BingoDOG Reads Part 2

This is a continuation of the general thread to record your completed squares and to ask for ideas about the ones you're struggling with.

Get your bingo cards here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365342#8680083

Don't forget to fill in the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2025_BingoDOG

1. Newly in public domain
2. Features adoption/foster care/nontraditional family
3. A long title (5+ words)
4. Author has your or relative’s 1st or last name
5. Nonhuman narrator
6. The sun on cover/in title
7. Hollywood!
8. A place you've never been
9. Features winged creature(s)
10. A profession in title
11. Travel
12. Child as a main character
13. Read a CAT
14. Totally random
15. Originally published in a language not your own
16. Medical topic
17. A holiday in title
18. Writing about writers
19. Either "Library" or "Thing" in title
20. Features fire
21. Recommended by a friend or LT member
22. Oldest book in your TBR
23. Set in your favorite season
24. Features a birth
25. A piece of furniture on the cover

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish for "oldest book in my TBR" and that completes my card for which I read all children's books.

>2 LadyoftheLodge: For me, that is wild. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is the very first book I ever read when I was a young child.

Congratulations on completing your card of children's books!

Originally published in a language not my own (German)

>2 LadyoftheLodge: Congratulations!

I read I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver and it fits the "Nontraditional family" square. The protagonist is kicked out by their parents and moves in with their older sister and her husband where they live until they have finished school and move to LA with their boyfriend.

I also filled in the "Read a CAT" square with Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry, which I read for the March CultureCAT.

I read Ande Pliego's You Are Fatally Invited for the "set in your favorite season" square (autumn). But while I love fall for the cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and overall cozy vibes, this book leans heavily into the thriller/horror/"spooky season" of it all, with the climactic scenes occurring on Halloween.

*Features Flying Creatures*
Bats Sing, Mice Giggle: The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives

This book was divided into three main sections: Sensing, Surviving, and Socializing, and discusses the different senses, abilities, and social interactions that animals have. I found this book intensely interesting. There was a large amount of information on marine animals, from catfish covered in tastebuds to dolphins creating bubble rings to play with, but the book also discussed the monogamy of prairie voles, the adaptivity of coyotes and cockroaches, parrots that deceive, honeybees that count, long-distance elephant communication, and, of course, singing bats and giggling mice.

There were quite a few times that I wished the authors had discussed a topic more, but I think this is a great book for getting bite-sized pieces of interesting animal information!

>2 LadyoftheLodge: congratulations on finishing your Bingo card!

Read The Witch and the Wyrm by Elizabeth Bear for the birth field. The titular Witch use a dragons drool to revive corpses with strange side effects, most notably a lot of pregnancies and births, both human and farm stock - and an unexpected dragon hatching.

I checked off the "long title (5+ words)" square with My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein.

Read Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite for “25. A piece of furniture on the cover”: a reading chair in space.



A Space Cozy if ever there was one, this novella is told in the first person by a (mostly) retired ships detective abroad a space ship. She awakens in an unfamiliar body, and has to solve the murder and erasure of several People’s memory back-ups, including her own. This is very much in the veins of Malka Olders The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti series, and other novella series such as Becky Chambers Monk & Robot and Nghi Vos The Singing Hills Cycle
I feel like this is what Mary Robinette Kowal tried to create with her The Spare Man, and did not succeed.

>8 amberwitch: Thank you! I had to really think about the last two squares, but managed to find titles that fit.

Finished The City in Glass, told in the third person, from the point of view of a demon;
Vitrine has long ago taken the city of Azril as her own, nudging it towards her own idea of a great city, loving its citizens.
When a cadre of Angels come down from above on a moonbean and destroys her city, she fights to bring it back, using everything she has and is, and even one of the Angels, stranded on Earth by her curse.
Very nice fantasy from Nghi Vo.

For "author shares a name with you or a family member," I read Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link. I have a sister named Kelly.

I just finished the audiobook Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green for the “medical topic” square. Green does all that is humanly possible to make this grim and depressing topic a call to action rather than to despair.

*Features a child main character*
Simon Sort of Says

Simon went viral. He was the only survivor of a school shooting. So, his family does the only thing they can do: move to the only place in the country with no television, no internet, no radio — the National Quiet Zone, where scientists are listening for signs of alien life. Simon gets a chance to start over in the only town that doesn't know his name.

This was a wonderful book with the perfect amount of humour, a lively cast of characters, and touching moments of growth. It treats Simon's PTSD with the gravity it deserves without wallowing in it — overall, it's actually a quite lighthearted book. I appreciated the clear research that into the representation — not only the main character's PTSD but also the representation of autism and of Filipine culture. This was a great, quick read.

Book bullet from susanna.fraser

*Medical Topic*
Tabletop Role-Playing Therapy: A Guide for the Clinician Game Master

The subtitle almost put me off, but I'm glad it didn't. I'm no clinician; I took Intro to Psych a million years ago and read a lot of non-fiction, but that's it. Nonetheless, I was interested in the topic so I took the plunge. On one side, this book covers what a TTRPG is in easy-to-understand terms, discusses a history of diversity concerns in the TTRPG world, some basics of set-up, and safety tools for interacting with potentially triggering topics in a trauma-informed, consent-based way. On the other side, the book briefly explains relevant procedure for a (US-based) therapy group: HIPPA, informed consent for treatment, documentation of progress (for those, like me, who are not clinicians, it is written easily enough to understand with no formal experience, and briefly enough to skip if you are not interested). In combining the two, this book really covers it all: relevant research (unfortunately, there hasn't been much), a list of some diagnoses that may seek TTRPG therapy and how it may help them, setting and achieving therapy goals through TTRPGs, a fictional example of how a TTRPG therapy session may go, and a step-by-step guide for a clinician on how to plan, set up, and carry out a TTRPG therapy session.

Overall, I found this very interesting and approachable, although I have to admit the section on specific diagnoses felt a little reductive. (For more details on my gripe, see my reading thread.) Despite that, I recommend this book overall to anyone who would be interested in learning more about this interesting topic.

I read The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison for the read a CAT square. SFFKIT for april is Women Authors.

I read Ithaca by Claire North and it fits the "Non-human narrator" square as it is narrated by the goddess Hera. I am really happy about that because I was wondering how to fill that square and thought that it might be a hard one for me.

