Jenny Jumps in for 2024

I'm excited to join this challenge again. This year I'm aiming to read primarily from my tbr book shelf using the alphabet as a prompt. One book per letter and it can be a re-read. Many of the letters have multiple titles to choose from but I am missing books for the letters U, X, Y and Z however it's only January and I am already looking for books to fill these spots.

A
All the Green Years by Don Charlwood
Angela Carter's book of Wayward Girls and Wicked Women

B
Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope
Burmese Days by George Orwell

C
Can you Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
A Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell
Coming Up for Air by George Orwell

D
The Drinking Den by Emile Zola

E
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

F
Father by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Frost In May by Antonia White

G
A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson
The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah

H
Heat And Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhavbala
The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene
Heidi by Johanna Spyri

I
I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki

J
The Journey by Jiro Osargi

K
King Arthurby Roger Lancelyn Green

L
The Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

M
Midwinter by
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
The Mulberry Tree by Elizabeth Bowen
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

N
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

O
Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

P
Precious Bane by Mary Webb
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes

R
Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy REREAD

S
The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell REREAD?
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

T
Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf

U

V
Voting Day by Clare O'Dea

W
When Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
A Walk Among the Tombstones
When the Floods Came by Clare Morrall

X

Y

Z

JANUARY

1. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
2. Days At the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Translated by Eric Ozawa
AUDIO read by Susan Momoko Hingley
3. Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
4. Diary of A Void by Emi Yagi
AUDIO Read by Nancy Wu
5. Voting Day by Clare O'Dea
6. Quicksand by Nella Larsen
7. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Roger
Lancelyn Green
8. The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
9. What You are Looking for Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
translated by Alison Watts
10 Frost in May by Antonia White
11 All the Green Year by Don Charlwood

FEBRUARY
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro REREAD
2. Precious Bane by Mary Webb
3. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Boylan AUDIO
4. The Push by Audrey Audrain
5. Lady Susan by Jane Austen AUDIO
6. The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
7. All Blood is Black at Night by David Diop
8. Twelve Steps to a Long and Fulfilling Death by Sarah Smith
9. Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au AUDIO
10. Pet by Catherine Chidgey

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

The Black, Jewish and immigrant residents of Chicken Hill, Pottstown, Pennsylvania come together to form a supportive community despite their differences. McBride is a genius at juggling numerous characters but somehow the reader is never confused.
Highly Recommended 5 stars

Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Helga Crane is a bi-racial women struggling to find her place in the racially segregated US society of 1928. She leaves the Black academic world for the Black high society in New York. Unsatisfied she moves to Denmark to live with her white aunt. Eventually, she tires of being a novelty to Danish society and returns to America where she impetuously marries a poor Black reverend. Helga has several children in quick succession and her physical and mental health declines. The ending was not what I expected but it is one I'll remember.
I didn't think this book was as strong as Passing by Nella Larsen. However, the endings of both books are fabulous.

Shibata is so fed up with being expected to do all the menial tasks around the office just because she is a woman that she tells her colleagues she can't clear up the coffee mugs because she is pregnant. Shibata keeps up this ruse for nine months eventually going on maternity leave. She is able to leave work on time, cook nutritious meals for herself, get enough sleep and even find time to exercise. As the novel progresses the line between fantasy and reality blurs.
Dark humour. Loved it. 4 stars

Voting Day by Clare O'Dea
We follow four Swiss women on a single day in 1959 when the men of Switzerland voted on giving women the vote. The result of the vote was a resounding "no". The female population of Switzerland did not get the vote until 1979.
This was a very short book and I very much enjoyed the vignettes of the four women: an over-worked and under appreciated farmer's wife; her daughter living an independent life in the city who is experiencing workplace sexual harassment; a women, deserted by her husband, who is desperate to win back custody of her son who was put into foster care by Swiss authorities and an older single female who is part of the campaign to win the vote for women.

4 stars

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

The second book featuring Christie's famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Engaging and complex plot: exactly what you expect from Agatha Christie.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Takako's work colleague and boyfriend announces he is getting married to someone else so Takako quits her job and accepts her uncle Satoru's offer to live rent free above his book shop in Jimbocho in return for some help in the store.
Takako's heart mends and she becomes part of the book community of Jimbocho, Tokyo. She even begins to enjoy reading books.
This book was a disappointment. 2 stars

Welcome back, Jenny!

Frost In May by Antonia White

Nanda is 9 years old when she starts at Lippington a repressive convent school. She embraces the intense religious instruction and strives to be a good catholic despite the cruelties of the nuns. The nuns in this book are quite disturbing in their treatment of the girls. Ultimately, Nanda leaves the school in disgrace and she is heartbroken but I felt glad that she had escaped.

4 stars

<11> thanks Jim!

JANUARY ROUND UP

I had a great start to the year reading a total of 11 books of which 2 were audio books and the remainder print books (4 library books/5 I owned). I was able to mark off 6 books from my "read alphabetically" tbr shelf. I read 3 books translated from the Japanese.

Book of the month: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Disparate community coming together to right wrongs.
Highly commended: The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier and Frost in May by Antonia White.

Surprise of the month: All the Green Year by Don Charlwood. Written in 1965 and reprinted 1972, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79 and 80. Apparently this book is an Australian classic that was studied by high school students in the 70s and I can't believe I'd never hear of it before. Coming of age story set in a small coastal town in Victoria.

Disappointment of the month: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
I have heard many people credit this book with sparking their interest as children in Arthurian legend. Unfortunately, I found the language stilted and I lost track of which knight was on which quest. Confusing and tedious.

FEBRUARY READING ROUND UP

A solid reading month with 10 books read - 7 female authors and 3 male. One book is a reread, 3 were on audio, 1 translated book, 1 for bookclub and 1 from my A-Z Read from my Shelf challenge.

Book of the Month: Two titles this month as I can't choose between them. Precious Bane by Mary Webb and Pet by Catherine Chidgey

Surprise of the month:At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop. A very short book that packs a punch. This book will stay with me.

Disappointment of the month: No disappointing reads this month however I did start Julia by Sandra Newman and I'm still deciding whether I carry it over to March or DNF it.