January RandomKIT: Hidden Gems

It’s a new year and we are just settling into our individual challenges so I am going to make our first RandomKit of the year an easy one. Many of us have set a goal of reading from our own shelves this year in an effort to clear out the backlog and this RandomKit has been designed to help us do that very thing.

First let’s take a look at our book shelves, electronic devices and library lists. Pick and read a book that’s been there a long time. You may find yourself a “hidden gem” and wonder why you didn’t get to this book sooner. Or you may find that the book no longer appeals to you and you discard it. That’s fine, you can always pick another book and see if it hits the spot. Either way you are working toward shrinking that humongous TBR that I know we all have!

Enjoy this first RandomKIT of the year and let us know what you are going to be reading and if you discover any hidden gems. The Wiki can be found here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_RandomKIT

You are a star. I will not list options - I'd be here for a very long time!

My oldest book on my TBR is Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman (2015). Thanks for this "hidden gem!"

There are lots, but one I think I will make a point of reading is:
Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt

I have set three books aside for January's RandomKit: A Daughter's Secret by Anne Bennett, Deadly Friends by Stuart Pawson and Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes. All three of these books have been on my shelf since 2008 and it's definitely time to move them along!

Well... the oldest books I have are from late 2010 (when I moved halfway across the world) but it may not be that easy to figure out which they are or where they are (because I really need to do some more cataloging...).

However I had been meaning to read the earliest books I bought for my very first Kindle but never read - some of them had been sitting and waiting since January 2011 - so I probably will do that. Amazon even makes it easy to find which they were. :)

A theme after my own heart--and books. I have literally hundreds to choose from, and hope to read several this month.

One of my 2023 challenges is going to read and discard Kindle books. I will read the oldest one on my device for this challenge.

After I joined LT, I waited almost 1 1/2 years before I started cataloguing my unread books. So I have 22 that are dated 7/3/2009 (although they are probably older than that.) I think I might read A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly since that has the highest start rating on LT.

I've got too many books that would fit to list them here, so really just commenting to mark this topic in my Talk list

Great theme!

This is a great idea. Maybe I will weed out some on my Kindle.

Although I only listed one that I am going to make a point to get to, pretty sure I'll have a few others that fit.

I might choose one of the many books I pre-ordered last year and the year before and have still not managed to read - even though I wanted them so badly at the time!

>14 JayneCM: you too?

>15 fuzzi: It is a perpetual problem. :)

>1 DeltaQueen50: Thanks! I am determined to tackle more on my Kindle TBR. This will ensure I do at least one in January. Not sure which yet, but will let my January mood determine. I have so many wonderful choices.

>16 JayneCM: I agree and am glad to know it is not just me. Sometimes I pick up a book from my shelves and try to remember why I bought it to start with.

>1 DeltaQueen50: What a good way to start the year! Such a great idea for RandomKIT!

Although I have older paper books, my kobo is more accessible, so I will likely read the oldest unread book on there, it's the second in a series by a guy who, along with his wife, emigrated to Spain and set up as a llama farmer. I read the first one several years ago and was a bit underwhelmed, but as I bought all 3 books in the series I will at least try the others!

Fun theme! I'm going to look through and find one I wanted so much when I bought it, then lost it in the shelves.

For some unknown reason, I've never gotten around to reading Christopher Moore's You Suck: A Love Story, though he always makes me laugh. That's the perfect book to fit this challenge and the ScaredyKit since I've had it for ages, so that's my plan for the month.

I'm deciding between The Visitors by Catherine Burns and The Pig Did It. Very different books, both have been on my shelf for a while.

I have finally decided, I think! I bought the Winternight trilogy ages ago, so I will read The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.

I'm planning to finally read Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. I probably won't finish the book in January.

>25 VioletBramble: I've heard rave reviews of that one! I've not got it, as having read the blurb I'm not sure I'll understand it, but I'll look out for your review!

Not by any means the oldest member of my shelves but I bought it when it first came out and still haven't gone past the first chapter - The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt (2009).

>27 avatiakh: Oh yes, that is another I bought and still have not read! :(

>27 avatiakh: - >28 JayneCM: - Me too!

>24 JayneCM: I really liked The Bear and the Nightingale and the rest of the trilogy!

I read On Christmas Eve by Peter Collington. It is a small book that was hiding in amongst my Christmas books on the shelves. It jumped into my hand when I was looking for a different book.

I would love to participate in the RandomKIT group.

As someone who constantly gets distracted by the shiny new release or the many books I have on hold at the library, this first topic is an excellent way to return focus to my towering TBR pile :)

I'm off to search out some oldies but hopefully goodies.

