Dogearedcopy's "19/S" Cat Stax

On a Saturday night this past Summer, my DH and I were driving across the railroad tracks in Lebanon, OR when we saw something just sitting there. We backed up and it didn't move. We got out of the car and this tiny kitten came running and bouncing over to me, jumping into my arms. And that was the end of the No More Cats policy.

I'm not a Cat Person but it's weird how irrelevant that is when a cat chooses you!

Introducing Spike (as in Railroad Spike):

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Every year, I approach the Category Challenge differently: Some approaches have worked really well (organizing my month, pre-selecting a letter theme for the year, informing each month's reading by the challenges); and others have failed spectacularly (the year I experimented with a "chain" reading concept - where the last book I read would somehow predetermine the next book I would read - I actually nuked my entire thread!) The things I would like to work on: Increasing participation/engagement in the CATs/KITS; and maybe try out one of the group reads (I'm notoriously bad at these so we'll see.)

So with that in mind, I'm dedicating this year to the number "19" and the letter "S" (the nineteenth letter in the alphabet!) Each month I will pull a mix of titles from my stacks:

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 A Shakespeare History
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recordings (Audiobooks)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 Sexy Reads (Romance and Erotica)
🐾 Shorts
🐾 Spiritual (Religious Works)
🐾 Spy Thrillers (This would be to accommodate the Le Carré novel(s) I plan on reading this Summer)
🐾 Scary Titles (Horror - This is for the Stephen King novel(s) I plan on listening to in October)
🐾 New Releases 2019
🐾 Set in 1919
🐾 Litsy Goes Postal 2019
🐾 SeriesCAT 2019
🐾 TBRCAT 2019
🐾 AlphaKIT 2019
🐾 SFFKIT 2019
🐾 Sundry (This will be for those titles that don't fit anywhere else)

Of course, nothing is set in stone! Lists will expand or contract as circumstances warrant. The following lists for each month are possibilities only, consisting of TBRs, pre-orders, some re-reads... As the reading year progresses, I'm sure it will all be tweaked one way or another! :-)

10/10/2018 EDIT: YEAR LONG READ!
I was pulling books from the stacks and taking a look at the chunkster, A Suitable Boy (by Vikram Seth.) It turns out the book is divided into 19 sections; and if I read a section every 19 days, I'll be able to finish this 1,454-page novel in 361 days!
Though I strongly suspect that I'll veer off schedule every once in a while, I'll post updates every month and as I finish each section :-)

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12/30/31 EDIT: YEAR LONG READ!
I'm hosting A Suitable Boy (by Vikram Seth as a group Group Read! :-)

https://www.librarything.com/topic/301295#6675213

JANUARY 2019

🐾 Artifice (Silver Ships #12 by S.H. Jucha) (See Post #37)
🐾 Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine) (See Post #38)
🐾 The Contract (Contract #1 by Melanie Moreland) (See Post #39)
🐾 A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock #1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an Introduction by Steven Moffatt) (See Post #40)
🐾 The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events #1 (by Lemony Snicket) (See Post #45)
🐾 The Thirteenth Chance (by Amy Matayo) (See Post #46)
🐾 Charming A Cinderella Billionaire Story (#1 by Sophie Brooks) (See Post #47)
🐾 One Day in December (by Josie Silver) (See Post #48)

FEBRUARY 2019

🐾 The Kiss Quotient (by Helen Hoang) (See Post #50)
🐾 King John (by William Shakespeare) (See Post #51)
🐾 99 Percent Mine (by Sally Thorne) (See Post #52)
🐾 The Killer Angels (by Michael Shaara) (See Post #53)

MARCH 2019

🐾 The Reptile Room (Series of Unfortunate Events #2; by Lemony Snicket) (See Post #59)
🐾 Life After Life (The Todd Family #1 by Kate Atkinson) (See Post #60)
🐾 Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy and, John Jennings) (See Post #62)
🐾 Polaris Rising (Consortium #1 by Jessie Mihalik) (See Post #64)
🐾 Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating (by Christina Lauren) (See Post #65)
🐾 Sailor Twain or the Mermaid in the Hudson (by Mark Siegel) (See Post #66)
🐾 Saga, Volume 1 (by Brian K. Vaughan ) (See Post #67)
🐾 The Wide Window (Series of Unfortunate Events #3; by Lemony Snicket) (See Post #68)
🐾 Saga, Volume 2 (by Brian K. Vaughan ) (See Post #69)
🐾 Lessons from a One-Night Stand (The Baileys #1; by Piper Rayne) (See Post #70)

APRIL 2019

🐾 Saga Vol. 3 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) (See Post #71)
🐾 My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (by Fredrik Backman) (See Post #72)
🐾 12 Steps to Mr. Right (by Cindi Madsen) (See Post #74)
🐾 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an introduction by Mark Gattiss) (See Post #75)
🐾 Rivers of London, Vol. 6 Water Weed (by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel) (See Post #76)
🐾 The Kiss Thief (by L. J. Shen)
🐾 Saga, Vol. 4 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 My Favorite Half-Night Stand (by Christina Lauren)
🐾 Saga, Vol. 5 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1 by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) ( See Post # 82)
🐾 Welcome to the Cameo Hotel (by K. I. Lynn)

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MAY 2019

🐾 Whisper of Love (Whisper Lake Romance #1; by Melanie Shawn)
🐾 Saga, Vol. 6 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 The Miserable Mill (Series of Unfortunate Events# 4; by Lemony Snicket)
🐾 How Like a God (by Rex Stout) (See Post #89)
🐾 Sojourn (The Silver Ships #13 (by S. H. Jucha) (See Post #90)
🐾 The Unhoneymooners (by Christina Lauren)
🐾 Cicada (by Shaun Tan)
🐾 Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley; narrated by Dan Stevens) (See Post #95)
🐾 Dracula (by Bram Stoker; narrated by Steven Crossley, Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Susan Duerden, Katherine Kellgren, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm and, Simon Vance) (See Post #96)
🐾 The Strain (The Strain Trilogy #1 by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan; narrated by Ron Perlman) (See Post #97)
🐾 The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient, #2; by Helen Hoang)

JUNE 2019

🐾 Sherlock: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #4 by Arthur Conan Doyle; with an Introduction by Steve Thompson)
🐾 Song of Solomon (written and narrated by Toni Morrison)
🐾 Hell Divers (The Hell Divers series, Book #1; by Nicholas Sansbury Smith)
🐾 The Test (by Sylvain Neuvel)
🐾 Hot Winter Nights (A Heartbreaker Bay novel; by Jill Shalvis)
🐾 Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (Johannes Cabal #1; by Jonathan L. Howard) (See Post #102)
🐾 The Grapes of Wrath (by John Steinbeck; narrated by Dylan Baker) (See Post #105)
🐾 Space Opera (by Catherynne M. Valente; narrated by Heath Miller) (See Post #106)

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JULY 2019

🐾 Empaths (Pyreans #1; by S. H. Jucha) ( See Post #107)
🐾 The Worst Best Man (by Lucy Score) (See Post #108)
🐾 A Tale of Two Cities (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser) (See Post #109)
🐾 Say No to the Duke (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #4; by Eloisa James)
🐾 The Russia House(by John le Carré)
🐾 The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot #6; by Agatha Christie)
🐾 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (by Lewis Carroll; by Scarlett Johansson)
🐾 The Strangler Vine (Blake and Avery #1; by M. J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham)

AUGUST 2019

🐾 The Ivory Grin (Lew Archer #4; by Ross Macdonald; narrated by Grover Gardner)
🐾 Fix Her Up (by Tessa Bailey)
🐾 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain; narrated by Grover Gardner)
🐾 The Austere Academy (Series of Unfortunate Event #5; by Lemony Snicket)
🐾 The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1; by Brittney Sahin)
🐾 We are Legion (We are Bob) (Bobiverse #1; by Dennis E. Taylor; narrated by Ray Porter)
🐾 Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance (Knitting in the City #1; by Penny Reid
🐾 The Old Man and the Sea (by Ernest Hemingway; narrated by Donald Sutherland)
🐾 The Friend Zone (by Abby Jimenez)
🐾 Northanger Abbey (by Jane Austen; narrated by Juliet Stevenson)
🐾 Tilt-a-Whirl (John Ceepak Mysteries #1 by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman)
🐾 The Lost Sherlock Holmes Story? (by Anonymous; narrated by Simon Vance)
🐾 "A Case of Identity: A Short Story from Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Dozen" (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; performed by John Gielguld, Ralph Richardson and, Orson Welles)
🐾 Mad Mouse (John Ceepak Mysteries #2; by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman)
🐾 Alien: River of Pain (Alien #3 or #4 depending on which index you consult) by Christopher Golden; performed by Anna Friel, Philip Glenister, Colin Salmon; Alexander Siddig, Marc Warren, Michelle Ryan and William Hope)
🐾 Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1; by Melissa Foster)

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SEPTEMBER 2019

🐾 Ride: The Wild Sequence #1 (by Harper Dallas)
🐾 Saga: Vol. 7 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 Saga: Vol. 8 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 Saga: Vol. 9 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
🐾 All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells) (See Post #132)
🐾 Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2 by Martha Wells) (See Post #132)
🐾 Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3 by Martha Wells) (See Post #132)
🐾 The Mistress Anetakis Tycoons (#1 by Maya Banks)
🐾 Dark Life (Dark Life #1; by Kat Falls; narrated by Keith Nobbs (See Post #133)
🐾 Wanderlust (From Paris with Love #1); by Lauren Blakely)
🐾 Tom Jones (by Henry Fielding; by Bill Homewood) (See Post #134)
🐾 The October Man (Rivers of London #7.5; by Ben Aaronovitch; narrated by Sam Peter Jackson) (See Post #134)
🐾 Redshirts (by John Scalzi; narrated by Wil Wheaton) (See Post #134)
🐾 Rewinder (Rewinder Book #1; by Brett Battles; narrated by Vikas Adam)
🐾 Exit Strategy (Murderbot Diaries #4 by Martha Wells) (See Post #135)

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OCTOBER 2019

🐾 Whack A Mole (by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman) (See Post #136)
🐾 This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us (by Edgar Cantero; narrated by January LaVoy) (See Post #137)
🐾 The Price of Scandal (Bluewater Billionaires Romantic Comedy series #1; by Lucy Score
🐾 The Mogul and the Muscle (Bluewater Billionaires Romantic Comedy series #2; by Claire Kingsley)
🐾 The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1; by John Scalzi; by Wil Wheaton) (See Post #139)
🐾 The Cockroach (by Ian McEwan)
🐾 The Hound of the Baskervilles (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Introduction by Benedict Cumberbatch)

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NOVEMBER 2019

🐾 Wild Open Hearts (Bluewater Billionaires #3 by Kathryn Nolan)
🐾 Crazy for Loving You Bluewater Billionaires #4 by Pippa Grant)
🐾 Once Upon a Holiday (by Claudia Burgoa)
🐾 My Boss's Sister (Make Her Mine #3 by Alexis Winter)
🐾 Junk Mail (by Kendall Ryan)
🐾 Man Cuffed (by Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby)

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DECEMBER 2019
🐾 Kissing Jenna (by Kristen Proby)
🐾 My Boss's Sister (Make Her Mine#3; by Alexis Winter
🐾 The Lineup (Sport "Stand Alones" #3 by Meghan Quinn)
🐾 That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1; by Meghan Quinn)
🐾 Piece of Work (Red Lipstick Coalition #1; by Staci Hart)
🐾 Player (Red Lipstick Coalition #2; by Staci Hart)
🐾 Fast Food Nation (by Eric Schlosser) (See Post #145)
🐾 The Marriage Diaries (by Ericka Wilde)

Wow! You've have identified lots of great books for your challenge so far and with a wide variety of categories to match, it looks like a good way to meet your goals.

