AlphaKIT: January: A and Y

Welcome to the 2024 AlphaKIT.
This is an unofficial challenge for the 2024 Category Challenge Group. Each month has two letters selected for you to use however you choose.

There are tw rules. Have fun and enjoy reading. January letters are: A and Y

and

If You like, update the wiki with your reading:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2024AlphaKIT#January:_-_Letters:_A_and_Y

Wow - I'm going to have a search party!

✅20 Years After by Alexandre Dumas
✅A Curious Incident
Athenian Murders
✅Ballparks: Yesterday & Today
✅Dating Can Be Deadly by Amanda Flower
✅Limoncello Yellow
✅Murder at the Leaning Tower by T.A. Williams
✅Murder at the Matterhorn by T.A. Williams
✅Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew
✅Murder in Florence by T.A. Williams
✅Murder in Siena by T.A. Williams
✅There's A Murder Afoot
✅You're Snug With Me

Most of my Alpha picks this year will also be counting for various CATs or the BingoDog.

Tentatively planning on How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu (Bingo: re-read a favorite; CalendarCAT: author's birthday); and The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali (Bingo: epistolary; HistoryCAT: American Wars and Conflicts).

It's interesting that we have 2 months in a row with "Y"--December 23 and January 24. Lucky me, I have 2 books to read by E. H. Young.....I just need to actually read them :)

Memo to self: Keep "Bleeding Heart Yard" by Elly Griffiths for January.

I've got a ton of As and I'm going to sort of cheat and count York: The Shadow Cipher as my Y, since sometimes it's listed the way I show it and others as just The Shadow Cipher.

What fun - planning actual reads for 2024! I think I am going to be reading A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie and Speak for the Dead by Margaret Yorke.

I think I'm going to read You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria for both letters.

I'm planning to read Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert and Auntie Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu.

My first tentative plan is to read Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb and My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young. But I haven't checked all the CATs and KITs yet, so something else might come up!

>10 MissBrangwen: Ooh, good idea! I have been meaning to read Assassin's Apprentice for approximately a million years! And it is on Kindle Unlimited so I have no excuse!

I've planned Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Abanese for A.

Oh, boy! Ending 2023 with a Y and staring 2024 with a Y!

I haven't yet figured out all my challenges, etc. For the monthly ones, I don't choose too far ahead of time, but for a couple of others, I choose options for the entire year. Sometimes these work nicely with the AlphaKT, as I will get myself reading those during those months (especially when they include the harder letters, if what I decide on for the monthly challenges don't fit). But I haven't yet taken time to figure out those challenges. That may or may not happen until closer to January.

>11 JayneCM: I started it last year and loved it, but I abandoned it (I cannot remember why). I am eager to continue!

>13 LibraryCin: Well, at least we get Y taken care of early in the year this time!

>15 majkia: LOL! True.

I will probably read an Amish novel for the letter "A", which is easy because I have many of them on my Kindle and my shelf. Also one of the Laura Numeroff books for kids, since they all have the word "you" in the title. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake tops my list.

I'm definitely planning on You are My Sunshine and Other Stories by Octavia Cade as my 'Y' book.

For my 'A', I'll either be going with Matt Bell's Appleseed or The Dybbuk by S. Ansky, mostly depending on whether or not my book club ends up choosing that second one as a read next month lol.

I finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. I loved everything about this book and am so happy that I finally got round to it!

>19 MissBrangwen: The Entire series is wonderful. Glad you enjoyed it.

I read The Thin Light of Freedom by Edward Ayers for my first 'A'. It's nonfiction which looks at the Civil War and Reconstruction largely through the lens of two communities that were quite close together geographically but on opposite sides of the war: Staunton, VA and Chambersburg, PA.

Y: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu.

A--The Amish Christmas Angel by Mary Lantz
Y--If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

I just finished Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen, a fun steampunk Beauty and the Beast retelling.

I read another A book: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon.

I read Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo for Y.

A: The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, Michael Leali.

A: Alles ganz wunderbar weihnachtlich by Kirsten Boie

I read She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames, a delightfully witty Golden Age mystery.

Y : I Know Who Killed Your Daughter by Tim Kizer

Starting "The Falcon: A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner" by John Tanner

I couldn't sleep and re-read Yukon Ho!. Never fails to put me in a good mood.

For Y, I finished listening to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young.

