January AlphaKIT: I and S

Welcome to the 2023 AlphaKIT and to a brand new year of reading..
This is an unofficial challenge for the 2023 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. January letters are I and S

and

Please remember to update the wiki with your reading: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_AlphKIT#January:_-_Letters:_I_and_S

Starred!

I am considering "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott

I'm planning on In the Ocean of Night and Sufficiently Advanced Magic.

I haven't figured out all what I'm reading for all my other challenges, yet, but one of them will fit both letters (likely reading for KiddyCAT):

- A Study in Scarlet / Ian Edginton

But I still need to check if my library has it.

Beautiful letters! Thank you!

As of right now, I'll be reading To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey and The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.

I am planning on reading Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim and The Heroic Garrison by V. A. Stuart.

>3 Robertgreaves: that's a good'un!

I have books galore for these letters! now to choose!

25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know
✔Doll People Set Sail
FDR by Jean Smith
✔Four Charming Spells
In Farm's Way
Little Shop of Found Things
✔Loose Screw
✔Murder at the Spring Ball
Murder Makes Scents
✔Poppy Harmon and the Shooting Star
Some Touch of Madness
✔Spymistress

I will probably read an Alexander McCall Smith novel--I have two in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series that are waiting for me.

An LT buddy suggested this Group. I have been looking for more creative ways to get books read off shelf and this fits the bill. I have already added a book for January:

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro

>12 msf59: I've been meaning to read that, Mark. Think I'll put it on hold from the library, and should come in just in time for January.

>12 msf59: welcome!

AlphaKIT is my favorite challenge.

>12 msf59: Welcome! No rules here. Use the letters as you like and enjoy!

>12 msf59: - I picked this up at a library sale recently and have it on my list for this year.

>13 kac522: >16 dudes22: You are free to join me. 😁

>14 fuzzi: >15 majkia: Thanks.

I'm planning on reading Starless Crown by James Rollins as my 'S' read and Bound by Night by Larissa Ione as my 'I' read.

I started early and read Into The Water by Paula Hawkins.

Happy New Year to all!

As I settled in to read today, I realized my new book fits both letters: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. I won't finish it until the new year so I think it counts.

>21 witchyrichy: It does indeed count!

Currently reading "Secret At Skull House" by Josh Lanyon

I finished Crimes against Magic by Steve McHugh. It's a re-read for me, in prepearation for reading the entire series and the follow on one too.

I’m thinking about reading something by Stanislaw Lem and Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels.

My first two books for the year both fit: Slow Birding and Rest Is Resistance.

I've started reading To Serve Them All My Days, fits the "S".

I've started Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

I just finished The Widening *Stain by W. Bolingbroke Johnson, an enjoyable 1940s mystery set in a university library. I have a feeling I'll be reading a lot of S books this month.

I: I'll Never Be Long Gone, Thomas Christopher Greene. Comments in my main thread.

S: Our Lady of Sligo by Sebastian Barry
S and I: Sight Unseen by Sandra Ireland, first in the Sarah Sutherland series - that's a lot of S's plus an I...

Comments in my thread. Wiki updated :)

Another S book, The *Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig. I greatly enjoyed rereading this romp of a historical romance!

I read The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides for "S"

I ended up reading Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout.

I read Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson, one of my favourite authors.

Ivan: the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla / Katherine Applegate
4 stars

This is a picture book about Ivan, a gorilla poached as a baby and brought to the U.S. to live, first with a family until he was too big, then he lived for almost three decades in a mall by himself. From there, he was taken to a zoo to live the rest of his life with other gorillas in a more natural habitat.

I loved the YA book “The One and Only Ivan”. This is a really nice children’s story about the same gorilla with such a sad life. There are some really great illustrations. Despite it being so short and succinct (it’s a kid’s book, and no surprise, really), this one still had me crying a couple of times. There are a few pages at the end with a longer textual summary of Ivan’s life and a note from one of the zookeeper’s who took care of him in his last decade of life.

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen
3.25 stars

I don’t think a summary is really needed for this one, but not only are the Bennett sisters looking for husbands with the help of their mother, but the girls in this book are also all trained (they’ve been to the Orient and have a dojo for further training) to fight zombies – those with the “plague”.

This was ok. It does surprise me that I rated the original so high, as on parodies such as this, the story itself seems so slow and not something I would usually like. I suppose I was in the right frame of mind when I first read it? Anyway, with the addition of the zombies, a couple of big fight scenes livened things up a bit! I was also amused with Charlotte’s illness. The zombies did seem quite out of place in the book. The notes at the end of the book were interesting and one did touch on how it might not have been so out of place to add zombies into the book with the popularity of gothic fiction at the time it was written. The other fun extra at the end was a list of “discussion” questions – now those were amusing!

Starting The Flight from the Enchanter by Iris Murdoch

Reading The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff for S.

So many S's this month. I just finished Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski.