Spike is sooo cute!

Spike is an adorable kitty with a great name! I see you have 99 Percent Mine on your January list, and it's definitely on mine too -- I actually preordered my copy yesterday, haha.

Awwww the little face on Spike! He is adorable!

Have fun with your challenge!

>15 christina_reads: I thought of you when I pre-ordered the Sally Thorne novel! Sadly, it's not the one that was promised a couple of years ago, and from what I understand it's unlikely to ever be written; but I'll take it! (And yes, I fully plan on blocking out that Tuesday night and reading it before the month is out!)

Great categories, I had no idea you could do so much with a single letter. I notice a lot of familiar titles in there, still waiting in my stacks. And Spike is adorable.

I am in awe at the level of oganisation! I know I'd never carry this through, good luck to you.

Spike is adorable! Excellent that he fits your category this year as well.

>17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I look forward to comparing notes with you! :)

Great to see you all set up and ready to go, Tanya. You've got some interesting reads lined up.

Oh, Spike is just *adorable*!

Looks like you have a great year of reading planned out.

Wow, I'm impressed!

I love the idea of focusing in on a letter and number, so I'll be curious to see how it progresses. Also, Spike really is adorable! I hope you'll keep us updated as he grows :)

Spike is so very cute! That face would have been impossible to resist!

This year (2018) I've been reading voraciously, surpassing past years' number of books read, pages read, and hours listened to (audiobooks) but things came to a screeching halt a couple of weeks ago when I started a new job. My reading time was eviscerated and mentally, I was weirded out: I love my new job. It's fast-paced, interesting, and intense but not being able to read as much had me feeling out of sorts. I finally figured out that I needed to schedule in reading time to get my "fix." With that in mind, I took a look at the first book in my 19/S stax, August 1914 (Red Wheel #1 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.) It's sixty-four substantial chapters long. If I read a chapter every day, and allowing for those days when real life intrudes heavily and I can't read, I should still finish in January!

The book, from the book jacket's description, is about the Battle at Tannenberg. The edition I have was published in 1971 so it does not include the extra chapters that were added in 1974. Still, I like having the "original" YMCA-Paris edition and am not bothered by the now "missing" chapters. Anyway, I read the first chapter last night which introduces us to a young man who is off to enlist in the war against Germany, betraying his professed pacifist leanings. There a couple of things I had to look up:"tussore" (a coarse silk,) "charabanc" (which is pronounced "SHARE-a-bang!) and The Black Hundred, a group of Tsarist Loyalists. As to how the book is, obviously it is too soon to tell but I like it enough so far to want to settle in with it! :-)

Tanya that sounds like an excellent plan to tackle August 1914 a chapter a day, I often read long books in installments and it makes them go by easily. Best of luck with your new job and eventually finding that reading time doesn't have to scheduled but will fit in easily.

>27 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Excellent idea to divide the book into chunks and get your reading fix in. And congratulations on the new job :)

>27 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That is a book I want to read as last year I read The Gulag Archipelago. I also tackle a lot of chunksters by reading 1 chapter a day or 30 pages or whatever goal I set for myself.

>28 DeltaQueen50: >29 rabbitprincess: Thank you! Funnily enough, the job requires that I read a lot of essays, long-form journalistic pieces, etc., just not books! So I'm reading, but it's like hors-d'oeuvres (and really good ones) just not a full meal!

>27 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Oh! Maybe I should have put it up as a group read? I didn't think anyone had Solzhenitsyn on their shelves anymore or would be interested. I've already "starred" your 2019 thread so if you decide to grab your copy, I'll be sure to see! :-)

I love the story behind how Spike came to be a member of your family! Such a sweetie! I am also planning on joining in on the A Suitable Boy group read and like the idea of tackling it in smaller chunks.

The story of Spike is wonderful. I love his little picture. What a sweetheart.

Wishing you Success for 2019. Great theme!

Wow, you're organized! Happy New Year!

🐾 2019 AlphaKit "A"
🐾 2019 SFFKit "Excuses, Excuses..."
🐾 Science Fiction/Space Opera
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Silver Ships)

Artifice (The Silver Ships Book 12) (by S.H. Jucha) - Alex Racine has led his expeditionary force to the edges of Federacy space to confront Artifice, an omnipotent digital entity that poses an existential threat to the Omnians. This is the twelfth installment in Jucha's family-friendly space opera and has First Contact with not one, but no less than four "alien" species! In this story, there is a lot more action and less exposition, which makes sense since, if you've come this far into the series, you know everyone by now! BUT, the technology is a bit anachronistic, the aliens more than a little familiar for being "aliens", the logic behind one of Alex's major decisions a bit obtuse, and quite frankly, the climax was paradoxically, anticlimactic. That all said, for those following the Silver Ships overarching saga, it concludes the Nu'all story arc satisfactorily (even if we do see more of them in future stories,) and sets the stage for further adventures.

🐾 2019 AlphaKit "A"
🐾 Litsy Goes Postal 2019

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine) - This is a non-fiction travelogue by the famed science fiction writer, Douglas Adams. He travels to six places around the world with wildlife ecologist, Mark Carwardine to see animals that are on the verge of extinction. The animals that he encounters, his epiphanies, and his humor all make this a fascinating read. The topic of endangered animals is one fraught with pessimism no less then (1988) than now thirty years later so if you're an animal lover or someone concerned about the effects of climate change, you need to brace yourself a bit.

There's a documentary of the same name that was filmed twenty years after the book was published. Stephen Fry takes the place of Douglas Adams (who passed away in 2001) and revisits the places that Adams first did. It's currently available on NetFlix and I plan on watching it this weekend (Stay tuned!)

🐾 Series
🐾 Sexy Read (Romance)

The Contract (Contract #1 by Melanie Moreland) - This is a contemporary romance novel in which a wealthy advertising executive fails to make partner at his firm and decides to leave for another, rival company. The issue is that the other company is a family-oriented organization that doesn't particularly care to onboard cut-throat employees or those with player reputations. Enter, the said executive's PA, a dowdy woman whose singular goal is to work to pay for her aunt's elder care lodgings. They don't care for each other but a deal is struck... The story is told from his and her points of view, but it was weighted more toward his side which was unusual, and also did a disservice to her character as she seemed rather enigmatic at times. Not bad but I probably won't continue with the series.

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Study in Scarlet)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Sherlock)

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock #1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an Introduction by Steven Moffatt) - This is an edition published by the BBC after the first year of Sherlock (starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Steven Moffat) aired and they capitalized on the series' success by plastering the modern Sherlock Holmes and Watson on the cover. However, on the inside, aside from Moffat's Introduction which is little more than a bit of a trip down memory lane, the original text resides without any sort of fanfare (no annotations or illustrations.) As for the story itself, it's about the discovery of a corpse in an empty apartment. The word, "Rache" has been painted on a wall in blood, and it's up to Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate the powers of deductive reasoning and figure who and what happened. The book is divided into two parts: The first part introduces Watson to Holmes and sets up the crime scene. The second part is a bit of backstory relating to the crime, and the resolution. ACD cheats the reader a little bit by having Holmes do some off-camera inquiries, so you don't have enough to work out how it was done on your own, but it's still a solid mystery. BTW, If you watched the series, it will be a little difficult not to imagine Cumberbatch and Moffat as Holmes and Watson respectively, but you won't have any problem making the distinction between the original story and the TV adaptation. So, really, no spoilers either way!

>38 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Last Chance to See is so, so good. Enjoy the documentary! My favourite episode is the one with the kakapo.

>40 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I must confess I bought all of the Sherlock TV tie-in editions... and of course they DIDN'T end up publishing The Valley of Fear or The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes in those editions, so my collection is incomplete. Hmph.

>38 Tanya-dogearedcopy:, That's still my favorite piece of nonfiction, decades after I discovered it. I started watching the tv series and plan to get back to it, but each episode makes me cry--the humor that makes the book so wonderful is kind of there in the tv series, but some of the images are hard. Of course, I have a Chinese River Dolphin tattooed on my foot and a corn snake on my back, so that tells you much I love animals and can be affected by stuff like that. In any case, I'm always so glad to see more folks discovering that book! Good luck with the series!

>38 Tanya-dogearedcopy:

My husband and I watched the Netflix series with Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine and really enjoyed every episode.

>38 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Sounds like a wonderful book and follow up series. We currently do not have Netflix but there are 4-5 things I would like to watch......maybe it's time!

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Snicket)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events #1 (by Lemony Snicket) - Over the years, I've read and listened to the first four books in this series multiple times, but then, for some reason, stall out. But this is the year that I've decided to read the entire run! It's a dark children's tale of three orphans who are pursued by the creepy Count Olaf for their inherited fortune. The narrator of the adventures is "Lemony Snicket" himself, who imbues the stories with a semi-morbid tone and explains vocabulary words with a wry twist of humor. I'm planning on reading the first four, and then checking out both the movie and the first season of the NetFlix series, before hitting the next quartet of books. :-)

🐾 Sexy Read: Romance
🐾 Stand-Alone

The Thirteenth Chance (by Amy Matayo) - This is a contemporary romance novel set in Texas. Will Vandergriff is a baseball player who has been traded from New York and making a less-than-impressive debut as the starting pitcher for the Rangers. He needs a woman to improve his bad reputation but then becomes convinced that his fake girlfriend is good luck when he/his team starts winning games. Olivia Pratt is a woman whose life has been overshadowed by the career of her older brother, an ex-baseball player serving time for drug possession and distribution. Seeking control of her life, she adheres to seemingly obsessive-compulsive behavior. This was a cute but rather tame romance novel. I didn't hate it but I'm unlikely to remember it in few months or pick up another book by this author.

🐾 Series (Cinderella Billionaire)
🐾 Sexy Read: Romance

Charming A Cinderella Billionaire Story (#1 by Sophie Brooks) - The series subtitle pretty much clues you in as to the narrative form here. Ford is the billionaire CEO of a company and Autumn provides telephone sex, eeking out a living to support her little sister and herself. He calls into her line whenever she's on duty and falls in love with her voice first... Sophie Brooks has worked hard to get their respective words to collide but I felt ike she was trying to cram too many square pegs into a round hole. Some light bondage, but overall this wasn't a particularly memorable read.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Silver)
🐾 Sexy Read: Romance

One Day in December by Josie Silver) - Laurie is aboard a London bus after a particularly hard day at work, when out of the window she sees this guy at the bus stop. They make eye contact, and Laurie feels this intense connection, like he is the one. After obsessing over him for months, she finally meets him when she is introduced to her best friend and roommate's new, serious boyfriend, you got it, "Bus Boy." Jack feels the connection too, and pushes the edge of friendship with Laurie a little bit, but they both manage to keep their feelings in check and move through other relationships over the course of ten years...