I just finished Julia Heaberlin's Night Will Find You for my Y book. An interesting psychological "thriller" that's really more about what humans believe and why.

A : The Advocate's Dilemma by Teresa Burrell

I have completed my reads of A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie and Speak For The Dead by Margaret York for this month's Alphakit.

I very much enjoyed a reread of Anne of Green Gables.

A : A Regrettable Proposal by Jennie Goutet

February thread is up: February AlphaKIT thread

I've finished Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu.

Fayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald
3 stars

In the late 19th century, 12-year old Charlotte lives with her father at Fayne (in Scotland or England). Her mother died in childbirth and her brother died when she was young, as well (Charlotte does not remember her brother). Charlotte is extremely smart and her father hires a tutor for her (who is initially perturbed that he was brought to tutor a girl). She wants to attend university.

This did not turn out as I’d expected. It was very long and I’m rating it ok. There were parts I liked (more toward the beginning of the book), but whenever we switched perspectives, I felt like I was starting over (even though after the first couple of times, we were mostly going back and continuing from where the last switch left off), and wasn’t interested for the first bit (of every switch). It took time to get interested again, but just as that happened, we switched again.

So, the other perspective is Charlotte’s mother. I honestly didn’t find this nearly as interesting, overall, as Charlotte herself. Though, after a bit, I was interested (then… switch!). Clarissa (Charlotte’s aunt) was a piece of work, wow! I didn’t like her from the start. The end was a bit weird: Did Charlotte live to about 140 years old!?

>39 majkia: thanks!

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (Newbery Honor 2003)

I Pearl Ruled this book at page 60. I don't like any of the characters, and even eccentric characters should be somewhat likable. The Penderwick and Blossoms (Betsy Byars) series have likable, 3 dimensional eccentric characters, so it can be done well. It wasn't here.

What really amazes me is this book won a Newbery. I don't see how.

I've read an A book: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders.

Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer.
3.5 stars

It’s 1919 in San Francisco. When Delia and Gabe, Sophie and Jack (and their two kids), and Sam and Libby head to a parade, they never expected a riot to break out. Not only a riot, but then gunfire and explosions. Gabe and Jack are police so they go to help. Delia is a “spiritualist” – she can see ghosts; not only that, Sophie’s young son Connor sees them, too, but he is too young to do anything about it and they scare him. Delia does what she can to protect him. She also noticed the people who ended up rioting had something odd happen just before the riot. Once again, Delia and her friend Dora (also a spiritualist) must help Gabe solve this mystery.

I liked this. This is the third (and final, I’m guessing?) in a series. The POV changes between Gabe and Delia. Like the 2nd book, I think I liked Gabe’s storyline a bit better. I really liked the police officer, Jordan Lynch, whom they brought in from Chicago. There were a few times I really didn’t like Dora. I would continue with this series if it was to keep going (and would hope Jordan Lynch would continue to be in it, as well), but I see there aren’t (currently) more and this was published in 2015, so I’m not sure how likely another one is. It also kind of ended in a way that appears that there is unlikely to be more in the series.

I have finished Atemschaukel by a German Nobel laureate, Herta Müller. This was a bit of a challenge, her writing is remarkable but requires paying close attention.

For A I read Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer.
It has taken a while for me to get to the second in Archer’s William Warwick series but it was worthwhile. Archer is a great storyteller, although so far, this is not my favourite of his series. Nevertheless, I will be continuing to read and even though it concerns the rich elite and their problems, his stories can be addictive and entertaining.

I've finished Person or Persons Unknown by Bruce Alexander

I've finished Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert

I've read Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

I finished You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria for both letters.

I finished another A, As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic.

I have finished After dark by Wilkie Collins.

The Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman
3.5 stars

As the title suggests, this book looks at bird intelligence. How intelligent are birds? And how do we measure this?

It’s hard to base intelligence on what humans think is smart. I think it’s similar to culturally-biased IQ tests, really. Birds don’t need to know the same things as humans. That being said, there are things that birds know or can figure out that is comparable to humans and/or other primates. They are smart, IMO. Most of us know how smart corvids (crows, ravens, etc) are, but other birds are smart, too, in different ways, including sparrows, pigeons… some birds that aren’t “traditionally” thought of as smart. Some of the things discussed in the book include songs, migration, tools, aesthetically—pleasing displays, etc. I listened to the audio, but I bet I would have taken in more had I actually read it in print or via ebook.