>32 beach85: Great to have you aboard! Have fun :)

>33 rabbitprincess:
Thanks!

>28 JayneCM: >29 dudes22: Good intentions, I have listed it to read several times over the years.

>24 JayneCM: >30 christina_reads: I also read and loved the Winternight trilogy. Enjoy.

Going by Goodreads, the oldest book on my "to-read-own" shelf is The Aeneid, by Virgil. I'll make this a year-long project, haha.

I have settled on The Shadow of Death, the first in The Grantchester Mysteries. I often get caught up in collecting books in a series, seeking out volumes at library sales, and then forget that I actually wanted to read them lol. I have all of these on my shelf, and most have been there for quite some time. This book will also satisfy the January MysteryKIT topic, so I will kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended!).

>37 beach85: I just finished watching all the Grantchester TV series. They were "ok." I will await your review to see if I want to red them or not!

>37 beach85: Ditto that! Once the books get onto my shelves, I sort of forget about them until I start browsing the shelves for a particular reason.

Happy New Year to all!

>38 Tess_W:
I have not seen any of the TV series. If I really like a book, I usually won't watch the movie or t.v. version because I am afraid I will be disappointed. Hopefully I will like the books better than you liked the shows :)

>39 LadyoftheLodge:
Exactly!

Well, I started my first "Hidden Gem" and it just didn't work for me so I am abandoning Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes. So there's one book I have moved along!

I will instead be reading The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich as a Hidden Gem.

>43 DeltaQueen50: Glass rather than a diamond?

>44 Robertgreaves: Absolutely!

I know we're only 5 days into January, but I already feel like I've overcommitted for the month, so I'm afraid I'm going to sit this month out, and the book I had identified is going to have to stay unread a bit longer! Maybe the Jar of Fate will decide for it later in the year...

I finished The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, which I seem to have out the library for rather a long time.

I've chosen Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels for this. It's been on the shelf for literally decades so about time I gave it a try.

I have finished Wachtmeister Studer, often recommended to me by my sister, and I really wish I had taken her advice sooner.

The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis
I still have the box set that I got in grade 7 (no, I'm not saying how long ago that was) which has moved with me from Vancouver Island, BC, to Milwaukee, WI, and then to Seattle, WA. The picture of the castle on the spines sits on my shelf of paperback books in my office. In all that time, I have never read one of them.

I have to say, this one didn't really grab me. I'll read the rest because they're classics and I'm a completionist.

The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat
4 stars

This book is a combination fiction, memoir, and true crime. The author goes back and forth between telling her fictional story… which (in some ways) mimics the true crime portion of the story as she writes about her research into the crime. The chapters alternate between the fiction and the memoir.

The fictional story is set in the 90s, and is from the POV of a woman, Louise, marrying a man, Jake, who has a 12-year old son, Daniel. Louise is a teacher and knows that Daniel often gets into trouble, so she is concerned about how this will go as she becomes his stepmother. The true crime portion of the story is about a boy (Bobby Cook) in small town Alberta who, in his 20s, was convicted and hanged in 1960 for murdering his family: his father, stepmother, and five younger half-siblings. This was the last execution in Alberta.

It seems kind of an odd mix, but it worked really well for me. I liked that the character Louise would “talk” to the author, usually in between chapters, but occasionally in the memoir chapters, as well, as Louise and the author Betty figured out what the fictional Louise’s story would be and how similar it would be to Bobby Cook’s story. I liked both the fictional story, and I found the true crime portion of the story quite interesting, as well. Might have to look further into Robert Raymond Cook.

I read A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
A humorous account of family relationships although it probably won't stick in my memory for long. And it was far too long. The glitter of this "hidden gem" was a smidge tarnished.

I tried to make All Quiet on the Western Front a hidden gem, but it turned out to be a tarnished rhinestone instead! This was a re-read for me, but it got it off the shelf!

I've finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, one of the earliest books I added to my "to Read" list of books I own but are unread.

I finished Alternate Peace, a science fiction short story anthology I've had on my Kindle for over a year.

February Random Kit is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/347712

>50 dreamweaver529: I reread this last year and I think it is a bit hard going, but the following books are much better if my memories are correct!

For this challenge, I read Witch Hearts by Liz Long. The book has been on my Kindle since 2014.

I have just finished A Daughter's Secret by Anne Bennett. This book has been sitting on my shelves since about 2009 so I am thrilled to have finally moved it along. It's a family saga and I used to read a lot of this type of book before LT. I was absorbed into the book quickly and I enjoyed the read. Although not a true "gem" at least it was a shiny stone!