This a 2018 bestselling contemporary romance novel, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection, and Litsy's Favorite Romance of 2018..

Oh boy. It's definitely #unpopularopinion time here: I hated this book. I heard that it was inspired by British romcoms and reminiscent of David Nicholl's One Day, and a fast, funny, heart-warming story... It was actually derivative of British romcoms (and not even subtle about it,) similar to Nicholls' tear-jerker only in the time span covered, and was really ten years of angst and fear between two people who couldn't get their heads out of their respective butts. Both characters were portrayed as acting somewhat nobly, but it really boiled down to a lot of cowardice. So after 416 pages of mental anguish, you've got a kiss or two, but nothing steamy, which for me was another disappointment: No romance, no sex, just a medicore story about being an adult.

And really, when and why did Reese Witherspoon become the doyen of book clubs? I just looked it up: Apparently, it's some arrangement she made with Amazon (Her official site is actually an Amazon book list.) Most of the titles on the list look equally tepid. No, thanks.

>48 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I have looked through all the past recommendations on Reese's book club list and must admit, there are only one or two there that I would probably read - Braving The Wilderness and Where The Crawdads Sing stood out, but only as others have already recommended them (on LT!) I suppose at least she is advocating reading. Although I get super annoyed when a teacher gives my boys some total trash to read, saying that at least they are reading. This is a never-ending argument for me - is all reading good reading, or if it is trash, is it not worth it? OK, getting off-track now! Pet peeve of mine, rant over!

🐾 Sexy Read: Romance
🐾 AlphaKIT 2019 "K"

A few years ago, I read the contemporary romance novel, The Australian Jetsetters & Jeopardy (Book #2 by Lesley Young) which featured an autistic woman who heads to Australia and falls in love with her boss (against a backdrop of criminal intrigue and gorgeous settings, but I digress...) The story disturbed me because of the way the woman was portrayed, autism as a mental handicap for which the male love interest exploited her. I think some of the scenes were meant to be funny but I cringed nonetheless. I bring this up because when I heard the The Kiss Quotient (by Helen Hoang) was about a woman with autism, I was wary and hesitated for months in picking it up. Finally, I did, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and even charmed! Stella Lane falls on the spectrum as having Asperger's and has leveraged this in her job as an econometricist. She decides to tackle her issues in regard to intimate relationships by hiring a male escort. Enter Michael, a man who has put his dreams on hold to help support his family and who patiently walks Stella through the process, but of course falling into love with Stella herself. It's sort of like a role-reversed 'Pretty Woman' (which is briefly alluded to in the story.) I see quite a few other readers are put off by the amount of sex in the book, but it didn't bother me at all and didn't feel gratuitous. Maybe because the whole tactile experience was part of the story? I also loved the story for metaphorically shifting the language from "despite her autism" to "because of her autism." It's a subtle thing but it made all the difference from The Australian.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Shakespeare)
🐾 A Shakespeare History
🐾 AlphaKIT 2019 "K"

King John (by William Shakespeare) - In the chronological order of monarchs, this is the first of the British monarchs represented in Shakespeare's canon. William the Conquerer's great-grandson, John succeeds to the throne but the claim is disputed, the noblemen are fickle in their loyalties, the French threaten, the women are ambitious and catty, and the Church is stirring things up.... I've seen many people cite this play as their least favorite of the Bard's, but I found it fascinating for what it contained inasmuch as what wasn't there! From the outset, Richard I's bastard son ( o_0 ), the portrayal of King John as a sort of Protestant prototype in his dealings with the Pope, the lack of intense antipathy being represented from the people over heavy taxation made me wonder how King John had actually been received contemporary to his time, and at Shakespeare's time. Now, of course, John has been branded the villain thanks to eighteenth-century Romanticism (Robin Hood) but a quick assay reveals there is very little about him to be gleaned from the thirteenth century, much less from his reign, in terms of public perception. Interestingly, the play does not mention the Magna Carta either.. This make me wonder of there are lost "bits" that didn't make it into the collections of folios... Ah! If only I had the time and temperament to be a Shakespeare scholar! Anyway, this the first of the Histories I plan on reading this year. Onward! The next one is Edward III :-)

🐾 Sexy Read: Romance
🐾 New Releases 2019

99 Percent Mine (by Sally Thorne) - Goth girl, ex-photographer, itinerant bartender, and owner of a heart with a congenital heart defect, Darcy has has grown up with her twin brother's best friend as her ideal, perfect man. Tom is a carpenter, striking out on his own and hired to renovate Darcy's late grandmother's cottage. Darcy sticks around, trying to manage the site as a member of the crew.... And really, as simple and straight forward as things should be after setting up the scene, they just aren't. It was a lot of mess to get to the HEA and honestly, it wasn't worth it.

I knew I needed to manage my expectations after reading the less than overwhelming reviews and comments on Litsy, but this took the concept of "Sophomore Slump" to a level nearly on par with Scott Smith's The Ruins. Character formation and development, weird plot pacing & crashes (where plot lines/ideas run counter to each other in the same scene,) over-the-top emotional intensity (something on the order of the whole world sparkling)... it all felt wrong, like story a kludged together from completely different sources. And what's worse, The Hating Game epilogue, which is a bonus feature, felt equally off.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Shaara)
🐾 Series (Civil War Trilogy #2)
🐾 AlphaKIT 2019 "K"

The Killer Angels (by Michael Shaara) - This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel covers the Battle of Gettysburg from multiple points of view on both the Union and Confederate sides. One of the reasons I generally avoid non-fiction about the Civil War is that many writers tend to info dump numbers and data to the point that the battles become statistical events rather than human ones. But Michal Shaara's book conveys the scale of the battle in terms of acreage, the body count, and the ethical costs by leaning more towards historical fiction than military fiction in style and tone. There are some maps that help readers understand the positions of the troops, but its the descriptive imagery of the smoke and fog, the green fields and white fences, the bloodied men and horses that stick with you as well as the sadness, anger, joy, and shock of the characters. And yes, I may have spent yesterday morning crying over the death of a man who passed away over 155 years ago.

>52 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Ooh yay, I was waiting for your review of this one! I completely agree with your criticisms -- I couldn't understand why they didn't get together right away! That said, I am still interested to see what Thorne writes next, because obviously she is capable of much better.

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (The Sign of Four)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Sherlock)

The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes #2 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an introduction by Martin Freeman) - In this novella, Mary Morstan comes to Holmes seeking help in determining who has been sending her a pearl every year after her father's presumed death. The case unfolds as a story of hidden treasure, greed, intrigue, and murder set against the backdrop of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the environs of London. As with A Study in Scarlet, I was more fascinated with the story of the crime and less so with the solving of the crime mystery but I admit that when Sherlock and Holmes were in hot pursuit, there was the thrill of the chase!
In 1890, the original text of this novella was published, and this edition was published in 2012 in conjunction with the BBC series. The cover sports Cumberbatch and Freeman and; the introduction is written by Martin Freeman. The celebrity introductions don't really add any significant insight or value to the work, but for the hardcore fans of the BBC show it's a nice perk.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Seth)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Suitable Boy)
🐾 LT Category Challenge 2019 / Group Read 2019

Time to make good on my promise to "post updates every month and as I finish each section!"

__________________________________________________

_________________________Kedar Ghat at Varanasi (A ghat ("gawt") is a flight of steps that leads down to the river)

PART ONE

Welcome to "Step" 1/"चरण 1 !

First let me be honest: I blew off reading "A Word of Thanks' and the (Table of) Contents at the beginning and went straight to the story! It wasn't until another reader posted about "A Word of Thanks" that I went back to take a look at it! And, wow! It hit me that I was looking at a poem, a modern sonnet in fact! It's fourteen lines in a ABAB/CCDD/EFFE/GG form. And then I took a look over on the next page and realized that the TOC was actually composed of nineteen couplets! I don't know that it means anything, but I thought it was clever and amusing #mindblown

In Part One, we've been introduced to about a dozen characters. I've referenced the family tree a couple of times but for the most part I've been able to keep track by associating the characters with other people or known characters. For instance, Mrs. Rupa Mehra became the Indian version of Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice! Likewise, Savita became Jane Bennet, Praan became Charles Bingley, Lata = Elizabeth Bennet, and maybe Maan will be Darcy? But I can't expect the analogy to hold up; and the encounter in the bookstore was filled with flirtatious promise ;-)

I think my mind went to Pride and Prejudice quickly because of the opening line, "'You will marry a boy I choose.' said Mrs Rupa Mehra firmly to her younger daughter." It's a strong OL, setting out what the book is about and the tone immediately not unlike Austen's OL for P&P, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
And of course, both women are talking of marriage for their daughters.

As for the story itself, right now I'm disgusted with Meenakshi for the business with the medals, wary of Malati and her crush (please, don't let this go where I think it might!) but rooting for Varun, Lata, and even Maan despite his "dissolute ways." And of course, the boy in the bookstore ;-)

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Seth)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Suitable Boy)
🐾 LT Category Challenge 2019 / Group Read 2019

______________________________
_______________Indian Rose, Labeled for Reuse with Modifications

PART TWO

One of the things I want to talk about was the Edenic Prem Nivas, "the abode of love!" It plays center stage (quite literally in Part II!) in both Parts that we've read so far. In Part I (1.5) I was struck by Lata's vision. I've come back to this passage a few times, a truly "cinematic" moment in my head as I imagine the camera zooming out to encompass all of this, but keeping Prem Nivas at its center of focus:

'Prem Nivas' for a start: the abode of love. An idiotic name,
thought Lata crossly, for this house of arranged marriages. And a
needlessly grandiloquent one: as if it were the centre of the
universe and felt obliged to make a philosophical statement about
it. And the scene, looked at objectively, was absurd: seven living
people, none of them stupid, sitting around a fire intoning a dead
language that only three of them understood. And yet, Lata
thought, her mind wandering form one thing to another, perhaps
this little fire was indeed the centre of the universe. For here it
burned, in the middle of this fragrant garden, itself in the heart of
Pasand Bagh, the pleasantest locality of Brahmpur, which was the
capital of the state of Purva Pradesh, which lay in the center of
the Gangetic Plains, which was itself the heartland of India...
and so on through the galaxies to the outer limits of perception
and knowledge. The thought did not seem in the least trite to Lata;...

Later on, in Part II (2.3-2.5) we return to Prem Nivas, in the courtyard where Saeda Bai sings, again creating a magical night of music, poetry and enchantment. It's too early to tell yet, but I wonder if Prem Nivas will remain an oasis where colored lights shine from the bushes, roses bloom a bit early, and flirtations continue until dawn... Or if it will be besieged by time and troubles. It's certainly a contrast to Saeda Bai's own house where everything seems to be tightly controlled, but tends to feel more like a prison than a haven. Prem Nivas also runs in paradoxical opposition to the university: Prem Nivas flows with studied beauty, ghazals, the sounds of the tablas, sarangis, tanpuras and harmoniums; but the school is nearly frozen with bureaucracy and academic politics, a stultifying environment. There's also an interesting contrast in that the Arab singer and her musicians are appreciated even among the Hindus, while the school quibbles over the English curriculum.