>19 MissBrangwen: It is always nice when you get lucky like that. I find the cover challenges hard, so whenever I end up with a cover that fits one of the challenges I am tickled.

Features a birth: The Bump, Sidney Karger.

For "sun" in the title, I read The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner.

The Werewolf of Bamberg (The Hangman's Daughter #5; by Oliver Pötzsch; translated from the German by Lee Chadeayne; narrated by Grover Gardner) - In this historical novel set in 1668, Jakob Kuisl heads to Bamberg with his family to attend the wedding of his estranged brother. But when he gets there, the town is getting ginned up for a full-out werewolf hunt replete with torch-wielding posses and inquisitions. The story has all the now-familiar tropes of mad & corrupt priests, high points of gothic melodrama including a massive fire at the climax of the story, tension between science & superstition and, the familial bonds amongst a dishonorable class of hangman. What's different about this work from its predecessors in the series is that the writing has taken a giant leap forward editorially speaking and the research is artfully incorporated. Gone are the repetitive descriptions (e.g., Simon's love of coffee) and honorifics (e.g., "the Dishonorable Hangman") and in its place, a well-developed plot with fascinating history integrated into the mystery of the serial murders in Bamberg. My only quibble is that the conflict and rivalry between Jakob and his brother was overly drawn out and not as well resolved by the end of the book as would seem warranted after all that they went through in the story. Definitely the best of the series so far.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-3/4

#FeaturesFire #TorchWieldingPosses #MelodramaticFireScene

I read Swept Away by Beth O'Leary for the "sun in title/on cover" square. It's a bit small, but the sun is definitely present -- right on the horizon, behind the guy's ankles:

I found two books on my sister’s shelves to fill the square for winged creatures: Alle neune which has five birds in it, and the non-traditional family square has been filled by Der Spurenfinder where the detective has adopted twins.

Non-traditional family: The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley, in which several people brought to the present from different eras of the past become a sort of family group.

Since I won't be completing any more Bingo read this month, I only had one count for April:

: Holdiay in Title - A Ladies' Easter Romance by Alice Kirks

YTD total squares filled = 10

*Features fire*
Scythe

Every problem humanity has ever had has been solved once we reach near-infinite computing power and a benevolent AI called the "Thunderhead" (instead of the Cloud — get it?) has taken over the concept of government. But now humanity has a new problem — having conquered natural (and unnatural) death, something has to be done about a growing population that can never die. The Scythes, who operate under no laws or authority but their own, remain the only true source of fear. And two teenagers who encounter this fear, are chosen to become apprentices. But who wants to take lives for a living?

I always enjoy the worlds Shusterman creates, and he always raises a lot of interesting and thought-provoking questions, even when I don't always agree with his premises. This book was no exception, and often had me on the edge of my seat. Although I enjoyed it overall, there were a few descriptions of fat people in the book that were weird and bordering on dehumanizing. I felt the ending was satisfying, but I'm actually discovering there are sequels, so I will have to keep an eye out.

Favourite season

*Sun in Title/on Cover*
The Sun is Also a Star

I don't read a whole lot of romance, and I have to admit when I picked this book up I didn't realise it was a romance. That being said, I did still really enjoy this one.

Natasha is being deported from America to Jamaica, a country she hardly remembers. Her father has his head in the clouds, but she has her feet firmly on the ground. She doesn't believe in fate, or love, or anything science can't prove. Daniel's parents immigrated to America from South Korea before he and his brother were born. They want the best for their sons, which means an ivy league education to become doctors. Daniel's not really sure that's what he wants to do, he's kind of more into poetry, but he can't bear to disappoint his parents like his older brother Charlie, who was suspended from Harvard for poor grades. One chance encounter will change both their lives forever.

There was a lot of character development in the story, especially considering that everything but the epilogue happens in one day. I'm kind of a sucker for opposites attract, and I liked that this book was topical to current events, not just a love story. I really liked this one and I can see why it won so many awards.

I finally got my first Bingo! >28 GraceCollection: would have given me one if I had counted any of my CAT/KIT reads in the free space, but I haven't yet! Ironically, my first read that wasn't a CAT/KIT got me there.

For the "first name of a relative" I used Cinq-Mars by Alfred de Vigny. My Alfred is a little cousin three times removed who was born on the same day as me this year.

>30 GraceCollection: Congratulations on your first bingo!

For "features winged creatures", I read A High Mortality of Doves, a mystery in which white doves play a part.

I filled two more squares in April:

Features winged creature(s): Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Set in your favourite season: Die kalte Mamsell by Elsa Dix (set in autumn)

Six more squares to go!

I only managed to fill one block in April: Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey for "published in 2025".

>32 Charon07: Thank you! I'm on my way to filling the whole card! We used to call that 'blackout' at the bingo hall.

I listened to The Summer Book by Tove Jansson for the “child as a main character” square. I think I might have liked it better if I’d read it in print.

One of the women in A view of the harbour is an author, and there is much about her writing processes in it.

Next square down is "Library of thing in the title", for which I read The natural way of things. I have only five more squares to fill!

Travel: When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi, in which a trip to the moon is a central part of the story.

The Constant Gardener (by John LeCarré; narrated by Michael Jayston) - The activist wife of foreign service officer Justin Quayle has been brutally murdered en route to Lake Turkana. Scandal erupts has it appears that Tessa was in the company of a man not her husband— so the paparazzi are having a field day and the British Embassy in Kenya is in an uproar. Oddly calm throughout, is Justin himself. Old school Etonian, he appears unflappable and weak compared to his ambitious colleagues— so it is laughable when investigators question him as a suspect. But with fevered determination, he decides to find out for himself what happened. His quest takes him to points in the African continent, to Canada and back to England as he tracks down doctors, NGOs, old friends and, shady politicians. The title of the book comes from his steadfastness in his pursuit and his expert knowledge of gardens.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-3/4

#ProfessionInTitle #Gardener

Profession in title: A Fledgling Abiba, Dilman Dila.

The Love Hypothesis (by Ali Hazelwood) is a contemporary romance set in the research labs of Stanford University. The cover feature a cartoonish couple kissing with a lab table in the background.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#FurnitureOnTheCover #LabTable

I picked Quick Curtain from my TBR using the Random Books feature on the LT profile page, for the Totally random square.

