it using primary sources, of the invasion of Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It was primarily American soldiers who landed here; Canadian and British soldiers landed on other beaches that day.
I actually liked the author’s narration a bit better than the many primary source quotes he used to illustrate (and expand on) the things he was talking about. Partly, that may have been the smaller font of the quotes vs my (getting older) eyes! I tended to sometimes skim over some of those quotes. But the amount of detail and research that went into this is amazing. Very much like Cornelius Ryan’s account of D-Day as a whole (published in 1959, and used in Balkoski’s research, as well).
Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 / Joseph Balkoski
3.75 stars
This is a detailed account, much of it using primary sources, of the invasion of Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It was primarily American soldiers who landed here; Canadian and British soldiers landed on other beaches that day.
I actually liked the author’s narration a bit better than the many primary source quotes he used to illustrate (and expand on) the things he was talking about. Partly, that may have been the smaller font of the quotes vs my (getting older) eyes! I tended to sometimes skim over some of those quotes. But the amount of detail and research that went into this is amazing. Very much like Cornelius Ryan’s account of D-Day as a whole (published in 1959, and used in Balkoski’s research, as well).
23MissBrangwen
>20 LibraryCin: Congratulations!
24NinieB
>20 LibraryCin: Well done--congratulations!
25LadyoftheLodge
>20 LibraryCin: Congratulations!
26LibraryCin
Thank you all!
27VivienneR
>8 majkia: I don't belong to a book club either so I read a BB. After all here at LT we are a sort of book club (?).
Thanks for the congratulations on finished my card. And congratulations to >20 LibraryCin:.
Thanks for the congratulations on finished my card. And congratulations to >20 LibraryCin:.
28NinieB
For the nonfiction square, I read Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt.
29christina_reads
>27 VivienneR: Yes, LT should totally count as a book club!
I finally read a book for the LGBTQ+ author square, Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. The stories and essays are sometimes funny but often quite dark, so it might not be the best choice if you're looking for a fun, light holiday read!
And with that, I join the ranks of the finishers. :) Congrats to >5 VivienneR:, >20 LibraryCin: and all of you who have completed your cards -- and good luck to those still working!
I finally read a book for the LGBTQ+ author square, Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. The stories and essays are sometimes funny but often quite dark, so it might not be the best choice if you're looking for a fun, light holiday read!
And with that, I join the ranks of the finishers. :) Congrats to >5 VivienneR:, >20 LibraryCin: and all of you who have completed your cards -- and good luck to those still working!
30Helenliz
>29 christina_reads: Well done on finishing your card.
31NinieB
>29 christina_reads: Yay, congratulations, Christina!
32dudes22
>29 christina_reads: - Congratulations on finishing!
33LibraryCin
>29 christina_reads: Congrats to you!
34MissBrangwen
I read A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks for "Month in the Title". Only one square to go now!
35markon
I will not have a blackout this year, as I have four squares left and nothing I am reading fits the prompts. But I got six bingos, and that's good enough for me.
I think the last item I added was a book with a weather word in the title: Reap the wild wind by Julie Czernada, the first in a science fiction trilogy I was happy to read.
I think the last item I added was a book with a weather word in the title: Reap the wild wind by Julie Czernada, the first in a science fiction trilogy I was happy to read.
36lowelibrary
Never received my Early Review book which fit my last square perfectly, so I read Santa is Coming to Oklahoma for my travel or journey square. Bingo board is blacked out.
