December AlphaKIT : R and Y

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. December letters are: R and Y

and

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

Next up in my intermittent Agatha Christie read through is "A Pocketful of Rye" or I may read A Point of Law by John Maddox Roberts

For "Y" I am hesitating between Yesterday is History" by Kosoko Jackson and An Immense World by Ed Yong

Tentative plans: Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson and Anthem by Ayn Rand (only because it's part of my SF award nominee project).

I'm planning to read The Leger Connection by Estelle Ryan and Auntie Lee's Deadly Special's by Ovidia Yu.

I am planning on reading Village Christmas by Miss Read and Deceiving Mirror by Margaret Yorke for December's AlphaKit.

I've been working through my previously read but unreviewed L'Amours this year, and have about 5 that will fit this challenge!

I plan to do some christmassy reading in December, so I hope to read This Year It Will Be Different by Maeve Binchy and Der Jahrhundertwinter by Richard Dübell.

>2 Robertgreaves:, I can't speak to the other book, but I thought Yesterday is History was absolutely fantastic! It made me a permanent fan of his work, and I don't read much YA or time travel stuff. I suppose either of those last two points could be a caveat as much as anything, but I'd definitely recommend that one :)

As for me...I'm planning on The Remaking as my 'R' book, and Witching Moon by Rebecca York as my 'Y'.

>5 DeltaQueen50: I love Miss Read! Village Christmas was one of my reading choices earlier this year.

>7 MissBrangwen: I read and own the Maeve Binchy book you mentioned. I will be interested to know what you think of it.

>10 LadyoftheLodge: There is nothing more soothing than a Miss Read book!

>10 LadyoftheLodge:, >12 DeltaQueen50: And I'll be reading Christmas at Thrush Green by Miss Read, and, sadly, with this book I will have finished both series. But there's always starting all over again.....

>13 kac522: I dread the day that I finish reading all the Miss Read books!!

>11 LadyoftheLodge: >12 DeltaQueen50: >13 kac522: Question for the Miss Read lovers: I'm thinking of reading The Year at Thrush Green for this month, but I haven't read the rest of the series. Would I regret jumping in late in the series?

>15 NinieB: Although The Year at Thrush Green (1996) is technically the second to last installment, it felt a lot like a wrap-up of the entire series to me. I just read it this month. Much of the plot centers around remembrances of a deceased character who was the main character in the very first book: Thrush Green. It's probably not a good place to start, although it is still delightful.

The last installment in the series, Christmas at Thrush Green (2009) appeared 13 years later. This book was conceived by Miss Read, but actually was written by her editor Jenny Dereham, because Miss Read (Dora Saint) was increasingly blind. It is the book I'll be reading soon.

If you're not sure about the Thrush Green series as a whole, there is a large coffee-table sized book called The World of Thrush Green (1990) that gives an overview of the story & characters, short excerpts from the books (up to 1990), and includes personal reflections by Dora Saint on some of the people and places that inspired the series.

>16 kac522: Thanks, Kathy, that's really helpful info. I'm trying to find a book with a Y that has a tree on the cover for RandomKIT! The Year at Thrush Green is one of several random Miss Read titles I have picked up with the thought I'll probably like them.

I am the wrong person to ask about dipping in and out of a series as I am one of those people who have to read a series in order. That said I would think that the Fairacre series might lend themselves to random reads better than the Thrush Green books. I do hope you give Miss Read a try and enjoy her.

>17 NinieB: Oh, I see. Yes, I would wait.

>18 DeltaQueen50: I also try to read a series in order as much as possible. You are probably right that the Fairacre series is better for dipping in and out. I was just thinking about the two series: I read the Fairacre series first & loved it immediately, but as the series went on, it became a little predictable and the characters a bit static. On the other hand, I didn't "love" the first Thrush Green book as I expected, but as the series went on I thought it got better and the characters were more developed.

Another point--the Thrush Green books are contemporary to the year they were written. Although not a lot is mentioned of the outside world, you can tell that the first book (1959) is in the 1950s and that each subsequent book moves along with the current year of publishing, so that the last book published in 1996 is supposed to take place circa 1995-6. The Fairacre books seem somewhat "timeless" in a way--you know it's a post WWII small country village but the outside world is barely mentioned, and the actual years seemed fuzzy.

>17 NinieB: I agree with >18 DeltaQueen50:. I started reading Miss Read with the Fairacre series and got to Thrush Green later. While any of her books would be delightful reads, The Year at Thrush Green is later in the series as has been said.

>18 DeltaQueen50: >19 kac522: Thank you both. I usually try to read series in order but sometimes I'll dip in if I can determine it's not a problem to read in order. I have two from the Fairacre series, two from Thrush Green, and two standalones. I might plan on trying the standalones first and then (with your helpful comments) pick a series to start.

ETA and thank you, >20 LadyoftheLodge:!

R&Y : Run for Your Life by C. M. Sutter - 2 ★

Got a few.

✅Christmas to Remember
✅Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
Modiste Mishap by Erica Ridley
Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew
✅Murder Marks the Page by Karen Rose Smith
Rake Mistake by Erica Ridley
✅Road to Surrender
✅Take the Long Way Home by Rochelle Alers
You're Snug With Me

I read Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott. It's a very light and frothy YA time travel romance, and a good read for my current state of lounging in a recliner recovering from oral surgery!