Dead Lions takes place in April, and spring is often mentioned, so that’s a book for my favourite season.

Medical topic: Immortality Inc., Robert Sheckley; SF which features a lot of minds being transferred from one body to another.

Emily Carr and Her Dogs: Flirt, Punk and Loo by Emily Carr
Running a kennel for Old English Bobtail Sheep dogs was intended to be a way of earning money that would allow the famous artist Emily Carr to concentrate on painting. The dogs required a lot of attention and the selling price must have been low - one buyer paid in coins - making the enterprise appear to be more of a hobby than a money-maker. This is a small book about the experience, written and beautifully illustrated by Carr. Each short chapter focuses on an aspect of the dogs in her kennel. She rented rooms in her house in Victoria, British Columbia that may have brought in more money but was a thankless, sometimes risky business as one of the stories describes. A captivating book, written in Carr’s straightforward style.

For the Hollywood square: The Talent by Daniel D'Addario, which follows the five nominees for Best Actress through a fictional Oscar season.

*Originally published in a language not my own*

The Three-Body Problem

I didn't find anywhere in the foreword, afterwords, or on the cover that mentioned which language Liu actually wrote the original in, but I don't speak any languages of Chinese origin, so I figured I was probably safe without looking it up.

This one has been on my TBR for a while. I really enjoyed this hard sci-fi tale which starts during China's Cultural Revolution and slowly unravels a physics-related mystery. There was a little bit of the science that went over my head (I know nothing about protons) but I was able to basically nod and accept the explanations at face value even if I wasn't sure about the actual science behind it. The tale was gripping and suspenseful and the mystery of what exactly is going on is slowly unraveled throughout the whole tale, and I enjoyed the questions the story raised about society and humanity, without being too didactic.

I did have some gripes; full review on my thread.

I just read Susanna Kearsley's The King's Messenger, which works for the "profession in the title" square.

For a holiday in the title, I read Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift.
Mothering Sunday, when staff in service were allowed to return for a visit to their families was set at the end of the first quarter of the year. It evolved into what is now known as Mother’s Day.

Jane, a maid, has had a long-standing love affair with Paul, heir of the neighbouring estate. On Mothering Sunday 1924, when the few remaining staff are away, they have their final encounter before he leaves to be married. This short novel pinpoints the time just after WWI when change turned the social order upside down. Jane narrates most of the novel, and through her observances the reader is able to capture a moment in time, on the pinnacle of change. She also reflects on her life as an old woman and successful writer. Swift’s writing is superb, with a minimum of words he is able to fully illustrate a complex, poignant atmosphere.

The cover is from a detail of Modigliani's painting Nu Couché.

I listened to the audiobook of Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir for the square “a place you’ve never been.” This was a failure as a murder mystery but not a bad look at Reykjavík in 1986.

hey y'all I'm new and I wanna make some friends so y'all have a great day and don't give up🥰

>55 Charon07: oh that's really niceeee I've heard of those rn I'm reading icebreaker because I heard it great so I'm reading that oh and the hunger games and Harry Potter

I read Under The Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft for the square "the sun on cover/in title".

For the month of May I only filled in one square, that of "Library in title" with The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander.

Recommended by a friend

Colette died in 1954, and her works are now in the public domain in Germany. I read Claudine à l’école for this square.

For the nonhuman narrator square, I read I Am a Cat by Natsume Soseki, which is in fact narrated by the title cat.

Features winged creatures: Bats play a central role in Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez.

For the "furniture on the cover" square, I'm reading Murder in the Paperback Parlor. The parlor is on the cover, featuring an armchair, a bookshelf and a tea table.

I have finished David Copperfield whose first chapter includes what must be the most well-known birth in English literature.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon (Glimmer Falls #1; by Sarah Hawley) - A Contemporary Romantic Comedy set in a fictional, magical community in Washington state (USA). It was okay; but worth mentioning in this thread as it has a yellow cover and the color-of-the-month for June over in CoverCat is yellow 🙂

#ReadACat #CoverCat #Yellow

*Writing about Writers*
The Moment of Tenderness

Most of these stories were never published before L'Engle's death in 2007, although a few had featured in literary magazines and the like. They were all written before her famous A Wrinkle in Time, and many before she had ever even started on her first novel. They are mostly realistic and contemporary to the time they were written in, though some are historical and 3 have fantasy/sci-fi elements (the back-of-book blurb had me expecting half or more of the stories to be SFF, but no joy. Or rather, 3/18 joy). Many are somewhat sad, but a few (and the collection itself) end on a hopeful note.

Full review on my thread.

The short story 'The Foreign Agent' features a main character who is a poet, whose mother is also a poet as well as a cookbook writer.

Features a child character: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, Seanan McGuire.

*'Library' or 'Thing' in the Title*

My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Books One and Two

I guess that's the difference... a good monster sometimes gives somebody a fright because they're weird-looking and fangy... a fact that is beyond their control... But bad monsters are all about CONTROL... They want the whole world to be scared so that BAD MONSTERS can call the shots.

It's hard to describe the experience of reading this story, because it seems to cover a little bit of everything. Karen Reyes, a young lesbian growing up in the 60s, sees (and draws) herself as a werewolf, and seeks to solve the mysterious death of her upstairs neighbour. Full review on my thread.

I thought for sure when the BingoDOG card was revealed, that I would fill this square with a 'Library' book, but here we are, with a 'Thing'!

And with that, I've earned my second BINGO!

I added two more books to my Bingo card this month:

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake for "features a birth"
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin for "features adoption/foster care/non-traditional family"

I just read The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill for the "'library' or 'thing' in the title" square.

The cover of Kindness Goes Unpunished (Longmire #3; by Craig Johnson) features a a silhouette of a cowboy-hatted figure with a rifle against a rising/setting sun on a grassland. This is pretty funny considering that the story takes place in Philadelphia! 😂

#TheSunOnCover

I'm counting Maggie Stiefvater's The Listeners for the "child as main character" square. Hannelore Wolfe isn't the central protagonist, but there are several sections from her POV, and her fate provides the catalyst for the book's climactic events.