There's food for thought too with the parakeet, the Myna's cage, and Saeda Bai herself...

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Seth)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Suitable Boy)
🐾 LT Category Challenge 2019 / Group Read 2019

____________________________________________________________
______________________________Leather-bottle makers. (Presumably members of the ‘Chamaar’ caste).
______________________________Members of the Jatav social group were in the Chamaar caste

PART III

I've been thinking a bit about the caste system in India as the story has unfolded. We've seen it alluded to with the Partition, with the shoe-makers/sellers, and now with the relationship between Lata and Kabir. I got a little understanding of the the impact it had on the Partition when I watched Viceroy's House a couple of weeks ago: In the Hindu caste system, Muslims were near the bottom of the hierarchy, in the Untouchables range (either in it or barely above it. Untouchables did the filthiest of work in the communities) and were treated with extreme prejudice. In the Punjab region, the Muslims erupted in violence against their Indian neighbors. The slaughter was what prompted Lord Mountbatten to agree to a separate state for the Muslims (Pakistan.) There was a mass migration of Hindus from the Pakisrtani region into India and Muslims into Pakistan. In 1.8, we get a glimpse of the what this "migration" was like:

At the word Pakistan, Veena's mother-in-law, withered old Mrs. Tandon, flinched. Three years ago, her whole family had to flee the blod and flames and unforgettable terror of Lahore. They had been wealthy, 'properties' people, but almost everything they had owned had been lost, and they had been ,ucky to escape with their lives. Her son, Kedernath, Veena's husband, still had scars on his hands form an attack by rioters on his refugee convoy. Several of their friends had been butchered."

But the separation of the Muslims and Hindus was not complete. In 2.9, we see basket-wallahs selling shoes:

These shoemakers, mainly members of the 'untouchable' jatav caste or a few lower-caste Muslims, a large number of whim had remained in Brahmpur after Partition, were gaunt and poorly clad, and many of them desperate."

With the idea that Muslims were relegated to the lowest rungs of society, I was surprised when Kabir mentioned that, "Unlike many Muslim families, I suppose we were sheltered during Partition-- and before." That statement gave me pause. How did the Durranis manage to shelter themselves during a time of such sectarian violence? I wonder if it will be revealed in the story (I do hope Kabir resurfaces.)

And now we come to the end of Part III: 3.19 opens with two paragraphs that elucidate Mrs. Rupa Mehra's prejudice clearly; and 3.20 ends with Kabir's and Lata's impotence in the face of Mrs. Rupa Mehra's forced separation. One one hand, I understand that a generation that has had to live through the horrors of the Partition would view the other side as "Other" (Reminds me of my father's hatred for the Japanese. He was a Filipino who watched the Imperial Army slaughter his family... Years later, when my sister wanted to pursue Japanese Studies at the collegiate level, he wouldn't even talk to her.) On the other hand, the romantic in me, who had hopes for the bookstore boy from the start, feels more than a little bit heartbroken. There's a part of me that wonders if they had met in the twenty-first century, if it would have been easier for them. But then I saw this, this morning:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/india/india-pakistan-line-of-control-incursion-in...

Sigh.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Snicket)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Reptile Room (Series of Unfortunate Events #2; by Lemony Snicket - As I mentioned in a post above about this series, I've read the first four books in this series multiple times, but this may be the longest time it has ever taken me to read one of the books! It took me seven days! In this dark adventure, the three Baudelaire orphans are again plotted against by the villain, Count Olaf. Violet, Klaus and, Sunny have moved to a distant uncle's home where they enjoy a few days of seeming security and comfort. Unfortunately, their eccentric herpetologist guardian's assistant, Gustav has disappeared and, in his place a new assistant has arrived... It must be the state of mind I'm in (a little overtired and stressed from my current workload,) but I felt the tension much more keenly with this reading than I have in times past!

🐾 Series (Todd Family #1)
🐾 AlphaKit 2019

Life After Life (by Kate Atkinson) - This is a novel about Ursula Todd who is born on a snowy day in a rural home in England in 1910. From there her fate is different every time she cycles through. Ursula, it seems, experiences a sort of reincarnation wherein she always returns to that snowy day in February with none but her mother and a housemaid to greet her into this world. During each of her life's journeys, Ursula experiences different levels of self-awareness and, explores the limits of her ability to control events within her given life. The novel depicts an idyllic pre-war countryside set against the ravages of London during the Blitz and tangentially and subtly explores the characters of women in changing times. I loved this book when I first read it several years ago and; if possible love it even more now that I've gone through it more carefully. Someone on Litsy once posted that a book isn't read until it has been read twice and; in this case I agree :-)

>60 Tanya-dogearedcopy: This book is on my ereader. What with your glowing review I will try to move it to the front!

🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 Listy Goes Postal 2019

🐾 Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy and, John Jennings) - Last December, in anticipation of receiving the novel, Kindred (by Octavia Butler for the postal book group I belong to, I read my own copy of the 1979 time travel story. The idea was that as soon as the book group package came in, I could write in the journal enclosed and turn the whole thing around to the next person quickly. Unfortunately, there was a hiccup in the relay and I won't be getting the book until later this week. But I didn't want to re-read the novel, so I picked up a copy of the graphic novel adaptation instead, with the idea of refreshing my memory before I started writing a journal entry.

So, why didn't I want to re-read it? The first time I read it, I thought it was okay. The story goes quickly but it didn't get under my skin. Or maybe it would be more correct to say, I found myself unable to get under its skin. The story itself certainly had merit: Dana, an African-American woman living in L.A. during the 1970s, finds herself inexplicably thrown back to antebellum Easton, Maryland, on the plantation of her ancestors. Octavia Butler makes much about how a modern Black woman was startlingly able to accommodate herself to the slave culture but the message didn't resonate with me to any degree of power. More than anything else, I was simply struck but just how hard life was for everyone: Accidents, disease, illnesses could all have fatal consequences (more often than not) and; treatments were medieval. This was not the life of Scarlet O'Hara at Tara!

The graphic novel was surprisingly true to the novel and included a lost of details from the story. I can't say I was anymore impressed with the story itself, but I definitely appreciated the GN a bit more: The choice of style, and color in particular are bold with think lines and blocks of ochre and violet ink. At the end of the book, there is an interview in which they explain the choices they made.

I give the original story 3.0 stars and; the GN 4.0.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Seth)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Suitable Boy)
🐾 LT Category Challenge 2019 / Group Read 2019

____________________________________________________________
______________________________Nepalese Caste System

PART IV

In this section we dive a little deeper into the Hindu caste system as Kendernath takes his guest, Hareesh, on a tour though the jatav sections of town. What was of interest to me were the somewhat arbitrary distinctions made between what constituted an Untouchable: While working directly with animal skins and flesh were clearly in the realm of occupations within the Dalit class, those who commissioned and brokered the shoes (Hareesh and Kendernath respectively) were above the Dalit.

And yet, at the very beginning of 5.1 (Yes, I'm ahead a touch,) we see an instance where an "employer the trader did not like to touch shoes because he felt they would pollute him."

There are literally tens of thousands of gradations within the lowest caste and a blurred or moving moving line between the Dalit and the Vaisha.

Going back to 3.19 which opens with Mrs. Rupa Meehras prejudices, I'm struck by what seems to be a more overt statement of relativity:

"Mrs. Rupa Mehra was not more prejudiced against Muslims than most upper-caste Hindu women of her age and background."

The divisions between the castes aren't always clear-cut and I'm beginning to wonder how much of the Other" (someone in a lower caste) is truly offensive versus how offended the person making the judgement call is.

______________________________________________________

For a quick take on the Hindu caste system: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616

🐾 Science Fiction/Space Opera
🐾 Series (Consortium #1)
🐾 New Releases 2019

Polaris Rising (by Jessie Mihalik) - Listed as Science Fiction/Space Opera, this reads more like a Romance novel! Mind you, I'm not complaining, but hardcore SFF readers might as it doesn't really offer any new in terms of ideas or technology. Medical nanobots, Smart clothing, FTL transport... we've seen these things before. The appeal of the story lies pretty much in the strong female protag, Ada and, her chemistry with Loch. Each of them are on the run and have bounties on their heads, and eventually they find themselves locked up together in a cell. Coming from vastly different strata of society-- She is from an elite High House and, he is soldier known as the Devil of Fornax Zero-- they find common cause in escaping and, in overcoming their respective stubborn streaks and pride, find that they don't want to escape from the other.

It's a decent story, good for a weekend read at the beach or cabin but for some reason it just didn't spark my imagination.

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 AlphaKIT 2019 ("L" - Christina Lauren)

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating (by Christina Lauren) - This is a dual-POV contemporary romance set in Portland, Oregon featuring an uninhibited third grade teacher named Hazel and, the much more restrained, Josh. Though I'm not a fan of zany female protags, I laughed out loud from the start and was interested to see how Josh would get hooked. Josh's sections were less developed than Hazel's however, which while in keeping with his character, was a little unsatisfying.

In a completely unrelated note: There was a continuity error regarding lighting in the backyard (there's a scene in the beginning in which he is running through the yard in darkness but later, there's another scene in which motion-detector lights go on) which bugged me but overall it was a fun read, perfect "mental floss."

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Siegel)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Sailor Twain)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy

Sailor Twain or The Mermaid in the Hudson (by Mark Siegel) - This GN illustrates the story of a steamboat captain in the 1880s who rescues a harpooned mermaid. There are a lot of strange goings-on and the artwork (B&W, pencil/charcoal drawings) adds to the foggy, mysterious atmosphere. It's a compelling narrative, but I would be lying if I said I understood what happened at the end.

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series (Saga #1)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy

Saga, Volume 1 (by Brian K. Vaughan) - This is Science Fiction/Space Opera graphic novel featuring two star-crossed lovers, Alana and Marko who are fleeing the ravages of war with their newborn baby, Hazel. The war is being waged between Landfall denizens (terra-based forces) and the soldiers of Wreath (moon-based forces) and both sides have placed a bounty on the family. There is a Robot aristocracy, fantastic, sentient beings, and Horrors that are not what they might seem to be... The artwork is vibrant with splashes of magenta and algae green threading their way through the panels. I loved the story and have already ordered the next volume, but a word of warning: This is an adult comic, a graphic graphic novel if you will with sex acts explicitly rendered.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Snicket)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Wide Window (Series of Unfortunate Events #3; by Lemony Snicket)

The third in the series, this installment finds the Baudelaire orphans sent off to live with a distant cousin, and aunt who is afraid of everything, except, oddly the biggest threat to the children's existence, Count Olaf. Her trusting nature and timidity leave Violet, Klaus, and Sunny to fend for themselves in the face of a hurricane on the Lake Lachrymose. This is a re-read for me and, incidentally, one that I find particularly sad: Aunt Josephine's phobias effectually paralyze her, leaving her to fearfully hide out and unable to handle, well, life. An another note, the author's didactic style, breaking the fourth wall to explain certain vocabulary words, is starting to get a bit precious.

