May AlphaKIT: W, A

May AlphaKIT: W, A

Welcome to AlphaKIT! Each month AlphaKIT selects two letters to help you select books to read. Use them in any way you choose!

May’s letters are: W, A.


"letter W" by Leo Reynolds is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.


"Christmas Sparkle letter A" by Leo Reynolds is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.

And, please do update the wiki with what you read this month: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2026_AlphaKIT#May:_Letters:_W_and_A

I will be reading Six Tudor Queens: Katherine Parr the Sixth Wife by Alison Weir

Current plans: Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz and Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente.

I will be reading The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart by Alice Walker and Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg.

I have a few plans.
🎯Currently Reading
✅ completed

Black Wolf
Death by Drowning by Abigail Keam
House on Tradd Street by Karen White
I Loved Her in the Movies by Robert Wagner
Murder from A to Z
Murder in a Lavender Daze by Darryl Wood Gerber
✅Murder in Rome by T. A. Williams
✅Murder is Elementary by Diane Wiener
✅Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts
Mysterious Arrangement
Queen Who Came in from the Cold
🎯Sanctuary Cove by Rochelle Alers
Spoonful of Murder by Connie Archer
✅Witless Protection Program

I plan to read Bachelors Anonymous by Wodehouse.

I am planning on After the Dance by Dee Williams and Prepper by Tom Abrahams

I'm planning on reading Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald, which I bought for an OLLI class which was not held.

I've finished one for each letter:

A: Brave New Ballet, Robyn Mcgrath (Alexander Mostov, illustrator)
W: The Summer War, Naomi Novik

I read Angels at Moonglow and I am still working on the Wodehouse book.

I have read Garman & Worse by Alexander L. Kielland for W.

Starting "Six Tudor Queens Katherine Parr, the Sixth Wife" by Alison Weir

I read Platform Decay by Martha Wells

My first book for A is Come, tell me how you live by Agatha Christie.

I have a few Ws & As so far this month:
Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

COMPLETED Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife by Alison Weir

A : The Astral Hacker by Brian Terenna

I have read Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime by Oscar Wilde, which gives me a W and an A.

I totally changed my mind about my Alpha reads for this month and I ended up reading Thunder God by Paul Watkins and He Arrived t Dusk by R.C. Ashby.

Starting "Archaeology From Space" by Sarah Parcak

I read my first A book: Guide to the National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology by Eamonn P. Kelly.

Another W: The Merge by Grace Walker.

Another W: What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher

I read Willa Cather's My Ántonia, which works for both letters.

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri for both letters.
When I first read this, the first of Camilleri’s Montalbano series, I was in two minds about continuing the series because of all the foul language and sexual details. I did continue, and mostly enjoyed the series, but on this reread I’m reminded of my doubt.

COMPLETED Archaeology From Space by Sarah Parcak

Another A book that also covers W! What is an archaeologist? in the National Geographic series for kids.

Also just finished Living the Good Life by Celia Anderson for letter A.

Hi, everyone.

I've posted June's thread here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/384363

So far I've read So Long See You Tomorrow a BB from DeltaQueen50 (Judy) and All Things Cease to Appear.

I've finished two more Ws and an A:
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Three Stones Make a Wall by Eric H. Cline
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

Another W: Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente.

I listened to The Winter Bride by Anne Gracie for both letters.

One more W: One Deadly Dawn by Harry Whittington.

Another A: A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay.

I've finished This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger and The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters.

Finished Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill.

My last book was quite dark so I am going for a light, humorous read now. Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter was the book used for a couple of movies (1950 & 1991).

For another W: The Worst Hard Time

>42 susanna.fraser: Oh, that one was good!

I have finished another one for A: Sörensen hat Angst by Sven Stricker.

I read another W book, Waltz into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich.

I have also finished Der Weihnachtskarpfen, a collection of four short stories by Vicki Baum, for W.

COMPLETED
The Lonely Man
The Killing Stones
Offshore
All by Ann Cleeves

Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson

Starting The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith.

One more W: The Grand Scheme of Things by Warona Jay.

I very much enjoyed The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde as a break between bigger books.

Another A: Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction by Paul Bahn.

Yet another W: Web of Love by Mary Balogh

Currently reading "The Woman Who Walked In Sunshine" by Alexander McCall Smith as a twofer.

I've finished Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg but am listening to my "W" book and probably won't finish by tomorrow.

Finally got an A with Adulthood Is a Gift by Sarah Andersen.

My "W" titles this month:
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013)
When the Cranes Fly South, Lisa Ridzen (2025)
South Riding, Winifred Holtby (1936 post.)

and one lonely "A"-- currently listening to a re-read of:
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen (1813)

I finished one last book for A shortly before midnight: Die Legende der Adlerkrieger by Jin Yong.

I did read one more "A" book in May, The Herring-Seller's Apprentice by L.C. Tyler.

I read one more book for W that I need to mention here: The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, a picture book classic.