The Midnight Library (by Matt Haig)

#LibraryInTitle

I have finished Der Sonnenfürst, which means the Sun Prince, and fills the "sun in title" square. Only one more to go!

I saved All Systems Red for the non-human narrator square until the end. This now completes my Bingo card, yay!

>76 MissWatson: Congratulations on completing your card! I’m delighted Murderbot made an appearance for this square!

>78 dudes22: - Congratulations! There are a few squares that I think I might not be able to fill this year - but we'll see.

>77 Charon07: >78 dudes22: Thank you! It’s always fun.

For "newly in the public domain," I read The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham, originally published in 1929.

For "non-human narrator," I read All Systems Red and Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (by Dava Sobel) - Subtitle pretty much says it all! This is a short and concise story about the challenges in determining longitude and the 18th-century watchmaker, James Harrison who developed the first accurate chronometer. I know this sounds boring and prosaic but it’s really fascinating and Dava Sobel writes with a a light touch that actually conveys a lot of information. Still, not enough illustrations and no maps… the latter of which is really odd when you think about it for a moment.
A little less than thirty years ago, my husband and I were on a road trip and we popped an abridged version of this audiobook into our car’s cassette player. I know abridgments were often done but for the life of me I cannot figure out why in this case: it’s already so short and lean in its content! Anyway, short book, long title with ten words with for letters or more each; Sixteen if you count all 🙂
⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

#LongTitle

For "Originally published in a language not your own" I read The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell.

Starting my second card with a book written in a language not my own: Das schwebende Schachbrett was translated from the Dutch.

Filled the "recommended by a friend" square with one of the books I received in SantaThing last year, because anyone who takes part in SantaThing is my friend, right? I read The New Space Opera, an anthology edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan.

I have finished Das Judaskreuz for "writing about writers", because German playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is a major influence on the life of several people in the book, and the main female character embarks on a writing career at the end.

Une vie features the painful birth of the heroine’s son.

For the writing about writers square, I read:
Death of an author by E.C.R. Lorac
This could be described as a mystery novel in slow motion. It takes more than half the book for the police to even decide that investigation is necessary. When reclusive author Vivian Lestrange is persuaded to meet with his publishers, his secretary Miss Eleanor Clarke shows up, claiming to be Lestrange. Her impersonation is convincing although they find it inconceivable that a woman could write crime novels so well - an insider joke by Lorac who suffered the same criticism. Later when Lestrange disappears, Miss Clarke must entreat the sceptical police to investigate.

The dialogue between two senior officers forms a large part of the narrative. This book was out of print since 1935 and its sleep-inducing tempo makes the reason obvious. If you can tolerate the pace, the denouement is more lively - relatively speaking.

In The buried giant, an elderly couple leave their village to see their son, and many strange things happen.

For the "child as a main character" square, I have re-read Les vacances du petit Nicolas. I’m very much looking forward to my own holiday now...

For "a place you've never been" I read The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
This was a slow read. The Japanese names were all quite similar, which was confusing - many having the initial K. Added to that, the structural details of a Japanese house are unfamiliar to me furthering my confusion, that not even the map could clear up. Nevertheless I enjoyed the change of scenery and the solution was clever, worth waiting for.

I finally filled another square after several months!

My father-in-law's name is Georg, so I am using Notes on Nationalism by George Orwell for "Author has your or relative’s 1st or last name".

I had two more squares to fill:

For the "Author has the name of a relative", I read The Captain and the Glory by Dave Eggers. I've a nephew called David, hope that counts. Apart from that, the book is scary and disturbing and not funny at all.

Another one for the Hollywood! square: The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu, a collection of short stories and novellas that are partly interconnected. As always with this author, his ideas, scenarios and plots are brilliant, and it's a real pity that his writing style is so bland and his characters are so cardboard and featureless.

Oldest book in my TBR: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
I listened to an audiobook of an old favourite and just right to transport me from the 36C dog days of summer. A raucous entertaining performance, second only to the stage production I saw many years ago.

I still have nine blank squares. If I want to finish this year, I'll have to get cracking.

>94 VivienneR: I just did a quick count and it looks like I have eight squares left myself!
Some of the books I originally pulled for BINGOdog I'm now looking at with either less enthusiasm or are too long to realistically fit in within the months remaining. Time to re-stack!

>95 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I can understand that, Tanya! At the beginning of the year I pulled a stack of books for Bingo and left them on my bedside table. Now I'm sick of looking at them and none appear interesting in any way. And then yesterday I started and abandoned four books that were candidates for one CAT. It's a lesson not to plan reading too far ahead.

>85 KeithChaffee: - I understand that too. Although I have a few blocks that have no plan, I have a few that I have to rethink my choices.

I read The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan for the Medical Topic square.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles was so impressive that I immediately picked up a novel by the author and it did not disappoint. Tan is an excellent writer who portrays her characters so well they are recognizable. The difficult mother/daughter relationship was understandable and relatable regardless of nationality. As Ruth deals with her mother’s possible dementia, she becomes interested in her history. A wonderful story, beautifully written.

I just read The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White for the "oldest book on your TBR" square. I've owned it since at least August 2006, when I started cataloguing my books on LT, so it's definitely among the oldest!

I read Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood for the Hollywood square. It's a contemporary romance between two famous actors who are fake-dating to generate publicity for their new movie.

Features winged creatures

The Club Dumas (by Arturo Pérez-Reverte) - Lucas Corso is an unethical book buyer who becomes a haunted book detective when he is asked to authenticate two manuscripts: One, a draft copy of a chapter in The Three Musketeers oeuvre by Alexander Dumas, père and; an occult book, The Nine Doors and the Kingdom of Shadows transcribed by Aristide Torchia in the 17th-century. It becomes apparent to Corso that the two mss are somehow connected and as he unravels not only the books' respective provenances, but the "how" and the "who" behind it all. Corso's investigations lead him from Madrid to Portugal to Spain and; his life becomes a melodramatic adventure with escalating danger. Tightly plotted with twists, an above-average touch of erudition (but not as exhausting as Umberto Eco) and illustrations to engage the reader, this is a book worth reading at least twice to appreciate its sophistication and cleverness.

⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

#AuthorHasYourOrYourRelativesFirstOrLastName

The non-human narrator in Boom Boom Babuschka is a meerkat who is a private eye working for Interpol in a team with his brother and a human detective. This time they’re hunting Russian professional hitmen.

Author has relative’s first name: I have finished Mord im Böhmischen Prater by Beate Maly, which is my youngest sister’s name.

Features Fire: Woman 99 by Greer Macallister. We don't experience the fire in question directly on the pages, but its consequences are crucial to the plot. Also, it's a beautiful story that, besides lamenting the abysmal treatment of women in regards to mental health, mostly illustrates the amazing adaptability of a human to inhuman circumstances.

I used Germinal by Emile Zola for oldest book on your TBR. I don't have the specific purchase date for this but I made a note when I added it to my LT library back in 2010 that I found it in a box of French textbooks which leads me to believe I bought it back in college in the mid-1990s.

I finally finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which was the oldest book in my TBR, serialized in 1844 to 1845 and published in book form in 1846. I’ve been reading it for about 5 months, which is not a reflection on how entertaining it is. The last 2 or 3 hundred pages or so were quite propulsive.

"Oldest book in your TBR" brings with it a bit of ambiguity: Is it the book that's been on the TBR the longest, or is it the TBR that was published the earliest? I read Helen McCloy's 1938 mystery Dance of Death, and while I can't guarantee that it's absolutely the oldest in either sense, it's certainly been on the TBR as long as I've been keeping track of such things, and it's a very old book. And given the ambiguity, being pretty damn close to the oldest in both senses is good enough for me, so I'm using it to fill that square, which gives me a full Bingo card for the year.

>108 KeithChaffee: Congratulations on your Bingo!

>108 KeithChaffee: I took "oldest book" to mean "book on your TBR the longest," but it could certainly also mean "earliest published." I think either definition is fine! Congrats on your Bingo!

I read The Burning Room by Michael Connelly for "features fire". Not a favourite from Connelly.

I finished a Bingo with the square for the favourite season, which is spring. Die unwahrscheinliche Pilgerreise des Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is about the long hike of a man to visit an old and dying friend, and it's not only a journey through all of England, but also to his past, his relationships, his failures and himself. A beautiful, thoughtful, hopeful story.

For the "place you have never been to" I used Die Akte Marx, which is set in Trier. That’s on my list because of its Roman remains, not because it’s the birthplace of Marx.

The “Favorite Season” square was one I was having difficulty with as I don’t really have a favorite time of year: Each season has its equal measures of great things and not-so-treat things. Then, I was reading a short story (Divorce Horse (Longmire #7.5; by Craig Johnson)) and discovered in the Acknowledgement that the framework of the author’s series are the seasons of the year— so it takes 4 years of publication to cover 1 year in the characters’ lives. I don’t have to choose!

SUMMER Another Man’s Moccasins (Longmire #4)
FALL The Dark Horse (Longmire #5)
WINTER Junkyard Dogs (Longmire #6)
SPRING Hell is Empty (Longmire #7)
( “Divorce Horse” takes place over Memorial Day weekend)

Geographically, I live in a part of the United Stares roughly on the same latitude as Wyoming (where the stories are set) and, while we have fewer deciduous trees, many of the topographical and weather elements are immediately recognizable.

#SetInYourFavoriteSeason

For a book with a piece of furniture on the cover, I read Lessons by Ian McEwan.
I have always enjoyed McEwan’s books because they are insightful, creative, and pleasing. McEwan might have considered this his magnum opus as it is an ambitious novel stretched over major events of the 20th century and some of the 21st but it did not gratify as much as others by the author. Too much, too long, too meandering.

For the "features fire" square I read The silence of the girls where Troy burns at the end.

And I have filled the "long title" square with Frau Helbing und der Casanova aus Winterhude, a lovely cosy mystery.

Swallowing the Sun by David Park for the "Sun in title" square.

Martin Waring is a curator at the Ulster Museum in Belfast where he enjoys the peace and solitude of history. His own history is a brutal childhood, the memories of which are now eclipsed by the accomplishments of his academically gifted daughter. After a tragic event, he is unable to recover and resorts to searching for those responsible among the former paramilitary associates of his youth, who have moved on to organized crime.

What might have been a lengthy meandering in misery was instead a story of the emotions resulting indirectly from his father’s cruelty. Park’s brooding novel shows a sensitive insight into the long-lasting effects of trauma and of the depths of heartache. The ending is unexpected and appropriate.

The title comes from the ancient Egyptians belief that the sun was swallowed.

Every Deep-Drawn Breath: A Critical Care Doctor on Healing, Recovery, and Transforming Medicine in the ICU (by Dr. Wes Ely; narrated by Grover Gardner - The subtitle says a lot but underlying this is the premise that critical care in the intensive care units needs transforming! The debilitating effects of serious illness are often the side effects of the treatments themselves, e.g., sedatives and paralytics which can cause brain damage, muscle loss and mental health issues. There has been progress towards critical care management both in the hospital and afterwards, but also setbacks with limited resources and entrenched thinking. While I find some of Dr. Ely’s approaches to resolving these issues laudable and not unreasonable, the face of a pandemic proved how impracticable that his seminal work is (while ironically also proving his point). Still, there is hope and I for one plan to update my living will.

#MedicalTopic

Decline and Fall? (by Evelyn Waugh) - Waugh's first published work (1928) is a satire centering on England's public school system of the time and features the hapless figure of Paul Pennyfeather. Paul finds himself sent down from University (though by no true fault of his own) and ends up as a teacher at a boarding school for boys in the countryside. His colleagues are an equally unqualified lot but all seem to fail up in the system or at the very least, escape the full measure of their incompetence or wrong-doings.

Vile Bodies (by Evelyn Waugh) - Waugh's second work (published in 1930) features a few characters from Decline and Fall-- but as background characters to the the on-again/off-again relationship of Adam and Nina. The erstwhile couple is a part of the "Bright Young Things Set" in London, running around penniless but somehow also managing dinner and party invitations. Set in the 1920s, this satire targets the new generation of twenty-somethings who reject the mores of the Victorian & Edwardian Eras but haven't quite found their moral compasses or footing in an era of adventure and novelty (e.g., having a party on a dirigible!)