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Saga #2)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy

Saga, Volume 2 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) - Each volume contains six issues of the original comic book run and; this one picks up where volume 1 left off, the arrival of Hazel's grandparents aboard the spaceship Hazel's family is traveling in. The story arcs are fun and surprising, and leave you wanting more (ordered the next one already!) The artwork is straightforward with bold usages of vibrant color. And, it bears repeating: There's graphic violence and sexually explicit illustrations (This particular volume was banned for a little while on AMazon's comic platform owing to what appears on Prince Robot IV's face-screen as he lay injured on a battlefield.)

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 Series (The Baileys #1)
🐾 AlphaKit 2019

Lessons from a One-Night Stand (by Piper Rayne) Set in a small town in Alaska, Austin Bailey is the baseball coach who deferred his dreams of playing and coaching beyond the collegiate level to return home and take care of his siblings. With his youngest sisters about to graduate, he has his eye on a position in Southern California. Holly Radcliffe is the substitute principal who has another reason to come to Bailey's hometown, at that is to track down her father. One night, they meet in a bar and hook-up, only to discover that they are co-workers in the same high school the following Monday. It started out promising with some humor, but in the end, I was left with a sort of dreary feeling. Tension points in the story were too easily resolved, or resolved off camera after spending so much ink in building them up; There were editorial issues: "Halve" and "Have" are not the same thing at all; There were continuity errors as to who did what and; really it was too long. At 340 pages, the authors were trying to pack in a lot. Granted, as a first-in-series, they were trying to set up for the sequels, but there was just so much "stuff" going on with Austin and Bailey and not enough about their actual chemistry that I got kind of tired of reading the story. 3/5 stars (not in the LT db)

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Saga #3)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Letter "S")

Saga Vol. 3 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) - Another excellent installment in this Space Opera featuring lovers from opposite sides of a war-torn star system and their little girl. This 6-issue compilation covers Alana, Marco and, Hazel's arrival on Quietus; and their pursuers-- a pair of assassins and a former slave-girl. We also get a glimpse of a pair of reporters who are hot on the trail, and a countess whose role in this is not yet clear. There are two panels with explicit sexual content but overall this is a relatively tame volume, though still not for kids or those easily offended.

🐾 AlphaKit 2019 ("B")
🐾 Litsy Goes Postal 2019
🐾 Swedish

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (by Fredrik Backman) - This is the story of an eight-year old girl who's "different" in a way that leads me to believe she is on the spectrum. Precocious and at odds with the world, her best friend is her grandmother who tells fantastical stories. The stories have their basis in the grandmother's life experiences, as Elsa (the little girl) begins to understand as she delivers a series of letters to the people living in the apartment building where she and her grandmother lived. This book was not as easy to get into as A Man Called Ove but it's just as manipulative in a tear-jerker kind-of-way.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Seth)
🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Suitable Boy)
🐾 LT Category Challenge 2019 / Group Read 2019

______________________________
_______________ The First Independent Cabinet of India: Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of India, seen with the Members of the Union Cabinet at Government House, New Delhi, on 31 January 1950, before the President drove in State to the Indian Parliament to deliver his first address.

(L to R sitting) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sardar Baldev Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Dr. John Mathai, Shri Jagjivan Ram, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Dr. S.P. Mukerjee.
(L to R standing) Khurshed Lal, R.R. Diwakar, Mohanlal Saxena, Gopalaswami Ayyangar, N.V. Gadgil, K.C. Neogi, Jairamdas Daulatram, K. Santhanam, Satya Narayan Sinha and Dr. B. V. Keskar.

PART V

This part starts with a riot breaking out in the shoe district. Tensions run high, people are hurt and killed before finally being disbursed. Then things get political: Blame games, petty paybacks, pragmatism and fury before a controversial bill is passed into law. I guess the saying, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same" (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr) is true. The maneuverings of the newly independent Indian state feel learned from the British Colonial period; and do not feel out-of-place when applied to any twenty-first century government. One particular passage in 5.8 struck me as being close to a universal truth (Italics mine):

"'You are a case in point that a good man will not make a good politician. Just think-- if you had to do a number of outrageous things, would you want the public to forget them or remember them?'

Clearly the answer was intended to be 'Forget them,' and this was the MLA's response.

'As quickly as possible?' asked L.N. Agarwal.

'As quickly as possible, Minister Sahib.'

'Then the answer,' said L.N. Agarwal, 'if you have a number of outrageous things to do is to do them simultaneously. People will scatter their complaints, not concentrate them. When the dust settles, at least two or three out of the five battles will be yours.And the public has a short memory.As for the firing in Chowk, and those dead rioters, it will all be stale news in a week.'

The MLA looked doubtful, but nodded in agreement.

'A lesson here and there,' went on L.N. Agarwal, 'never did anyone any harm. Either you rule, or you don't. The British knew that they had to make an example sometimes-- that's why they blew the mutineers from cannons in 1857. Anyway, people are always dying-- and I would prefer death by a bullet than by starvation.'"

There is just so much to unpack in this section-- about (nascent) democracy and nationalism, the caste system and class warfare, capitalism and socialism, but to go on would seem a bit ridiculous as I don't think reading 15 sections in a lit-fic saga (no matter how deftly rendered) qualifies me to render an expert opinion. OTOH, I think it would seem somewhat disingenuous to not make direct comparison to certain current politicians ;-)

To be honest though, I just don't want to go there and stir up trouble here.

Still, Part V struck a nerve.

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 AlphaKit 2019

12 Steps to Mr. Right (by Cindi Madsen) - Savannah Gamble founded and runs a dating coaching service to help other women who are seeking serious relationships navigate the dating scene. Then the one man who broke Savannah's heart in college (and set Savanah on this path of learning from her mistakes and helping others learn from theirs) re-enters her life. Does Savannah ignore all the red flags, undermining her own program in the process; or are her rules made to be broken when it comes to Lincoln Wells? This contemporary romance starts out with a fun premise but it bogs down a bit with a slower pace than you would expect from a rom-com and runs a little long at 300+ pages. In the end, not particularly memorable.

🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Sherlock)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with and introduction by Mark Gatiss) - The first two novellas in the Sherlock Holmes canon are actually a story arc each; but this is a collection of shorts featuring the famous Victorian-era detective. In the very first story, "A Scandal in Bohemia," we meet "that woman," Irene Adler and I was excited to think there would be more of her in the stories that followed. But these are all self-contained cases with only passing reference to others. Still, it's fun: We see Sherlock's genius at work through the eyes of his friend, John Watson-- who chronicles the adventures (the narrative conceit) and, the whole of it is prefaced by Mark Gatiss (who wrote for and acted in the show, Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch.) At first reading, the prefaces for these editions (which feature Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman on the covers) seem like throwaway passages, each very similar in describing their respective first encounters with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation and, how modern and timeless the stories are. But I get their point: The stories hold up well so much so, that the fussy Victorian veneer is gone, the 21st-century iterations comfortably seating themselves in my mind as their 19th century originals run through the streets of London in pursuit or, sit by the fireplace in their flat reading newspapers. :-)

🐾 Series

Rivers of London, Vol. 6 Water Weed (by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel) - In this compilation of the four single issues that make up the story arc, DCI Peter Grant looks into a case of extraordinarily good weed-- a contact high leads Peter to believe that there is magic and, possibly slavery involved in the farming of the illegal substance in the UK. The focus of the panels and the story itself are more on the person running the drug operation than on Peter Grant trying to solve the crime, and the ending was not what you might expect (and disappointingly so.) The artwork is okay: There were a couple of panels where it was unclear what the action was, or where the characters were awkwardly posed and; a gratuitous sex scene. Luis Guerrero, the colorist did a fantastic job with his pallet, choosing complimentary colors and rendering them in the muted tones of quotidian life (vs a garish or overly vibrant pallet a la Alan Moore's comics.) There are also panels in which Peter Grant experience vestigia (echoes or traces of magic that conjure a feeling or image) that are pitch perfect.
The novella and graphic novel installments weaken the ROL series as a whole-- just not enough substance to feed what started off as sharply funny and fast-paced stories-- so, if you're interested in feeding your Rivers of London addiction, I would recommend borrowing the GNs rather than buying, otherwise it's an expensive and short-lived, and not necessarily quality, high.

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 New Releases 2019

The Kiss Thief (by L. J. Shen)

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Saga #4)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Letter "S")

Saga, Vol. 4 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)

🐾 Sexy Read

My Favorite Half-Night Stand (by Christina Lauren)

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Saga #5)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Letter "S")

Saga, Vol. 5 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)

____________________________________________________________
______________________________Woman with a saraswati veena, Tanjore Painting, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, India
______________________________© Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

PART VI

Music! I became rather curious as to all the instruments mentioned in this section and found some great videos demonstrating how the harmonium, tabla, and sitar look and are played:

The harmonium: https://youtu.be/2MojAo65MiA
The tabla: https://youtu.be/r31oe7Sm0vI
The sitar: https://youtu.be/72MCEY57_Q4

The sitar player is actually playing a raag, which is a sort of improvised composition with a melodic framework.

I'm not familiar enough with Indian music to speak of it with any authority or to break any of it down (still not clear how an alaap functions within a raag, or even able to discern it within any of the raags I've been listening to)-- but I do find the music mesmerizing. Growing up in a Western culture, it sounds exotic and beautiful but my ears are not trained to discern the nuances. Perhaps it's enough that I just listen?

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 AlphaKit 2019
🐾 LitsyGoesPostal 2019
🐾 Set in Spain

The Shadow of the Wind (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) - I just finished this around midnight last night and am still basking in a sort of "book afterglow" today! Daniel is a young man who is coming into his own: falling in love, fascinated by a book and its author, building friendships, and being measured against enemies (within and without, seen and unseen.) But this not merely a bildungsroman: There is intrigue, mystery, and something of a thriller. This is a very atmospheric novel set in Barcelona in the mid-1950s. Barcelona is a city haunted by its bloody past and it is a landscape of shadows, soot, and ruins. Very Spanish Gothic (not really a term but it fits.) Four solid stars, probably five if I were to sit down and re-read this even more carefully.

>82 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That's an excellent book. Glad to see you enjoyed it too.

🐾 Sexy Read

Welcome to the Cameo Hotel (by K. I. Lynn)

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Shawn)
🐾 Series

Whisper of Love (Whisper Lake Romance #1; by Melanie Shawn)

🐾 Title Begins with a(n) "S" (Saga)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Saga #6)
🐾 Science Fiction and Fantasy
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Letter "S")

🐾 Saga, Vol. 6 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S" (Snicket)
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Series of Unfortunate Events)

The Miserable Mill (Series of Unfortunate Events #4; by Lemony Snicket)

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Series
🐾 AlphaKit 2019

Lord of Chance (Rogues to Riches #1; by Erica Ridley) - Hoping to escape a scandalous past and find her father, Charlotte Devon heads north into Scotland where she finds herself accidentally marries to an English rakehell, Anthony Fairfax. All the bones for a good story were there: a credible plot, researched cultural norms, character development, descriptive language that painted a clear picture of where you were and the moods... but somehow it all fell flat for me. All the things did not add up to more than a superficial treatment of the characters and story (never felt like I was transported to the the time or place, nor did the characters get under my skin.) And too, the was a distinct lack of sizzle to the Charlotte and Anthony's relationship. Not only was there a noticeable lack of chemistry, the intimate scenes were very few and very bland. Nice effort, but can only give it two-and-a-half stars.

