November AlphaKIT: T and L

Welcome to the 2023 AlphaKIT.
This is an unofficial challenge for the 2023 Category Challenge Group. Each month has two letters selected for you to use however you choose.

There are no rules. Just have fun and enjoy reading. November letters are: T and L

and

Please remember to update the wiki with your reading:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_AlphKIT#November:_-_Letters:_T_and_...

Tentatively planning on Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen and The Avram Davidson Treasury.

I have lots of L's but not much in the way of T's. This is going to take some thought.

Already found one that will work for both:

A Tangled Web / Mercedes Lackey

I am planning on reading Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis and The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis.

I'm planning on A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson for my "L" and either The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis or Dead Run by P.J. Tracy for my "T".

I'll be reading Three Messages and a Warning as my 'T' book. For my 'L' book, I think I'm going to go with a poetry collection. Maybe SuiPsalms by John Edward Lawson.

November, already! LOL Hope to get a few read.

✔Body in the Wheelbarrow by Judi Lynn
✔Caught in the Traminette
Caught on the Book by Laura Gail Black
✔Lanterns Dance
Little Shop of Found Things
Lost Library
Medium Fate by Lynn Cahoon
Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas
✔Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott
✔Murder in Chianti by T. A. Williams
Murder in Florence by T. A. Williams
Murder in Siena by T. A. Williams
✔Murder on the Class Trip
Murder on Tour
✔Murder with Chocolate Tea
One Last Summer
Some Touch of Madness
Take the Long Way Home
Tempest at Sea
There's A Murder Afoot
Three Book Problem

Starting "The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF", edited by Mike Ashley

T--The Runaway Tortilla which is a take off on the Little Gingerbread Man. I have a collection of variations on this classic tale.
L--The Warmth of Christmas Love by Emma Cartwright from a boxed set of novels. I also read A Blessed Amish Christmas by Mary Lantz.

Also reading "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells

COMPLETED The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

Completed Taggart by Louis L'Amour (a double KIT!), and will try to update the wiki shortly.

Starting the "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu

I've finished Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief by Dorothy Gilman for a T and will be starting Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes by Rob Williams for another T + an L. I am also currently reading Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee for another L.

COMPLETED Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

I read The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig.

I've already read three for this month:
T: The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham
T, L: Lotta Schmidt and Other Stories by Anthony Trollope
T, L: Portrait of Lilith by June Thomson

The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich
3 stars

A continuation of two other books to start this series, also a children’s book, set in the mid-1800s, focusing on a young Anishinaabe/Ojibwe girl, Omakayas (Little Frog). This follows another year in her life. Initially she and her younger brother get caught up in some rapids in their canoe and are not sure where they’ve ended up. They do find their way back to their family (who has found some beads belonging to Omakayas and fear the two have died!), along with a pet baby porcupine! Other happenings include coming across a wildfire (as they travel toward more family living elsewhere) and “adopting” two white children. Later on the group is ambushed and robbed, leaving them to struggle to survive.

I didn’t like this one as much as the first two, though that little porcupine was cute! I hate that had to leave the little guy behind at one point while he slept. *sniff *sniff.. I’m not sure why this one didn’t hold my interest as well as the first two in the series, but I did lose focus a few times. (Note: I was not listening to an audio, so can’t blame it on that.) I will continue the series, however.

I just finished How Far the Light Reaches for L.

Voting for the 2024 CATs is now happening at https://www.librarything.com/topic/354675#8274629! Voting will take place until Thursday, November 9, at 6:30 p.m. EST, at which time the votes will be counted and the 2024 CATs officially chosen. So stop by and vote for your favorites!

(Cross-posting to a bunch of threads to reach as many people as possible.)

I have completed both of my planned reads for November's AlphaKit with The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis and Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis.

For L: Lavender House, Lev AC Rosen

COMPLETED The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF edited by Mike Ashley

Starting "Katherine of Aragon The True Queen" by Alison Weir

COMPLETED Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir

Starting Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny.

Currently reading The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

>28 Robertgreaves: I'll be eager to hear what you think of that.

I've read The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons.

Finished Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic as my 'T' read. I loved it!

I've finished A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson and also The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis for my books this month.

I read Imagining a Sermon by Thomas Troeger as part of my homework as I'm training to be a licensed Episcopal lay preacher.

COMPLETED The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood.

Starting the same author's Death Comes To Marlow

I''m on my 4th L'Amour, all double KITs!

Taggart
The Tall Stranger
To Tame a Land

and I'm almost done with Tucker.

They're all rereads, but lacking reviews. Once I've done the reviews they'll be heading out the door!

I keep reading books for L: Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai and Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer.

A Tangled Web / Mercedes Lackey
4 stars

Persephone is in love with Hades (keeper of the Underworld), and he with her. But her mother, Demeter (goddess of fertility) is way-overprotective and Persephone wants to get out from under her wing. Persephone and Hades come up with a plan to “kidnap” her to the underworld in a way where she wouldn’t be able to come back. Unfortunately, with the help of Hades sometimes-chariot-driver, the wrong goddess is kidnapped!

I really enjoyed this! I learned a little bit about mythology, as well. I’m sure I knew some of this at some point, but most of what I once knew I’ve forgotten! It’s a short story, so it’s fairly quick to read.

COMPLETED Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

I've read The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee.

I recently finished The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman for T and Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd for L.

Just finished Cappuccinos, cupcakes and a corpse by Harper Lin, the first in a fun cozy mystery series that leaves room for a possible romance.