British satire is a challenge for me to parse out-- so on the occasions when I run into it, I just imagine Monty Python's Flying Circus performing the plot as script. Adding absurdist perspective to the irony of satire usually works out well but I couldn't escape the disappointment of the writing of either bool not being on same level of sophistication and tone as the author's arguably more famous work, Brideshead Revisited. It does go quickly though and in the edition of DAF that I read, the author's own illustrations were included which added some nominal interest.

Vile Bodies is my pick for "Newly in Public Domain" having been originally published in the U.S. ninety-five years ago (1930). I included a review of Decline and Fall as "... some of the minor motives will be clearer to those who have read my first book than those who have not." (Author's Note at the beginning of Vile Bodies)

#NewlyInPublicDomain

For the Hollywood square, I read City of Bones by Michael Connelly.
Another great Harry Bosch story, his last case before he leaves Hollywood.

I used Reading Up a Storm by Eva Gates for author shares a name... My grandmother is Eva.

Last Winter by Carrie Mac for my favourite season square.

Chosen because winter is my favourite season, but also, like me, it is set in a small mountain town in British Columbia.

In British Columbia, a group of children on a winter survival field trip is tragically hit by an avalanche. The story can be confusing as it opens with the time after the avalanche and concludes with life before the event. Ruby, the 8 year-old daughter of the guide, has selective mutism. The mother is bi-polar, on medication. I have no experience of either of these conditions, but Mac’s writing shows an understanding of both. It’s a heartbreaking story, well written. I will watch for more by the author.

Newly in public domain

The Crime at the Noah’s Ark by Molly Thynne
While heading for a winter getaway in luxurious hotel, a group of vehicles are prevented from reaching their destination by a heavy snowfall that has closed roads. Luckily a nearby inn is able to accommodate all the travellers. Naturally, they are cut off, a murder occurs, and some well-known emeralds are stolen. The novel continues in great detail (really, too much detail). Still, I enjoyed the story, the old-fashioned inn, and the early style of mystery writing.

In Canada, books are in the public domain 70 years of more after the author’s death. Molly Thynne died in 1950, so a fairly recent addition.

ETA This means I have only one square to fill, random, an easy one!

The Halloween Tree (by Ray Bradbury) - Eight boys from a small upper Midwestern town meet up for trick-or-treating but quickly notice that their friend Pipkin is missing! The boys, led by Tom Skelton, head out through the neighborhoods, across the ravine and up to the haunted house beyond where they expect Pip to catch up with them. Instead, a Mr. Moundshroud presents himself and the boys are led on a journey through time to understand the “how” of Halloween as well as to save Pip from danger.

#HolidayInTitle

Today I finished the last book I needed to complete my Bingo Card! Now Done & Dusted!

>126 DeltaQueen50: Congratulations! 🎉

I’m three away from Bingo Blackout:
• Writing About Writers (working on this now);
• Recommended by a friend (book recc’d by my husband on deck) and;
• non-human narrator (have something in mind but we’ll see what I feel like when I get there!)

>126 DeltaQueen50: Congratulations on your Bingo!

>128 Charon07: Thanks - I do love our yearly Bingo Challenges.

>126 DeltaQueen50: - Congratulations. Judy. I've had a horrible year with this card. I still have 10 squares left although 2 are ones I could fill quickly, the rest would be a struggle for me so I may give up for this year.

>130 dudes22: Can we help suggest any books for particular squares? Of course, the BingoDOG is for fun and shouldn’t be a struggle or an exercise in forcing yourself to read something that isn’t enjoyable, so there’s no harm in having an unfilled card!

>131 Charon07: - Normally, I'd be working to find things, but I'm not worried about it this year. There are a couple i could fill in with just about anything (random book, read a cat), but for most of the others, I don't think I have anything on my TBR that would fit (or that I really feel like reading). I think I'll try to finish the AlphaKit instead with letters I've missed and try again next year. I've had a few big quilting projects this year with less time to read, so thank for offering, but I'm good.

>132 dudes22: I felt the same way early in the year and thought this would be my first time to be unfinished. But a couple of lucky Early Reviewer books started a run and now I have only one square left to read - the Totally Random square, an easy one.

Happy reading even if it doesn't fit a square, your squares of quilting are more impressive.

There's one I'm certain I won't finish: "1. Newly(?) in public domain" (Oh, the ? is mine trying to figure out when that is... I believe it's also slightly different between the US and Canada, and probably other places.) In any case, I don't think I'll do that one.

I have four more, in addition, two where i have picked something out, but my eye issues this year already have me behind, so unless those fit some other challenge, I might not get to them, either. The other two, I was hoping I'd just happen to read something that would fit and it hasn't happened yet (the sun on the cover, and furniture on the cover)!

>133 VivienneR: - Thanks, Vivienne.

>134 LibraryCin: - That's one of the ones I won't be finishing either.

>134 LibraryCin: I agree, that is a tough one.

In Denmark, and I think, in the whole of the EU, a work of art enters the public domain a certain time after the death of the creator - regardless of when it was created. For books, that means that I have to look for an author that died 70+ years ago. And I am not sure I can find anything that appeals.
Right now this, along with the recommendation one, are my outstanding bingos, and it has been that way since before the summer.
Unless anything happens, I am probably just going to live with it:)

FWIW, the “newly in the public domain” square was originally proposed as “a new classic,” so you could interpret it that way if you want. Also, since a country isn’t specified, it could be newly in the public domain anywhere in the world where the concept of “public domain” exists, not just your own country.

For what it's worth, I'm planning to read 'A Room of One's Own' for that square after seeing it listed by someone else as 'newly public domain'; I've no idea what country that person was from and by now cannot even remember who said it. I think newly in any country's public domain is fair game.

>138 GraceCollection: Oh, maybe I'll check the wiki to see what others have read so far for the square. However, I have very few, if any, books on my tbr that old, and I do mostly try to go off my tbr.

From the research I'd done a while back, I came up with this: (1930? Author’s life + 70 years?).
Notice the question marks! LOL! I likely looked it up for Canada, and maybe the US?

From Wikipedia (about US copyright): "in 1998, Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act which further revised the total terms to ninety-five years from publication for corporate authorship, and life plus seventy years for individual authorship. ... Works began entering the public domain again starting on January 1, 2019 following no further copyright extensions. As of January 1, 2025, all published works from 1929 and before are public domain."