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Standalone
🐾 AlphaKit 219 (Title H)

Finished reading How Like a God (by Rex Stout) - I originally got it off the Boothbay (Maine) Library porch a few years ago, so I probably paid a quarter for it at most! I admit that I was attracted to the cover which features a femme fatale (wearing red and holding a lit cigarette) as much as anything else! This is Rex Stout's first novel and is not a Nero Wolfe story but one featuring Billy Snyder as the protagonist. Well, this wasn't what I was expecting at all! What I thought I was going to read when I picked this up was a mid-century noir story but what I got was a study in psychological suspense! We watch Billy walk up the flights of stairs to an apartment he is very familiar with, and with a gun in his right hand coat pocket. We don't know who Billy plans on shooting (until the end); or even if he has the courage to do so. Each chapter is preceded by a lettered (e.g. "A," "B," "C," etc) section describing the action in the third-person omniscient; but the chapters themselves are written in POV2-- Billy addressing himself! Really interesting and unique style.

🐾 2019 AlphaKit "S" (Quarterly)
🐾 Science Fiction/Space Opera
🐾 Title Beginning with a(n) "S"
🐾 Series Beginning with a(n) "S" (Silver Ships)
🐾 New Releases 2019

Sojourn (The Silver Ships #13 (by S. H. Jucha)

The Silver Ships series is a family-friendly space opera that is largely predicated on the first contact premise: Alex Racine and his ever increasing number of allies, heads out into space to counter enemies of the peace. There is usually a battle or two waged in every book (Apparently, war and subjugation are always required to achieve peace) and, the role of digital entitles and their rights are explored. In this particular installment, the Toralians' (bat-like creatures') home world must be defended against those who seek vengeance and, the Gotlians, another displaced sentient race (this a one tentacle-faced race) seek to establish their civilization on a water planet. Jucha has gotten away from a lot of the administrative world-building (establishing monetary systems and governments) and more into the action-oriented plots though I still would not call this military-fiction.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________Styles of Saris; Watercolor Illustrations of different styles of Sari & clothing worn by women in South Asia.; 1928

PART VII

One thing I have noticed on the fly, is the descriptions of clothing: At Savita's wedding in Book I and at the parties in this section, there are vibrant and glittering fabrics and swirls of color. But there is also attention paid to the fraying hem of a kurta, or a missing button... I laughed out loud when Mrs. Mehra was scandalized by Meenakshi's choli but also sympathized with everyone's disappointment in Varun's dissolute manner made manifest in his shabby clothing. What I found interesting was Hortense Cox's appearances on the three occasions in this section: At Arun and Meenakshi's house, she's make an impression of being a drab, mousey woman who buys her clothes "off the hook." Later at one of the parties, she is resplendent in green silk and; still later, at the race track, she's in tasteful Summer whites. One gets the impression that she's something of a sartorial chameleon!

>91 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That's a wonderful picture! And I really enjoy your comments on the book, one day I will try this myself.

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Standalone
🐾 New Releases 2019

The Unhoneymooners (by Christina Lauren)

🐾 New Releases 2019

Cicada (by Shaun Tan)

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 2019 AlphaKit "S" (Quarterly)

Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley; narrated by Dan Stevens) - I think this is the fourth time I've read this book, and just like every re-read in the past, I feel like it's a completely different book than I read last time! For those who have not read this horror classic, it's a far cry from the Hollywood and Halloween versions we are familiar with: Dr. Frankenstein, as a young man, obsessively pursues science and anatomy, and ends up crating a monster.Quickly abandoning the creature, he has nonetheless sets the wheels in motion that seals his fate. Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey) narrates this audiobook edition and he's okay-- nothing wrong really but I prefer the audio edition narrated by Simon Vance.

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 2019 AlphaKit "S" (Quarterly)

Dracula (by Bram Stoker; narrated by Steven Crossley, Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Susan Duerden, Katherine Kellgren, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm and, Simon Vance)

Produced by audible a few years ago to critical acclaim, this audiobook edition of the classic horror story takes advantage of the epistolary format to cast A-list narrators and a couple of celebrities. The story itself is about Count Dracula's attempt to enter England and the small group of Englishmen (and one woman) who attempt to stop him. It's been years (decades!) since I've read the novel so this was really new-to-me and, not knowing who was going to live or die or "un-die" provided a measure of suspense. Also, the ending was different than I remembered-- so at this point, I'm not even considering this a "re-"read! Anyway, great story as one would expect though, I'm still bewildered as to how the Count's foes were able to travel overland from England to Transylvania! I loved most of the performances which were on point, but I'm going to kill a sacred cow right here and say that Katherine Kellgren's performance was terrible. She was so over-the-top in much of her delivery, that I couldn't understand what she was saying or what was going on in several of her sections (Still have absolutely no clue as to what happened at Whitby Beach!), and other times I found her voice just _grating_.

🐾 Title begins with a(n)"S"
🐾 Series begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 2019 AlphaKits "S" (Quarterly)

The Strain (The Strain Trilogy #1 by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan; narrated by Ron Perlman) - A modern-day vampire tale set in post 9/11 NYC, this hews closer to the classic Nosferatu model of vampire than the sexy/sparkly kind. In this iteration, vampirism is a virus that zombifies human hosts, and there is a laryngeal mutation that manifests as a sort of worm stinger. The writing has a Hollywood tone: It reads like a movie-- fast and action and image oriented, without much interior thought or development. Each chapter in the audiobook included a musical bit that added to the movie feel. Oddly, though I have not read this book before or seen the 4-season TV series adaptation, I feel like I've seen this movie before.

Ron Perlman was the narrator. His performance was so "one-note" -- or more accurately monotone, that I couldn't make up my mind if he was letting the text speak for itself or, he hadn't pre-read the material before recording and so had no idea how to shape the narrative and/or, he was just absolutely bored with it all.This is the first in a trilogy and while I don't regret listening to this installment, it wasn't string enough for me to want to pick up the remaining books in the series.

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 2019 Release
🐾 AlphaKit2019 ("H")
The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient, #2; by Helen Hoang)

🐾 Series begins with a(n) "S"
Sherlock: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #4 by Arthur Conan Doyle; with an Introduction by Steve Thompson)

🐾 Title begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 AlphaKit2019 "S" (Quarterly)
Song of Solomon (written and narrated by Toni Morrison)

🐾 Series
🐾 SFF
🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 AlphaKit2019 "S" (Quarterly)
Hell Divers (The Hell Divers series, Book #1; by Nicholas Sansbury Smith)

______________________________
______________________________Somewhere in Bihar 06 threshing
______________________________Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

PART VIII

Ah! Poor Maan! Exiled to the countryside to prevent further scandal to the family!

One thing that has unnerved me about Indian culture has been the intense familial scrutiny of their relative's lives, especially the control that the parents exert over their children, even when the children are adults. The disjunct between the long-standing tradition of arranged marriages and the 21st-Century Western way of doing things is obvious-- but more surprising to me is the constant checking-up on each other. In a small town or village it is inevitable, but the the larger town of Brahmpur, it's just as intense! Even though this is a cultural norm in India, you can still sense the friction. Even as Maan chafes under the watchful eyes of his parents, he is careful to keep his tone respectful, knowing that any show of resentment or seeming defiance will avail him nothing. We see it again with Maan's tutor as Rasheed tempers his "socialist" responses to his father's scheming.

Anyway, back to Maan in the countryside. One can't help but wonder of his relationship with Saeeda Bai wouldn't have fizzled out on its own accord . She clearly likes Maan, but remains pragmatic about her livelihood. Mothers know best seems to be the prevailing axiom but by removing Maan from Saeeda Bai (and Lata from Kabir) are they creating a situation in which "absence makes the heart grow fonder" or, one in which "out of sight, out of mind?" The romantic in me loves to see young love prevail but I'm not naive enough to think that young love isn't also very fragile.

🐾 SFF
🐾 Standalone
🐾 Released in 2019

The Test (by Sylvain Neuvel)

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Series (Heartbreak Bay)
🐾 Something Sexy

Hot Winter Nights (A Heartbreaker Bay novel; by Jill Shalvis)

🐾 Series (Johannes Cabal #1)
🐾 SFF (Paranormal/Faustian Deal)
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 ("J")

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (by Jonathan L. Howard)

This a story about a necromancer who makes another deal with the Devil: The first deal was a trade of Cabal's soul for the secrets of life & death; In this deal, Johannes wants his soul back-- and the Devil agrees. For a price. This is a humorous Faustian tale set in the UK in a deliberately undefined time period.

There were a couple of nicely written and poignant moments (Ch 6, “In which Cabal Makes an Unplanned Stop and Talks About the War” and the last chapter) but overall the humor wasn‘t dark enough for me. Howard‘s writing style reminds me of Tim Robbins (w/o the sexual prurience) and while presenting interesting ideas, the “quippiness” seemed to be covering for a lack of depth— a lid on a jar if you will.

>102 Tanya-dogearedcopy: - Great review! I admit, I really loved that one as a fun piece of escapism reading!

______________________________
______________________________Ruins of British Residency in Lucknow
______________________________By Vyom.Y - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51941081

PART IX

The sun may never set on the British Empire, but there are places where it doesn't shine so bright! For nearly 200 hundred years, the British rule over India left its indelible imprint on the land, people and, culture. Even in the leaving, India had to deal with the aftermath of the Mountbatten plan as well as trying to re-establish the Indian identity. I think up until this chapter, I was thinking of India as a bicultural country-- One in which English Classics, education, and language still held sway alongside Indian culture but I was slapped into an another point of view in 9.6 (page 606) when Lata is reading Emma (by Jane Austen and the passages are cut with scenes from the India countryside:

"Lata looked down at her book.

'My poor dear Isabella,' said he, fondly taking her hand, and interrupting, for a few moments, her busy labours for some one of her five children-- 'How long it is, how terribly long since you were here! And how tired you must be after your journey! You must go to bed early, my dear-- and I recommend a little gruel to you before you go. -- You and I have a nice basin of gruel together. My dear Emma, suppose we all have a little gruel.'

An egret flew over a field towards a ditch.

A sickly smell of molasses rose form a sugar-cane factory.
The train stopped for an hour at a tiny station for no particular reason.
Beggars begged at the barred windows of the compartment.
When the train crossed the Ganga at Banaras, she threw a two-anna coin for luck outside the barred window. It hit a girder, then spun downward into the river.
At Allahabad the train crossed over to the right bank again, and Lata threw another coin out."

And then, in 9.15 (page 635-6) when Lata and her cousin are at the British Residency-cum-Museum in Lucknow, Lata comes across Tennysons's poem which smacks her as "...hardly possible... to be more racially smug than this:

Handful of men as we were, we were English in heart and in limb,
Strong with the strength of the race to command, to obey, to endure....
Now let it speak, and you fire, and the dark prisoner is no more....
Blessing the wholesome white faces of Havelock's good fusiliers..."