I finished another "A" book with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple – The Complete Short Stories.

Just finished I Will Find You by Harlan Coben for Y
Inconceivable, and from early in the story it was predictable, but Coben’s fine storytelling compensated.

I've finished A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine. Excellent sci fi novel.

I just finished The Mousehole Cat by Antonia Barber, and gorgeously illustrated by Nicola Bayley. My daughter-in-law found this little treasure at the Cutty Sark gift shop in Greenwich, England.

I finished The Seabird's Cry by Adam Nicholson, for Random & Alpha CATs.

I got a "Y" book completed!


What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan

I'll admit it, reading this little book and looking at the striking illustrations brought a tightness to my throat, and a dampness to my eyes. I will gift it to my granddaughters, as they will soon be moving away from their current home, and what they knew first.

Another A book, Always Remember by Mary Balogh. It was fine but not one of Balogh's stronger offerings.

This thought-provoking story meets both A and Y for this month: Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson, as well as two BingoDog squares. The author wrote the book at age 69, and it was published when she was 70. It is about a woman in England and a man in Denmark who develop a friendship through writing letters to each other.

I finished I Have Some Questions for You.

Bluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke
3.75 stars

Darren is a black man and a Texas Ranger. Though he is on suspension, he gets a tip that there have been two murders one county over – a black man and a white woman. Bodies found in the river a few days apart. Initially, he heads over just to see what things are looking like. Turns out there is an active chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (a modern-day KKK) in this small town where there hasn’t been even one murder in decades. When he does get the go ahead from his Ranger supervisor to help investigate, the local sheriff isn’t thrilled.

I mostly liked this, but some of the flashbacks to previous happenings didn’t completely hold my interest. I liked Darren, but didn’t like some of the other characters much. I feel like dark and gritty are good words to describe this one. I do plan to continue with book 2 at some point.

I read American Revolutions by Alan Taylor for a double A.

I read On a Night of a Thousand Stars by Andrea Yaryura Clark for both letters. I found it a good book once I got into it, but it took a while for me to do so (dual timeline fiction, one of which I definitely preferred over the other)

One more book for "A": Der große Ausverkauf by Vicki Baum.

A : Mystic Pieces by Ada Bell

No "Y" books, and only two "A" books this month:

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce (2018)

and currently reading:
The White Company, Arthur Conan Doyle (1891)

A spontaneous re-read for A is Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais.

You May Also Like / Tom Vanderbilt
3.5 stars

The author looks at what people like, why we like those things, etc. Our “taste” so to speak (not the sense of taste, but our “taste” for what we like). He does, of course, discuss food, but there is also a chapter (I found this one particularly interesting) on online reviews and recommendations, etc. Other chapters include museums/art, ways to describe why we like something, and more.

Not too much to say about this. I found it (mostly) interesting and easy to read. Oddly, although I’m not really one for art appreciation, I remember that chapter a bit more than some of the others (also the online review chapter, but that may not be a surprise considering I am writing a review to post online…!).

>71 LibraryCin: Sounds interesting. Wishlisted

Oh yes, that does sound like it would be interesting.

I had a good January:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 3.8 stars
The Yard Dog: A Mystery by Sheldon Russell 3.7 stars
All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac 4.2 stars
Yellowface by R. F Kuang 4.6 stars
After the Plague: Stories by T.C. Boyle 4.3 stars

Come on February!

>64 LibraryCin: I also liked Bluebird, Bluebird. I think we are still waiting for the second in the series, right?

One more, under the wire!


Imogene's Antlers by David Small

Imogene wakes up one morning and discovers she has grown antlers overnight. As one might imagine, this causes some difficulties. Her family reacts in a variety of ways, and work on a solution to the perceived problem.

Delightful, and funny, with plenty of amusing detail in the background of each illustration.

Managed one A book: Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice, by René Amalberti.

>75 msf59: Is the second one not out yet? I added it to the tbr...

Just checked. Looks like it came out in 2020:
Heaven My Home

>78 LibraryCin: Thanks. When I checked I didn't see it. That one must not have got the buzz the first one did.

Just joined the 2024 challenge and realized my first book of the year counts for the January AlphaKIT - Possession by A. S. Byatt (Antonia Susan).