Libraries in the US have been following the 95 years from date of publication when determining what works they can digitize, etc.

I read Nu er det jul igenbrug, which is a book about craft and upcycling for Christmas.
Unfortunately the writing was bad, the crafts were ugly, and the instructions very badly written. But I got the Holiday in title square. And there is still time to find better Christmas craft books before it becomes urgent;)

ETA: jul means Christmas in Danish.

Just a heads-up that I have created the 2026 Category Challenge group: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24919/2026-Category-Challenge. Stop by to get a head start on planning next year's challenge!

(Cross-posted to a bunch of threads; sorry if you see this a thousand times!)

For Totally Random I read Breathless by Amy McCulloch
Finished last week but I didn’t get around to posting comments. I thoroughly enjoyed this mountain climbing mystery thriller, especially as the author is a mountaineer and was able to pass the experience on to the reader.

And that’s my Bingo card complete!

>143 VivienneR: Congratualtions!

>144 Charon07: Thank you! At the beginning of the year I really didn't think it was possible for me to finish.

I read Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine for the “Travel” square. The pair travel around the globe looking for various endangered species, and Adams’ descriptions of the travel add hilarity to what could otherwise have been purely grim and depressing. Not that it wasn’t grim and depressing, but at least it was liberally seasoned with humor.

Jack London: A Life (by Alex Kershaw) - Biography of the late-19th and early-20th century writer best known for the classics The Call of the Wild and White Fang. Kershaw’s book is comprehensive in its range— covering London’s childhood, marriages, career, business interests and, politics. Kershaw uses excerpts from London’s writings to show how London not only used his experiences in his work but revealed his interior life as well. There are other more in-depth biographies that focus on a particular aspect of London’s life and/or work but this is an excellent starting point that moves quickly.

#WritingAboutWriters #AuthorBiography

Blonde Bombshell (by Tom Holt) - A cross-genre book that blends science fiction and humor in the best tradition of Douglas Adams. Money disappears from high security vaults; A former scientist-turned-drunk-banker hasn’t really gotten over his dog being kidnapped by aliens when he was a kid; A brilliant coder who has revolutionized computer technology can’t recall anything with certainty more than five years ago and; There’s a planet out there really, really annoyed that Earth’s transmitted music is that loud and disruptive! Turn it down !
A large cast of characters (and no one is who they initially seemed to be!) and multiple threads come together on an adventure that spans galaxies and a couple of the world’s continents in a plot that’s fairly tight — but at 375+ pages, a little on the long side for that brand of absurdist satire.

#NonhumanNarrator

Tödliche Oliven has furniture on the cover: a table and two chairs in a bistro.

Not To Be Taken A Puzzle in Poison (by Anthony Berkeley) - John Waterhouse has been complaining of stomach ailments and suffers a particularly acute attack during a dinner party he is hosting. A day later, he is dead and within a few days it has been determined that he died from arsenic poisoning. This is a classic whodunnit from the Golden Age of Mysteries— with a twist. There is no detective, professional or amateur whose cleverness solves the mystery.
Written as a thirteen-installment story to run in John O’London’s Weekly in 1937-38, the readers were to solve the mystery with the clues provided. Cash prizes were awarded to those who successfully solved the puzzle, though in the end no one got it quite right so the prizes were awarded to those who came closest. (I will admit that even though I thought I gave it as close a reading as possible, and was able to dismiss the obvious red herrings, I did not get it right— so not even bragging rights for me!)
Fair warning: One racist comment, stereotyping of Austrian immigrants and, there’s a German in the mix who is, “of course” a Nazi.

My husband read this first and handed it off to me, saying that it was an interesting set-up and that I would probably like it since there aren’t hidden clues that would prevent me from solving the mystery (A pet peeve of mine is when the investigator in the story brings out special knowledge in the end that the reader could not have possibly known). Anyway, counting this as book recommended to me by a friend.

#RecommendedByAFriend

And that’s it! I ended up reading 28 books across 25 squares for a Bingo Blackout! Roughly half of the squares were filled will pre-selected books while the other squares were filled in as happenstance occurred while reading other books. If I had time, I would probably do a couple squares over with stronger entries or without using books from the same series. But I’m pretty pleased with the card overall and happy I was able to complete it before the US Thanksgiving holiday. I know most eyes are on next year’s cards but if you’re reading this, “Thank You!” It’s been fun and this year’s BingoDog toook me into some interesting reading territory! 🙂🎉📚

>150 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Congrats on completing your card!

>150 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Well done!

>150 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Congratulations on your Bingo blackout!

>150 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Congrats! I have two squares left, so I am still hoping/planning to finish before the end of the year!

>150 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - Congratulations on finishing your card. I'm pretty sure I won't get there this year.

I've finished November Road by Lou Berney for the "totally random" block. Some one here on LT was talking about one of his other books and I was looking for a new audio book and decided to try this one.

I read Isaac Asimov's Father's Day edited by Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams for the “holiday in title” square. It was a mixed bag that averaged out to 3 stars for me. The first story, “Papa” by Ian MacLeod, though, was a memorable and touching look at how it feels to grow old.

My favourite season is spring, so I am using Mon ami Maigret for this. It’s May in Paris, and it’s raining buckets, so he is glad to escape to the Riviera and investigate the murder of a smalltime crook.

*Hollywood!*
Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but the area in which Hollywood now sits has a long history...

Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources

Overall, this was a very interesting and informative resource on the history of contact with indigenous people of California, their material culture, diet, and 'protoagricultural' intensive management of the land around them — coppicing/trimming, weeding, sowing, and especially controlled burns, used to control multiple different ecosystems around them, which plants grew therein and how they grew (ie, straight shoots of certain plants for construction, basket weaving, nets, etc.), and controlling animal behaviour (ie creating browsing spots for the deer they hunted, driving rabbits out of fields to hunt them, etc).

I shared a few concerns and warnings with my full review on my thread.

During his adventures in the Southern Oceans and Antarctica, Arthur Gordon Pym observes many seabirds, so I am counting The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket for that square.