All this while, we've seen the tension between Hindus and the Muslims, capitalists versus socialists and communists, and pre- and post-Partition styles of governance, but this is the first time I felt the bald resentment of British colonialism.

The contrast between the adoption of English culture and the resentment and struggle for true Indian Indian independence seems to have it allegories in this chapter. I find it interesting that we are often lead to compare 19th-century British culture in the form of Janeite literature (which uses the marriage market as its premise) with mid-century Indian culture and its arranged marriages.

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"

The Grapes of Wrath (by John Steinbeck; narrated by Dylan Baker)

The flight and plight of the Joads has they are uprooted from Oklahoma and head West to California is brutal, heartbreaking and relentless. There were times that I found it difficult to work through, but my talking one turtle step at a time, I was able to finish it in three weeks. It's a powerful novel, an exposition of migration, migrant workers and social justice, and worthy of being in the Pantheon of All-Time Great American Novels, IMHO.

As for the audiobook edition, three was nothing wrong with performance of the narrator, Dylan Baker per se. I just felt that there often time thsat he just didn't hit the right note.

🐾 SFF
🐾 Title begins with a(n) "S"

Space Opera (by Catherynne M. Valente; narrated by Heath Miller)

This is an absurdist comedy about an intergalactic Eurovision-style competition in which the prize for not coming in last means that your planet and sentient species gets to live. This is a relatively short audiobook at 9+ hours but a third of the way in, I already was getting tired of all the "cleverness" and the slow plot drive. By the end, I had to conclude that this just wasn't my cup of tea sat all: Á la Douglas Adams-style humor that just wore on you, long/boring exposition (hours and hours of rambling on and on about nothing that mattered in the end,) not enough action, and a narrator that sounded so pretentious that he sounded like a parody of a British narrator! And my final quibble, this wasn't really Space Opera. When I think of Space Opera, I tend to think of relationships struck in the crucible of adventures over time. This just didn't seem quite to fit that...

🐾 SFF/Space Opera
🐾 Series (Pyreans #1)

Empaths (Pyreans #1; by S. H. Jucha) - The first book in Jucha's second series is a space opera taking place at sometime unspecified time in the future when Earthers have left their home planet in search of new habitats. It's been centuries since the Honoura Belle found themselves stranded at Pyre and, in the that tine the original founding principles of the colony's forefathers has been corrupted. The current socio-political norms are about to be upset and the catalyst is in the form of a sixteen-year-old empath. This is family-friendly drama, though not nearly as clean as Jucha's other series, The Silver Ships-- meaning that there is reference to kidnapping and rape, and a death scene, but nothing explicit. Overall, the plot outline was interesting, but over-exposition and awkward sentence construction had me skimming passages to get to key points.

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Something Sexy

The Worst Best Man (by Lucy Score) - A contemporary romance novel featuring a wealthy business man in Manhattan and a struggling female MBA candidate from Brooklyn. They meet at a wedding where they are the Best Man and Maid of Honor respectively and things don't quite go as smoothly as one might hope with either the wedding or their attraction to each other. It's a long romance novel at 468 pages (plus an extended epilogue that you can download) that deals more with the tensions created by having opposite backgrounds and cultures. The cast of supporting characters (other bridesmaids, family) often provide moments of well articulated humor and even though the author avoids cuteness, you can't help but be charmed. A slight cut above other billionaire/Cinderella stories as it deviates from the expected tropes a bit but I'm not sure I will remember this a year from now.

🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 Standalone
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Challenge "T")

A Tale of Two Cities (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser) This is my first experience of the Classic tale of self-sacrifice that begins with with the iconic opening phrase, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,..." Set in London and Paris during the French Revolution, it was a darker period than history books (which tend to gloss over the bloodiness of it all) or, obviously the musical, "Les Miserables" would have it. Perhaps we get too caught up in the idea of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" more than the actual slogan of the Revolution, "liberté égalité ou morte." Anyway, for others who have not read it, it is about friendship and love and fate and destiny and all the grands things of great stories. Dickens' notorious wordiness did not get in the way of enjoyment but perhaps that is because of the audiobook narrator, Anton Lesser. I wouldn't say this was his best performance (the Sally Lockhart series by Philip Pullman are amazing showcases for his talent) but Lesser's second-best is still leagues beyond next best! He flows into character voices seamlessly. And, I cried for the last two hours of listening and; have been basking in the afterglow since finishing it a couple of days ago :-)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Title begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Series (The Wildes of Lindow Castle)
🐾 New Releases 2019

Say No to the Duke (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #4; by Eloisa James) - I don't read much Regency Romance these days, but I've been making the exception for Eloisa James' "Wildes" series. This story follows Betsey Wilde, right after the wedding ceremony of her brother North to Diana (their romance is covered in the third-in-series Born to be Wilde.) Betsey heads to the billiards room with a Duke in tow, hoping to add him to her list of marriage proposals; but encounters the PTSD-afflicted Lord Jeremy. Eloisa James' stories are usually fun, fast reads- a bit of humor thrown in and, pretty straight-forward; but this one felt a little different. The humor is there, and the pacing pretty good; but Betsey is more modern in her thinking than any of her contemporaries, an anachronism that's a bit startling. Then the writing style is different than what I'm used to with Eloisa James. It was almost like there were two authors telling the same story and, the editor tried to blend them: POVs change swiftly and, at one point Lord Jermey refers to himself in the third person. Overall, it was a still fun, but I'm a bit disappoinnted with the overall result.

🐾 Spy Thriller
🐾 Stand-Alone

The Russia House (by John le Carré.) I bought most of le Carré's novels in second-hand condition ("cabin fodder") four years ago with the intention of bing-reading them on vacation. The first year I read a few, but since then I've only read one or two every summer. And so, here we are at the eleventh novel (in order of publication.) This is a non-Smiley spy thriller set in the late 1980s during the period of glasnost and perestroika. A manuscript from the USSR has been smuggled out of; but is the the information in the document credible? Who authored it? John le Carré builds just credible worlds that my buy-in is always immediate and absolute. Published in 1989 before the Iron Curtain fell, it shows amazing acuity or sensitivity to the issues of thawing Cold War tensions. Interestingly, there is an article in the London Review of Books about the attitudes of Cold War scientists that added a little more understanding or depth to the events that played out in the story: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n14/steven-rose/pissing-in-the-snow

Anyway, an admittedly highly-biased 5 stars from me :-D

🐾 Series (Hercule Poirot #6)

I finished off The Mystery of the Blue Train (by Agatha Christie) this morning and I'm a little conflicted on how to rate it. This was the first time I've read it (or had even heard of it prior to looking up which was the next Hercule Poirot mystery in the lineup that I've yet to read) and I think it merits a re-read-- at which point, it's like'y I will bump it up from 3-1/2 stars to 4. The mystery it self involves curses rubies, an unhappily married couple on the verge of divorce and , a rather enigmatic grey-eyed woman in receipt of an inheritance that enables her to live comfortably and travel to the Riviera. Hercule Poirot is here, retired and fussy, but amusing and surprisingly sensitive to the aforementioned grey-eyed lady. My issues with the story stem from a bit of cloak-and-dagger melodramatics and, what at first I thought of as the author not giving the reader enough information but now I'm thinking may be about plot rhythm itself. And what I mean by that, is that there are uneven drips of information and then, all of the sudden Poirot swoops in and solves the case in one paragraph.

🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 Series (Alice #1)
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 ("C")

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (by Lewis Carroll; by Scarlett Johansson) - I love the this 19th-century Classic about a girl who falls asleep on a riverbank, and falls into a dream (?) of chasing a talking, clothed, white rabbit down a hole into a nonsensical world. But this audio edition is fair from my favorite, giving credence that "you get what you pay for" (I got it as a free Audible dnload three years ago.) My first issue is with the text that was used. It included references to illustrations that are not included as a PDF with the dnload! My second and larger issue was with the audiobook narrator herself: Her flat American voice, while expressive took away from the voice of the book. The disjunct between what was expected and what was delivered was jarring. There is a section in which she affects a British accent ("The Lobtser Quadrillle") which was actually well done, except that she mispronounces "quadrille" every single time! Ms Johansson has made headlines lately with the argument that as an actor, she "should be allowed to play any person." I get it but I also think that if you make a statement like that, you should have the acting chops (and that includes performance skills like audiobook narration) to back it up. Five stars for the story but 2 stars for the audio.

🐾 Title begins with a(n) S
🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 ("C")

The Strangler Vine (Blake and Avery #1; by M. J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham) - This is a historical fiction novel with elements of mystery and adventure. Set in 1837 when the British East India Company held sway over the Southeastern continent, a young Company officer is assigned to accompany (and spy on) another Company man as they set out on a mission of political intrigue, danger and, exotic landscapes. Alex Wyndham, the audiobook narrator has his moments and overall lends credibility to the narrative. I'd be perfectly willing to listen to the next book in the trilogy.

______________________________
______________________________Worship of a sacred tree during Paush Purnima, Kumbh Mela 2013, Allahabad (India)

PART XI

Whoa. I have to admit that I'm not sure what to say here. Book XI started out so slow, boring in its way if you're not into legal mechanics but then the Pul Mela Stampede of 1954, Bhaskar and ironically, when the book ended back in court and the "verdict" regarding the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform act was passed, I was devastated by that too!

As I was reading along, I was highlighting lines about the challenges to faith that were being manifested in the text: e.g. Mrs. Kapoor's acceptance of the Ganges having been poured forth from a god's ear but non-acceptance of a bridge made from pipal leaves (because it's not based on sacred writing); The Professor's challenge to "Madam" about oxidation vs meditation and; Dipanker's own shock over the stampede vs the Rama's seeming indifference (bordering on flippancy!) But this seems like such a tiny piece of the mosaic that is this chapter.

I feel like this is the apex of the novel, the point where all other paths have led up to and from which we will see the consequences play out, serving as the backdrop for Lata's story. I do find it interesting that she and her mother were not actually here!Hmm, and neither was Maan...

🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

I finished The Ivory Grin (Lew Archer #4; by Ross Macdonald; narrated by Grover Gardner) last night. It's a good story, well told! Lew Archer (ex-cop turned detective) is hired by a rather unattractive but wealthy woman to track down a younger woman who used for work for her. This quickly escalates into something much bigger involving a missing heir, femme fatales and, enough similes to mark this as a mid-century noir. There are African-American characters and, I was afraid that there would be racist comments/language and, then I was surprised when there wasn't! Solid four stars and a keeper :-)

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Released in 2019
🐾 eries (First in projected series)

Fix Her Up (First in a projected series; by Tessa Bailey) - I've seen this book on the shelves by was on the fence about picking it up. I've read (and remembered!) Tessa Bailey novels before but she's not an "auto-buy" for me. An also, I'm not crazy about this cover but I digress... This is a contemporary romance novel set in the small town of Port Jefferson, New York. Travis Ford is an ex-baseball star and Georgie is a children's clown. Both have issues stemming from not being taking seriously and become a team of two against the world. This was sometimes funny, sometimes dirty and always entertaining. 3.75 Stars

Sound Recording
Series (first of the Tom Sawyer stories)

🐾 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain; narrated by Grover Gardner) - I read this story in print almost ten tears ago but when I saw it sitting in my audible queue (a free dnload years ago) and, I decided to give it a listen. I was extremely surprised that I had forgotten so much! This is the Classic American tale of a mischievous boy, written by satirist Mark Twain. Perhaps it's blasphemy to the Book Gods but I found I don't really care for this one (vs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.) Instead of finding Tom funnily endearing, I thought of him as lying and manipulative. I know, I know, context is everything and when it was written in 1876 and firmly into the twenty-first century, it was and will remain a favorite but I really wonder at its relevancy anymore. It lacks the timelessness of Candide (by Volatire) or even Tom Jones (by Henry Fielding.)