And I added another R with a YA mystery, The Red Palace by June Hur.

I listened to The Great Roxhythe by Georgette Heyer for my first R.

...and another R: The Christmas Ruse by Jenny Goutet.

R and Y: Last Year, Robert Charles Wilson.

I finished Radigan, and am working on Reilly's Luck.

I read Peg and Rose Solve a Murder and If You Take a Mouse to the Movies.

I read Auntie Lee's Deadly Special by Ovidia Yu.

COMPLETED Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson

I finished my first Y: This Year It Will Be Different by Maeve Binchy. It was very different from what I expected and I am glad that I am done with it.

FinishedThe Red: First Light by Linda Nagata. Very interesting and surprising mil sci fi.

And another R (this was the one that I had originally planned): Der Jahrhundertwinter by Richard Dübell.

I've gone ahead and posted the first alphakit for 2024 : https://www.librarything.com/topic/355714
and the yearlong thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/355713

Have fun planning!

I read Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for the R.

I read A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid for yet another R.

R : Innocent Blood by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell

I've finished The Leger Connection by Estelle Ryan.

The Youth Hostel Murders by Glyn Carr gives me the Y.

COMPLETED The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

Just finished The Treeline by Ben Rawlence.

I finished Year of the Rabbit for both letters.

I've finished two Ys and an R so far:
We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany, 3.5*
The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds by Selina Siak Chin Yoke, 4*
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, 3.75*

For R, I read Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö.

Starting "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk

I have completed both my reads for the December AlphaKit with Village Christmas by Miss Read and Deceiving Mirror by Margaret Yorke.

I just finished Betting on You by Lynn Painter, a cute YA friends-to-lovers romance that works for Y.

I ended up reading Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice for my 'R' read. I've written a full review, but this is absolutely a must-read for anyone interested in post-apocalyptic survivalist novels. The closest comparison I can make is to Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon, which I adored. This will be among my favorites in the genre alongside it and The Road.

For Y, I read I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
On the evening of the party celebrating her engagement to Magnus, Poppy Wyatt’s phone was stolen and just by chance, she found a phone in the trash. Turns out it belonged to business man Sam Roxton, whose PA threw it in the trash when she quit her job. Poppy persuaded Sam to allow her to keep it and she would forward his messages thus helping her continue with wedding planning and Sam to keep up with business. Although a typical lighthearted romance, the characters were well drawn and developed as the story progressed. I really enjoyed this. My copy was an audiobook with an excellent reading by Jayne Entwistle who made a wonderful Poppy.

ETA: Can't get the wiki to accept the edit.

I read The Rise : a short story by Ian Rankin

It was strange reading a Rankin story that was not set in Edinburgh, but in London, although the change was worthwhile. If this is Rankin’s new locale I’ll be happy to join him there.

For my second Y, I finished listening to A Yuletide Kiss, a collection of three novellas written by Sabrina Jeffries, Madeline Hunter and Mary Jo Putney. I only enjoyed one of the novellas.

And another R: What Child Is This by Rhys Bowen.

I came by to update the wiki but it's down, bummer.

Naughty in Nice / Rhys Bowen
3.5 stars

In this 5th book in the series, Georgiana’s brother and his wife are heading to the Riviera and want to shut down the castle that Georgie is currently living in (with them). But they can’t afford to bring her along; the queen (remember, Georgie is thirty-something in line to the throne!) helps Georgie out by paying for her way in exchange for Georgie looking for and retrieving an item that the queen is certain was stolen from her… and is now in the Riviera. Things escalate once Georgie is there.

I liked this. It was kind of fun how the author brought Coco Chanel into the story. (Author’s note at the end suggests that Coco would have spent time in the Riviera during this time frame.)

Well, I failed on Y, and only read two "R" books:

Christmas at Thrush Green, Miss Read (2009)
Ralph the Heir, Anthony Trollope (1871)

I'm determined to read a "Y" book in January, maybe 2.

Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge / J. M. Younker
3.5 stars

This is a history of medicine in the United States. Of course, before modern medicine, people (doctors included) really didn’t know much about science or how the human body works. Prevailing cures for many things was to “bleed, blister, puke, and purge”. Many of us who read history or historical fiction certainly have read about “bleeding” people to cure various ailments. There was also a section on women in medicine. This was interesting, but also quite short. So for anyone who wants a quick overview of the topic, this is a good place to start. It also has a catchy title.

>57 kac522: I'm reading The Young Country Doctor by Vernon Coleman, hope to have it finished tonight. It's enjoyable, though not as humorous as James Herriot's writings.

ETA: finished it, and updated the Wiki!

No more Y books for me, but I did read a few Rs: Midwinter Magic by Stella Riley, Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh, and The Viscount's Christmas Temptation by Erica Ridley.

I managed three R books this month, and one was a double R!

The Red Right Hand, by Joel Townsley Rogers
Human Error, by James Reason (specifically Chapter 10: A general view of accident causation in complex systems)
Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents, by James Reason