*Nonhuman Narrator*
Hollow Kingdom

How delightful! I'm not really a zombie apocalypse reader, but this book has a very refreshing take, being narrated by a crow with a colourful vocabulary. This book might have the strongest voice and some of the most creative and delightful prose I've read all year. Although the humans in the story are all dying, this is ultimately a story about family, hope, and healing.

Full review on my thread. Highly recommended.

I also just completed the "nonhuman narrator" square with All Systems Red by Martha Wells. I enjoyed my introduction to Murderbot but am not sure I liked it enough to continue with the series.

I am using Murder in the snow : a Cotswold Christmas mystery for the "holiday in title".

And I filled the "newly in the public domain" prompt with Überfluss. The author, Martin Andersen Nexö, died in 1954, which put his works in the public domain in Germany this year.

My "Hollywood!" book is The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

edited for touchstone

One more down: Small things like these for "Thing" in the title. This one is absolutely fabulous.

>165 MissWatson: it is amazing. I've got it to read nearer christmas.

>166 Helenliz: Yes, it’s a great read for the holidays.

I read The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin for the “recommended by a friend” square. My sister the librarian rarely goes amiss with her recommendations!

I have finished Sunset for "sun in title".

And I have also finished Under a calculating star which has patiently waited for me for 45 years.

ETA: Which means I have filled my second card. I would like to repeat this next year, but with more evenly spaced reads.

I can't believe you completed two cards. That's amazing. Congrats!

>170 MissWatson: Impressive! Congrats to you.

I won't quite finish my first card. My eye issues interefered (in part). I'm behind on everything I wanted to read for the year as a whole, so no extra time to pick out books to finish the last few categories that weren't filled with what I was reading, anyway. Oh, well. Let's see how this goes next year.

>171 purpleiris: Thank you! I am surprised myself.
>172 LibraryCin: Some years are like that. Wishing you all the best for the next one! And thanks.

>170 MissWatson: Congratulations on your second card!

>174 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Thank you. It’s my favourite challenge.

I read The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz for the”writing about writers” square, a mystery novel about an author who “borrows” a plot from his deceased student and what ensues.

I have just one square to go to fill my card; totally random. I used LibraryThing Roulette “Go to a random… Book of Yours” to pick a book. My first result turned out to be checked out from the library and not due till the end of the month, so I “spun” again and got Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin, which I hope to finish before the end of the year.

I had to spin so many times to find a "random" book I could actually read!

*Job in Title: Scribe*

Blood Ink Sister Scribe

I was a big fan of this contemporary fantasy. Johanna lives alone, protecting her family's collection of magic books. Her sister Esther moves every year according to her late father's warnings. Nick, the last living Scribe after his parents' murders, the only one who can write new magic books, is living under the protection of his uncle and the Library of magic books his uncle runs. However, not everything is as it seems...

The mysteries and twists in this story were my favourite kind — ones where I figure them out before they are revealed, but without feeling like the author has hand-fed me the answers. I'm not sure if this story fits the strictest definition of a 'cosy mystery', but it's hard for me to find shelves full of magical books any kind of setting but cosy. I do recommend this book.

Full synopsis/review on my thread.

I finally completed my Bingo card with A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike! I first heard of it on @charl08's thread earlier this year, and she gave it a positive review, so it was "recommended by a friend or LT member." Thanks, Charlotte!

>180 christina_reads: Congrats on your Bingo blackout!

>180 christina_reads: Well done!

>180 christina_reads: Congratulations! 🎉🙌

>181 Charon07: >182 MissWatson: >183 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Thanks, all! I've now completed all my "required" challenge reading, so I can just relax and read whatever I want till the end of the year! :)

Congrats on completing your "required" reading!

I finished Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin for the “totally random” square, selected using LibraryThing Roulette “Go to a random… Book of Yours.” And that completes my Bingo card!

>186 Charon07: Congrats!!

>187 purpleiris: Thanks! I might not finish most of my other challenges, but at least I finished this one!

*Oldest book on your TBR*

Eve

I learned an incredible amount from this book, including some facts I didn't even realize I didn't know. This book is a little palaeontology, a little anthropology, a little biology, a little sociology, and a little history, all tied together meaningfully. I found the endnotes very educational, and wish the bits that were more than simply a source (I'd wager maybe half) were part of the text itself, instead of tucked away at the back. There were one or two times I disagreed with the author, feeling the evidence she presents contradicts an assertion she follows up with, but for a book I enjoyed as much as this one, I can forgive that.

I only started keeping a real TBR when I joined LT about a year and a half ago, and this is one of the books that made it on my first draft of that list. Since it starts over 200 million years ago, that makes it the oldest, right?

*Recently Entered Public Domain*
I found this on a list another user posted of books that had recently entered the public domain, so I don't recall in which country in particular it has recently done.

A Room of One's Own

I did love reading this one. It's one of those fundamental feminist texts, so although, again, I'm glad for having read it, many of the ideas she introduces are ones I've seen discussed, picked apart, and repackaged over and again by now almost 100 years after she wrote the text. Woolf writes much like me, I think — always with the em-dashes and semi-colons, paragraphs that take up entire pages, having to redirect her attention because she got off on a tangent. It was very homey to read.

I think if a Beadle had told me I couldn't enter the university library because I am an unaccompanied woman, I would have committed a crime.

Full review on my thread.
***************************************************************************************************
Another Bingo for me! I won't get to blackout my card, but I'm still finishing my last read of the year, and I'm going to retroactively count an earlier read for the 'Read a CAT' square, which will get me... 6 bingos, I believe, and 23/25 squares.

*Furniture on Cover*

Every Heart a Doorway



If you've ever wondered how Alice adjusted to the real world when she got back from Wonderland, take a peek into Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, where every child holds hope their door will open again.

I was so intrigued by the fantasy world-building that I forgot I had picked up a horror book until a body showed up. The premise is so unique, and seemed to be a sort of metaphor both for neurodivergent children of neurotypical parents and for children with trauma and/or mental illnesses — parents were spoken of both in terms of loving the child they had 'before' and not accepting the way they had changed, but also in terms like, 'their love wanted to fix her, and refused to see that she wasn't broken.' I also loved the unique characters and the way they shared details about their unique worlds. There were a few times the story got a little didactic, but my biggest complaint was that I felt the story should have been longer. Guess I'll have to pick up the next one!