May RandomKIT-- Punctuation

This month's RandomKIT is inspired by a podcast in which the host sounded to me like he read everything as if it ended in an exclamation point! I thought that I rarely see exclamation points in the book titles and started searching for examples. And, thus the idea for this month was born!

Several options include:
Question mark like Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Exclamation point like O, Pioneers!
Comma like Girl, Interrupted
Forward Slash like 11/22/63
Slighty more common apostrophe like Angela's Ashes
And, classic colon like The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey

Alternatively, you could read a book about punctuation like Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.

Excited to see what you all read this month!

Oh, great idea! I've been trying to read this one for a year, time to start (again) and finish! The Goddess Abides: A Novel by Pearl S. Buck.

I have two books that I am planning to read next month that have punctuation in their titles. Both are apostrophes:

Buster's Midnight Cafe by Sandra Dalla
Inspector Frost's Jigsaw by Herbert Maynard Smith

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin has been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while.

Great idea! I’ll be checking out my shelves.

I love this idea! I might read Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood for this.

I like this idea, too. If I can get to it, I think I'll read Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy. This will also work for the NatureKit.

I'm planning on The Dragon's Path

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain is a Hugo nominee in the novella category, which may fit with this months topic. It is an e-book from the library, and the story sounds pretty depressing, so I am a little unsure whether Ill make it all the way through.

I'd never noticed that, but titles not often having punctuation is so true! As luck would have it, I was already planning on reading Damned, Delicious and Dangerous, so I'll plan on that one, at least.

I plan on reading I'm Not Dead... Yet! by Robbie Benson.

I plan to read Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp, which has been sitting by my computer for months.

I've got 3 possibilities:

What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan
Mandoa, Mandoa! by Winifred Holtby
Arrest the Bishop? by Winifred Peck--for this last one, the cover even has quotation marks:

>13 kac522: I liked Arrest the Bishop? but from what I've heard all three are good!

I'm planning to read Hercule Poirot's Christmas but I'm also tempted by Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist; Inspector Ghote: His Life and Crimes; The Moving Toyshop: A Detective Story; and Birds, Beasts and Relatives.

I have several that will work
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

And if it comes in on my library hold
Who is Government? :the untold story of public service

>1 donan: Great idea!

Fun theme!

Starting early with When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson because it is the next in the series.

I finished Who Is Government? today because my library ebook loan expires tomorrow.

I highly recommend Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (or the darling picture book for children of the same name) to anyone who thinks they might be interested! I read it in January, I believe, and have a review on my thread!

If I can find a copy, I might read Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret because believe it or not, I have actually never read it. It's got plenty of punctuation!

COMPLETED When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Starting Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Finished Damned, Delicious and Dangerous (anthology of erotic paranormal romance novellas). It was fine, if not quite what I expected. Full review written.

The Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
Because I really enjoy this series, this is a reread. This was my review first time around, still applies:
The main character, Charlie Howard, is an author of mystery novels who is a professional burglar in his spare time. He's a likeable chap, and his escapades, although they can be quite bloodthirsty, are fun in a weird way. His literary agent, Victoria, goes along with it all. This time Charlie's job is to chase down stolen Picassos in Paris. He and Victoria meet in person for the first time.

COMPLETED Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Completed The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook today.
Book three in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, Carl and Princess Donut complete level four of the Dungeon game that they, and everybody else on Earth, were forced into by alien conquerors in book one. They are still kicking ass and mixing humour, action, societal critique and vulnerability in a very readable story, although this level was a little less interesting than the previous three.

>26 amberwitch: I've heard nothing but good things about this series. I picked up the first on audio and am hoping to get to it soon.

For this month, I've read Thud! by Terry Pratchett. Visiting Discworld is always a fun ride!

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick, filmed as Bladerunner.
Dick would often choose commercially unattractive titles.

I have completed my read of Buster Midnight's Cafe by Sandra Dallas.

I read Star Trek: Lower Decks―Warp Your Own Way.

>27 staci426: I highly recommend the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and I hope you enjoy it.

The books are less laugh-out-loud funny than the Discworld series, but it has the same unexpected depth and warmth along with good character development and a keen eye for the absurd.

They are very tightly coupled, and should be read in order.

I read The Murderer's Daughters.