I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was in my stacks when I joined LT in 2011, so it's been waiting awhile. The language and story itself were much simpler than I thought they would be, but I am glad to finally have read it.

I read Thief with No Shadow by Emily Gee, which I've owned since 2010 but had never read. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about it, so it's not quite a hidden gem, but I'm glad I finally got to it!

I read In Distant Fields by Charlotte Bingham which I bought on holiday in 2016, but did not read until now. Although there were several aspects I did not like about it, I overall enjoyed it and would indeed call it a hidden gem.

I read The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, the first book in a trilogy I have been meaning to read forever. Loved it.

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.

I completed Deadly Friends by Stuart Pawson which is the 5th book in the DI Charlie Priest series. The biggest mystery here is how did I let so much time go by between books. It is a very well done police procedural and I enjoyed this one.

Sushi for Beginners is a long story about 3 women in Dublin that only incidentally mentions sushi. I put it on my list back in 2012 and finally finished it last week.

I read Over By the River and Other Stories by William Maxwell (1977), which has been on my shelf long before 2009, when I first started recording my books.
Maxwell grew up in Lincoln, Illinois and the stories in this collection that are set in the fictional town of Draperville felt the truest to me. The characters in these stories felt real and rounded. He lived in New York as an adult, but the NY stories just didn't feel authentic to me--perhaps the characters felt too distant and flat. So it was a mixed bag and glad that I can move the book along to another home.

Oh no! In my feeble attempt to add the topic to the February wiki I managed to delete it! Just February, luckily nothing else. Can someone add it back? Thanks!

I read Candide which has been on my shelves since 2016.

I found two hidden gems this month. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan which I had purchsased a Kindle edition back in 2015 and am kicking myself for not getting to this one sooner. So much fun. And The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes, which I had purchased a used paperback edition back in 2010 as it was on the 1001 books list. Not sure if this one would be to everyone's liking, but it worked for me.

I read Night Gardening by E. L. Swann. This isn't the oldest on my TBR for sure, but has been nagging at me. It's only 207 pages but I tried it once or twice and couldn't get into it. At one point I decided to donate it but before the books left my house I pulled it out of the box and put it back on the shelf! That was in 2019. This time it went better and I rated it 3.5* because the gardening writing on which the plot rests is so good. There is also a romance but the male character, a landscape architect, didn't have enough depth for the romance to seem real though I do think the plot was good. I'm putting it in the library donation box and it won't be pulled out this time!

I finally finished To Serve Them All My Days, which was wonderful but took me three weeks to read! I'm doing a reread of Jubal Sackett but intend this weekend to get to my gem, Prince Valiant: Volume 10 which has been resting on my shelves for a long time...has it really been four years? Wow.

>68 clue: Thanks to whomever added February back into the wiki. For anyone who listed something in it, please re-do it. Thanks.

>27 avatiakh: So my read of The Children's Book won't be completed this month but I've read a couple of chapters and it will be my slow read book for the next few weeks.

I did manage to read Purity of Blood, the second Captain Alitriste adventure and Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff, both long time inhabitants of my tbr pile and both were great reads.

>73 LadyoftheLodge: If I was going to do it I did it at at good time, no one had posted yet! Whew!

The book I read for ScaredyKIT also fits this category. It was on my shelf when I joined LT in 2015. The Year of Eating Dangerously by K Bennett.

I finished The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich. I quite enjoyed this historical fiction book set in 16th century Venice and Malta.

I was hoping my read, Mary Jane, would be a hidden gem. It wasn't.

Finished You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore today. Not among my favorites of his, but a fun diversion.

I wasn't sure I was going to get to this challenge but as I was looking for another book this past weekend, I came upon I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian Hall. It is a very stylized, poetic version of the Lewis & Clark adventures. It was dusty enough to count and it turned out to indeed be a hidden gem!

Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew, and Reuse to Make Things Last / Lori Baird
3 stars

The title of the book kind of says it all. It’s more of a reference book to check when you have something you might need to fix or if it’s time to get rid of, you can look up some alternate ways to use those things.

There are lots of suggestions in the book, some of which I already know about or do. Many, though, (especially the fixes, but even some of the maintenance to help things last longer) require someone handier than I. I am not handy at all. That being said, I do plan to hold on to the book so I can check if there is something I might be able to do with something when it’s time to get rid of it. I already try to use most things until they die.

Thanks to everyone for participating in our hunt for hidden gems this month. I was able to move 4 books along and I plan to continue the hunt as my shelves really need a clean out!