I've finished 2 for S & 1 for I so far this month:
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, 4*
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, 3.5*
An Immense World by Ed Yong, 4*

Currently reading Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford for a double whammy!

As always, I'm going to make things harder on myself. I'm going to do my best to read a book with the letter in the title and one with the letter in the author's name. So far, I've read two books that get me 3/4 of the way there.

Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski
As someone who is interested in how society works, and how we relate to people we view as "other", this was a very thought-provoking book.


I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
It took me a bit to get into this book, but I did enjoy it.

My IS for January;

Book The White Rose: Munich 1942 - 1943
IS Inge Scholl

Finished The Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler

I just finished a book that works for both letters, The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter.

Finished Rebuilding Coventry by Sue Townsend for S.

Silent In the Grave by Deanna Raybourn is the first book in her Lady Julia Grey series. I've enjoyed her Veronica Speedwell series and this book did not disappoint as it also features a strong female lead who manages to put aside her Victorian sensibilities. The book opens with the death of Lady Grey's husband, Edward. His death is not a surprise as he comes from a sickly family, and it is only a year after his demise that Julia, along with her husband's friend, Nicholas Brisbane begin to consider the possibility of murder. There are fascinating twists in both the characters and the plot. In addition, Raybourn brings authentic historical realism to her novels.

Finished Bound by Night by Larissa Ione as my 'I' book. Full review written--4* book for me.

Another one for S, Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen. If you like the author, you'll like the book!

Another for both letters: South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry. It was excellent. Here's a link to my thread review.

Yet another S: Saga Vol. 8

February thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/347705

I read Dead Man In Naples by Michael Pearce.

I read Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider.

Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel.
3.5 stars

The title of the book comes from the fact that as more and more people are becoming overweight, there is also a larger number of people who are starving. The author has done a lot of research for this book, looking at our increasingly corporate food system, where so much of every step of our food is produced and brought to our plates via businesses in it for the profit only. There is a lot of focus on the farmers (many commit suicide as it’s harder and harder to make a living) around the world. There are chapters on genetically-modified foods, on the supermarket, Mexico, Brazil, corn, soy, and much more.

The author has actually worked fro the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the World Bank, both are mentioned (generally, not in a good way) in this book. There is a lot to take in in this book. Mostly interesting stuff here. He does end with some suggestions to try to make things better, but the sad part is corporations that make a lot of money won’t go for it, and though you’d like to think governments will step up, over and over that doesn’t happen with money from those large corporations funding the politicians.

>57 LibraryCin: Cindy, sounds like a good book. I’ve read other books that say the same thing. I try really hard to avoid some of the more industrialized foods but it’s really become impossible. Big companies have taken over our food and it’s all about the money.

I misread the letters. I have finished Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford for S.

^I picked a bunch of S's for my next read, Super Sad True Love Story. Glad to finally get this one off shelf. Anyone a fan of Shteyngart?

>60 msf59: Mark, I haven't read anything by him yet but that is a perfect S book.

I read Die kleine Seenadel - "Jeder ist wichtig" by Nicole Bernard for KiddyCAT, and it fits here as well as my first S book.

>58 Kristelh: I know right? It really is difficult to avoid. :-(

I finished another "I," Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland.

I read Into the Darkness for the letter I.

COMPLETED Murder in Grosvenor Square by Ashley Gardner

A few more from me in addition to the 2 in >32 AnnieMod:... I did try to find a few I's (more like raided the library's shelves for authors with a name starting with I), the S's were not intentional...

I:
     1. A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa
      2. I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying: Essays by Bassey Ikpi
S:
     1. Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi
     2. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
     3. Double Blind by Edward St. Aubyn
     4. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
     5. Hinterland by Sebastian Barry
     6. Avian Illuminations: A Cultural History of Birds by Boria Sax
S and I:
     1 It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth

Going to the wiki to update it with all of these next (and done).

Reviews in my thread.

I just finished Thief with No Shadow by Emily Gee -- S seems to be my letter this month!

I have completed both my reads for this month's AlphaKit with Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim and The Heroic Garrison by V. A. Stuart.

Starting "Murder in St. Giles" by Ashley Gardner

I finished In Distant Field by Charlotte Bingham.

...and Nachts ist es leise in Teheran by Shida Bazyar was another S book.

COMPLETED Murder in St. Giles by Ashley Gardner from Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Volume Five

Neighbors to the Birds / Felton Gibbons, Deborah Strom
3 stars

There is more than a history of birdwatching here (as described in the subtitle). Much of the first part of the book includes biographical information about many naturalists and birdwatchers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other chapters include artwork of birds (not on-the-wall art, but artwork in publications and field guides), women naturalists/birdwatchers, the Audobon “movement”, conservation, literature, and more.

This was ok. Although I do also like biographies and history, some of this was a bit dry and didn’t hold my attention. It was the biographical parts that were of less interest to me, though the rest was a bit more interesting. I quite enjoyed the art chapter with all the pictures included. Really, this book wasn’t so much about the birds themselves – a bit, but maybe more about the people who watched and/or studied them.

Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt
3.5 stars

Matthew Batt and his wife Jenae are in Salt Lake City and looking to buy a home. Unfortunately, they can’t afford what they really want, so they end up with a (huge!) fixer-upper. It is only after they are renovating they find out that the house used to be a crackhouse. Oh, and they aren’t particularly handy people, but do the bulk of the work themselves.

Interspersed with their house dilemmas, Matt’s grandmother passes away, so Matt and his mom have to help out Matt’s grandfather, a playboy who really just wants to be with Tonya, the home care nurse who took care of his wife when she was alive.

It maybe doesn’t sound like the more interesting part of the story, but I liked the renovating of the house portions of the story better. I’m actually not quite sure how the two stories fit together, except I suppose that the things that happened with Matt’s family really were happening at the time. There were plenty of humourous bits, maybe more humourous because super-non-handy me could relate. I’m sure they managed to do a heck of a lot more than I ever could have, even with help from friends! Overall, I liked it.

Another S: Alive: The Generations Trilogy - Scott Sigler.

Finally, another I book -- I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom. As celebrity memoirs go, this one is fine though not my favorite.

Finished Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss for yet another S.

Starting In The Ocean of Night.

Starting "Drugs: A Very Short Introduction" by Les Iversen

Finished The Catch: Slough House novella by Mick Herron.

This novella in the Slough House series does not include any of our favourite characters from that establishment but introduces John Bachelor. Bachelor is a "milkman" who is charged wth checking up on retired spies, in this case Benny Manors. The short format does not limit Herron, who can tell a complex spook story that stays undercover for the reader (and some of the characters) until the final pages. And then he delivers a stunning wallop. Great stuff!

For S I have read:

The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Braun
Night Gardening by W. L. Swan

and today I will finish:

Oil and Water by Stephanie Storey

No more S planned for the month.

The S books keep piling up for me -- just finished The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters. Not my favorite in the series, but it's always a pleasure to spend time with Cadfael!

The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side by Agatha Christie for S - almost finished my Miss Marple journey.

Also reading "The Shrinking Man" by Richard Matheson

COMPLETED Drugs: A Very Short Introduction by Leslie Iversen and The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

I'm reading The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields.

Finished Sphere by Michael Crichton as an 'S' book, and am on way to finishing my planned/official 'S' book over the weekend...

I just finished Celia's House by D.E. Stevenson, a gentle, pleasant read (and retelling of Mansfield Park!).

I finished As a Man Grows Older by Italo Svevo

For I, just finished Westwind by Ian Rankin

Finished The Starless Crown by James Rollins as my 'S' book. Full review written!

Only 3 days left and I'm still in the middle of both my Alpha books. Might need to find some extra time for reading.

One last S book, Hunted by Meagan Spooner, a Beauty and the Beast retelling that I really enjoyed!

My S book: Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music: A History by Bob Stanley. Comments in my main thread.

I'm so slack, sorry!

My January reads so far, might have one more before midnight...all "S":


Jubal Sackett by Louis L'Amour (reread)


Somebunny Loves You! by Melinda Lee Rathjen


To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield

I'll add to the wiki later...

>89 christina_reads: oh, I loved Celia's House!

There's a sequel, Listening Valley, which I've not read yet.

>97 fuzzi: I picked up Listening Valley at a used bookstore last year, so I will definitely be reading that one at some point!

No "I" books, but a fair number with "S" this month:

The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman
The Forest of Wool and Steel, Natsu Miyashita
Over By the River and Other Stories, William Maxwell
A Pair of Silk Stockings and Other Stories, Kate Chopin
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
and finishing up today:
The Highland Widow, Sir Walter Scott

>98 christina_reads: I got it on my Kindle app, don't recall when I got it but suspect it was either on sale or free.

I'm closing out the month with one more "I", An Illustrated Guide to London, 1800.

For this month's AlphaKit I read Ithaca, by Claire North.

I read The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden for the S.

Yes! I got one more "S" finished before midnight (actually, about 10:40):


The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (Newbery Medal 1997)

A captivating story of four children who form a special bond and how it affects those around them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will look for other books by this author.

>104 fuzzi: That was one of my absolute favorite books as a kid!

My last read for January was The Clutter Corpse the first in a new series by Simon Brett (S) featuring a professional de-clutterer.

Not a frenetic page turner, at least not until late in the story, but as this is the first book in a series the characters are introduced in an unhurried way, resembling fiction, instead of a mystery. Like the plot, they are believable as is de-clutterer Ellen's connections with both murder victim and suspect.

Brett has an unerring ability to write authentic female characters just as well as he has created the louche Charles Paris. I enjoyed this a lot and looking forward to the next one in the series.

Two of my last books for the month ended up fitting both S & I:

It by Stephen King, 4*
Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews, 3.5*

>105 christina_reads: I missed that one, from my children's reading lists.

I finally managed to finish my "S" book for this month - The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.