>28 BernsW: Interesting! I find Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? a much more intriguing title than Blade Runner.

My book club is reading Every Valley: Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah so that's my choice.

I've read Ruby & Roland by Faith Sullivan which includes and ampersand.

Finished another one that fits for this month, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

June's Random Kit is Up! https://www.librarything.com/topic/370829#

At Mrs Lippincote’s has an apostrophe, which I hope counts.

>34 clue: That one sounds interesting! My church choir just performed a big chunk of the Messiah (from the "Lift Up Your Heads" chorus through the end), so it's been on my mind lately!

>39 christina_reads: I think it does too. Some readers seem to be disappointed with it because it is more about the time rather than a history of the Messiah. It was recommended by a friend who teaches music though.

I've finished another apostrophe book, A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari.

I read The Moving Toyshop: A Detective Story by Edmund Crispin.

I read Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood and enjoyed it very much.

83. I'm Not Dead... Yet! by Robby Benson ★★★½

A riveting medical memoir. Actor/writer/director Robby Benson takes us on a candid journey from athletic, soft-spoken heartthrob on Broadway and film, to husband, father, professor, and courageous survivor of 4 open-heart surgeries. From One On One, Ice Castles, The Chosen and Disney's Beauty and the Beast to directing TV's Ellen and Friends, the funny and explicit narrative - with the author's beautiful photography, career and personal photos - is a must for fans and essential reading for heart patients and their loved ones, and anyone searching for what should be the template for health care in America. (description from the back of the book)

While reminiscing with Robby Benson about his many films, which filled my childhood, was enjoyable. The book really comes into its own when he goes into details on his surgeries and the aftermath of those events. A well-written book that I wish I had available when my daughter-in-law had a heart attack a few years back. The information provided would have helped me understand what she (and my son) were going through a little better.

I have finished Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d’éléphants which tells of a little-known episode in the life of Michelangelo.

I'm thinking Catch-22, which has a dash in the title.

Just finished The widow's house starting in a dark, dark wood

I finished You Didn't Hear This From Me by Kelsey McKinney.

Ended up with another apostrophe, I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti.

I too read another book with an apostrophe, At Mrs. Lippincote's by Elizabeth Taylor.

I completed Moloka'i by Allen Brennert

I'm kind of shocked that it's taken me so long to read a book with punctuation in the title! I finally finished The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley, which has an apostrophe.

Today I'll be starting The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope, the last in his Palliser books. As it is 600+ pages on audiobook, I won't be finishing it any time soon!

So far, all of my reads this month had some punctuation; Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants has a colon and commas, The Three-Body Problem has a hyphen, Pretty in Punk: Girls' Resistance in a Boys' Subculture has a colon and two apostrophes, and my next read, Wilderness Survival: Staying Alive Until Help Arrives has a colon. All these reviews can be found on my page.

However, the work I chose specifically for this prompt featured a question mark. Actually, it ended up featuring many question marks, a little more punctuation than I signed up for!

Your Knowledge or Your Life?

I really enjoyed the world created in this book. I was very fond of Eva, and I enjoyed the arcs of character growth over the course of the book. However, I often found the prose a bit forced, or unnatural; the narration had a tendency to discuss the psychoanalytical reasoning behind the actions of the characters. It went contrary to the oft-quoted 'show-don't-tell' advice, and became a little grating. There were also times I felt the pacing to be a bit off, like characters falling in love or getting over a death too quickly. Nonetheless, I still found this book pretty fun and charming.

Through no fault, I'm sure, of the author's own, my digital copy of this book had some sort of encoding error, and every hyphen had a question mark before and after it (think 'jack?-?of?-?all?-?trades') and every m-dash had a question mark before it ('like this?—see') which was jarring at first, but which I feel I eventually got used to.

Open the Door! by Catherine Carswell has an exclamation point in the title.

Who is Government? by Michael Lewis. This was a five star read for me! It is a collection of articles from well known authors and journalists highlighting little known projects and people in the US government. Loved it and highly recommend if you find government interesting but don't want politics. Full commentary here. https://www.librarything.com/topic/367017#8870886

I have finished Das Mädchen, mit dem die Kinder nicht verkehren durften on the last day of May. Very funny.