Libriomancer / Jim C. Hines
3.75 stars

Isaac is a librarian (a cataloguer), and is horrified when a few vampires come into his library and destroy it (and try to destroy him)! Isaac was also once a libriomancer and a Porter. He was banned from using magic a couple of years back, though, by the secret society of Porters. As a libriomancer, he is able to reach into books and pull things out to use in this world.

It seems that vampires have been hunting down Porters and are trying to start a war (or something) with them. But who is controlling them and why is this happening? Can Isaac help find out what’s going on (with the help of Lena, who herself has come out of a book)?

I enjoyed this. I’m not always a fantasy fan, but as a librarian (and cataloguer), I quite enjoyed that part of the book, and the fact that Isaac (and other libriomancers) was/are able to pull things out of books. That’s pretty cool. I really liked Isaac’s pet fire spider (pulled from a book, of course). I was also a bit amused by the bibliography at the end, which included made up titles in the book. I’d have given it 3.5 stars (good), but wanted to give the extra ¼ star for the librarian who loves to research!

I just read Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

I got in both letters and read Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan.

Starting Deadly Inheritance by Janet Laurence

Finished a T and an L:
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, 4*
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, 4*

I started reading Viking Saga by Henry Treece a couple days ago, and I am enjoying it so far. There's enough details to make it sound authentic but not enough graphic details to make me squirm.

I read Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett for T

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents / Terry Pratchett
3 stars

Maurice is a talking cat and has come upon a group of intelligent talking rats. He has vowed not to eat any rat that can talk. They end up working together as they move to a town with the intent of… ok, I’m not exactly sure what their end goal was – money? They were conning people, or planning to. There are two kids who discover them and decide to help when they discover the local rat-catchers were not only catching rats, but behind other bad things, as well.

This was ok. It’s a terrible summary, but there it is. Not as humourous as I remember of the other (few) books I’ve read by Pratchett. I hate footnotes, though, and even more so in fiction, but Pratchett uses them. Luckily, there were not many in this book.

COMPLETED Deadly Inheritance by Janet Laurence.

Starting "The Detective and the Tea Master" by Aliette de Bodard

L : A Lady of Esteem by Kristi Ann Hunter

T: The Avram Davidson Treasury, Avram Davidson.

COMPLETED The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

I read French Braid by Anne Tyler

Another DoubleKIT!


Time to Move South for Winter by Clare Helen Welsh and Jenny Løvlie

Cute story and illustrations of a little tern heading south for the winter. There's also a glossary in the back of terms and animals within the pages.

Starting "The Tiger That Isn't" by Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot

Finished another L: The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain, 4*. And I forgot to mention a T from early this month: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King, 3*

I read The Titanic Story by David Hutchings.

COMPLETED The Tiger That Isn't by Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot

Started Red: First Light by Linda Nagata

I finished "Der Mann, der lächelte" by Henning Mankell as my second L read. It is The Man Who Smiled in English.

T: Escaping Peril by Tui T. Sutherland

For L
The Fox by Lawrence
Lion’s Honey - Grossman
Little Monsters - Brodeur

T
Troubles: Empire Trilogy - Farrell

Starting "The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle" by Matt Cain

L : The Epic of Eden by Sandra L. Richter

COMPLETED The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

Starting "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben

I recently read The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain, a charming short novel set in Paris.

Also reading "Kamusari Tales Told At Night" by Shion Miura

Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon / Tony Peters
3 stars

This is book 2 in the “Kids on a Case” series. When Daniel comes to Tyler, the “ringleader” of the group of kids (around 13 years old?) who once solved a kidnapping case, looking for help, Tyler can’t say no to his friend. Daniel’s dad has been kidnapped and Daniel is scared to go to the police because he and his mom were threatened not to. However, Tyler was warned last time that he should bring anything to the police that he knows about, so he and his group of kid sleuths do just that. The police, after getting permission from the kids’ parents (supposedly), have Tyler and his friends help them with this case. They know it’s the dangerous gang, the Black Dragons, behind the kidnapping.

It was ok. Although Tyler is the “I” in the story, much of it follows other characters, as well. I might have enjoyed it a bit more if I had had it in a better format (pdf can be read on a Kobo, but it’s awkward). Obviously not even close to realistic, though.

COMPLETED Kamusari Tales Told At Night by Shion Miura

My T and L reads in November:

T
The Year at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1996)

L
The Lifted Veil, George Eliot (1859); re-read
Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery (1908); re-read
As You Like It, Wm. Shakespeare (1599)
Heat Lightning, Helen Hull (1932)
Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing, Gene Lees (1990)

I'm not seeing a December thread--am I missing something?

>72 susanna.fraser: https://www.librarything.com/topic/355215

The Magician King / Lev Grossman
2 stars

Quentin and Julia are some kind of king and queen of “Fillory”. They seem to be travelling a lot and casting spells. And running into old friends from magician school?

This is book 2 in what I believe is a trilogy. The first was touted as an adult Harry Potter. From vague recollection, it was ok, but since I’m not a big fantasy fan… Ok, well it looks like I liked it, but it sounds like it was more urban fantasy (than this 2nd book is), which is more my “thing” except toward the end of the book. I shouldn’t have bothered continuing the series. The second book seemed to lose the urban part of the fantasy, likely the part that made the first book likable for me.

>73 sallylou61: Thanks!

For T, I read The Tea Dragon Tapestry - beautiful.

>76 JayneCM: I've never gotten into graphic novels but that one looks gorgeous.