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) S
🐾 Series (Series of Unfortunate Events

The Austere Academy (Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fifth; by Lemony Snicket) - The is a dark series for children in which the Baudelaire orphans are handed of to a series of guardians and always being pursued by County Olaf for their wealth. The Austere Academy starts a new arc in which the Quagmire triplets are featured: Violet, Klaus and, Sunny Baudelaire are sent to a dismal boarding school where they are ostracized and vulnerable to their nemesis-in-disguise. At the school, they meet and befriend Isadora and Duncan Quagmire who share similar backgrounds, current circumstances and, future fates...

Today was a good busy day for me reading-wise and I was able to finish/disposition three books:

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) S

The Perfect Nanny (by Leila Slimani; translated by Sam Taylor) - I had been wanting to read this Prix Goncourt winner since it came out in the US, but the reviews were mixed at best so I didn't want to buy a copy. Three weeks ago, I saw it in the library and snatched it up. I read the first few chapters and set it down, never to pick it back up until I received a library notice indicating that it had been auto-renewed it. I realized that I just didn't care to continue. So a "DBF" tageand a one-star rating: The hook is in the Prologue but after that the writing seemed very superficial. None of the characters felt real (despite this having been based on a true crime) and I was left with zero interest or curiosity about events.

🐾 Title begins with a(n) S
🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) S
🐾 Series
🐾 Sexy Read

The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1; by Brittney Sahin) - This is a contemporary romance thriller set in Charlotte, NC: An ex-Marine, Michael Maddox is now a venture capitalist that focuses on veteran businesses. Kate Adams is an event planner who is hired by his firm fo put together a fundraiser inside of a week. Though attraction is instant, both have issues (PTSD for him and a stalker for her) that stand in the way. Though the story arc is well plotted and was remarkably free of editorial issues, the writing was poor, draft-level in terms of story and character development. And the sex scenes weren't particularly string either. Two stars (so no, I will not be continuing with the rest of the five-book series.)

🐾 SFF (Science Fiction)
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Quarterly Challenge "T")

We are Legion (We are Bob) (Bobiverse #1 by Dennis E. Taylor; narrated by Ray Porter) - Well this is fun! Bob in the twenty-first century is killed in Las Vegas and, per his wishes is cryogenically frozen. Fast forward three hundred years and he wakes up on a lab table-- not quite himself ;-) This is a science fiction romp through space, time and, pop culture references as Bob becomes legion. Ray Porter, the audiobook narrator, nails it :-)

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Series (Knitting in the City #1)
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Monthly Challenge "N")

Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance (Knitting in the City #1; by Penny Reid) - This is a contemporary romance comedy novel about a woman who falls for the security guard who escorts her out of her last place of employment! Character depictions, setting (Chicago) and, off beat humor were well developed; though the knitting club aspect seemed out of place and, the character of the sister seemed bizarre. There were also two or three places where an important sentence was dropped from a paragraph so it didn't really make sense. Sexy times were alluded to but not graphically described. Cute and fun. 3.75 stars.

🐾 Sound Recording

The Old Man and the Sea (by Ernest Hemingway; narrated by, yes, Donald Sutherland) this afternoon and I'm pleased to say it is one of the Good Celebrity Narrations! Donald Sutherland kept his performance understated and didn't draw attention to himself. The story is about an old fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without catching anything. He heads out to sea alone and goes out a little farther than he intended...

🐾 Series (Hercule Poirot #7)
🐾 Short Stories

The Under Dog and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot #7; by Agatha Christie) - This is a collection of nine short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and his sidekick, Captain Hastings (who had disappeared from the series by book three IIRC.) Of particular note is the short, "The Plymouth Express" which was actually the basis of the sixth book in the series, The Mystery of the Blue Train. None of the stories have the overt racism of the novels-- though there is quite a bit of classism. As with all short story collections, some are better than others but overall an entertaining way to kill a few minutes every day.

🐾 Sexy Read
🐾 Published in 2019

The Friend Zone (by Abby Jimenez) - This is a contemporary romance novel that I had ordered but after seeing a less than effusive review for it from another LT member whose tastes in romances often aligns with my own, I let it languish. I finally picked it up this week and though I usually devour romances in a single sitting, this one took me a couple of days to get through. Kristen is a young woman who has a medical condition which precludes her from having children and, Josh is a hot fireman who has made it clear that he wants lots of children of his own. This is not a rom-com but there is enough levity to keep it from being bogged down with some of the issues in play. Of course it's about true love but it's also about self-esteem, guilt and, sacrifice. Though it did have a HEA, I'm left with a relatively "heavy" feeling, not rage or disappointment but I definitely need something light and fluffy after this-- an unusual side effect of reading a romance novel.

______________________________
______________________________Toni Morrison lecture at West Point Military Academy in March, 2013.

PART XII

The first book on my daughter's Summer Reading list this year was Song of Solomon' (by Toni Morrison.) Alicia (my daughter) had to write an essay about literary devices and to help her, I showed her video interviews with Ms Morrison and, played a few clips from the audiobook (which the author narrated.) Then we moved on to other books on the list.

Last week, I was driving Alicia out somewhere and she was like, "Oh! Toni Morrison Died! ... She really had me pay attention to Author's Intent." I was a little bemused as to what my daughter meant-- so she explained, "Every word, every phrase is there for a reason. I look at everything I read and every movie I watch differently now...."

I've been thinking about this and, damn. Now I want to go back and re-read every book I've ever read, re-watch every movie I've ever seen, attend another performance of every play. Given the impossibility of this, I'm just going to have to be more selective on my re-reads and re-watches and, I'm trying to be more "conscious" going forward.

With that in mind, I've been paying particular attention to Part XII. Relative to events in the last the last couple of parts (e.g. a tiger hunt, Maan's temper, the stampede at Pul Mela stampede...) this part seems kinda boring but I have to trust that brakes to the action have been put on for a reason; that these scenes of daily life and provincial machinations set the stage for larger things to follow. The easiest set-up to spot is Mahesh Kapoor's decision to leave the Congress Party, reflective of India's internal, political shifts as the default, hardliner party (as epitomized by L.N. Agarwal) comes into conflict with the Socialist movements (Rasheed and the students.) I expect to see the political philosophy of India played out through these avatars. Another set-up that becomes clear is Mrs. Rupa Mehra discovering that Kabir is in the play along with Lata. I have no doubt that this will preclude some draconian measures on Mr's Mehra's part that will drive the narrative of finding a suitable boy for Lata into sharper focus. But Maan's return to Brahmpur and his reception by Saeeda Bai and his famlily respectively? Pran's asthma attack? The author's intent regarding these events are less clear to me.

And also, what is the deal with Saeeda Bai's bird?

>124 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I'm glad you liked that one more than I did! It still fills me with an emotion somewhere between annoyance and rage . . . although I'll admit that I was enjoying the book well enough until the last 25% or so!

🐾 Sound Recording

I couldn't sleep so I finished listening to Northanger Abbey (by Jane Austen; narrated by Juliet Stevenson) sometime near dawn! This is a Classic tale that satirizes the sentiments of novels of early nineteenth century novels (Tom Jones (by Henry Fielding is mentioned FTW!) The main character is Catherine Morland, a seventeen-year old girl who loves novels but whose imagination runs away with her as she navigates the social whirl of Bath and, later at Northanger Abbey. Told from Jane Austen's POV, the narrator's voice adds meta-irony into the story. The audiobook narrator's voice is that of Juliet Stevenson, noted British actress who delivers a performance with warm tones and the appropriate level of snark.

🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

Tilt-a-Whirl (john Ceepak Mysteries #1 by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman) - I read this one in print several years ago but it was new-tom again as I hadn't remembered the story! John Ceepak is a OIF veteran who now works as a cop in a seaside resort town. A man who lives by his code of honor and his word, he's something of an outsized boy scout! One morning, as he sits down to breakfast at the local diner, he and his partner see a young girl run down the street, her dress covered in blood... The story is told from his partner's POV, a young part-time cop who seems oddly ill-prepared for a job as a meter maid much less as a peace officer, but Jeff Woodman performs admirably. There were a couple of places where I wasn't sure who was speaking but I will continue with the series.

I've started to pick off the low-hanging fruit in my Audible library-- short-length offerings!

🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 Short Story

"A Case of Identity: A Short Story from Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Dozen" (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; performed by John Gielguld, Ralph Richardson and, Orson Welles) - Mary Sutherland makes an appearance at the Baker Street apartments, begging Sherlock to find out what happened to her fiancé. Mary suspects foul play as the intended groom had boarded a closed carriage headed to the church; but when the doors were opened at the destination he wasn't inside! This is a radio play with Gielguld as Sherlock and Richardson as Watson. Welles presents but I'm not immediately finding out who played Mar. Vintage stuff and entertaining, though not one of my favorite Sherlock cases as the resolution is a bit too absurd!

🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

Mad Mouse (John Ceepak Mysteries #2; by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman) - Taking place a few weeks after the events in Tilt-a-Whirl and over the Labor Day weekend, this follows Danny, the junior partner to Police Officer John Ceepak as they do their duty by the citizens and tourists of the resort town of Sea Haven, NJ. Someone is sniping at Danny and his friends with paint gun pellets and real-live bullets! Though Ceepak and Danny race against a deadline to discover who and why, this isn't really a Whodunnit. Light character development: We begin to see more of Ceepak as other than a cardboard cut-out figure and, Danny starts to mature. Jeff woodman narrates as Danny with ease though there are times he can't quite make up for some of the awkward writing.

🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

Alien: River of Pain (Alien #3 or #4 depending on which index you consult) by Christopher Golden; performed by Anna Friel, Philip Glenister, Colin Salmon; Alexander Siddig, Marc Warren, Michelle Ryan and William Hope) - This is the back story of Newt-- so there wasn't much of Ridley in this installment of the Alien series. The Alien series is a trilogy of books that serve as interstitial tales between the movies. In this one, the colony on LV-426 is caught up in the fight for survival on a hostile moon and the corporation that has undue influence with the whole operation. Now, a Pandora's Box of xenomorphs has been opened... This audio drama is not as cleanly produced as the first one Audible Studios produced: A couple of odd pauses, alien sounds that don't quite terrify, Newt's brother inexplicably having an Irish accent, not being able to distinguish characters in a couple of places and, overall the pacing seems a bit off.

🐾 Title begins with a(n) S
🐾 Sound Recording

The Spinning Heart (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell) - This is a lit-fic story set in a small town in Ireland after the housing bust there a few years ago. Events and characters are revealed through twelve different characters and show acts and people of quiet heroism and acts of desperation. Wayne Farrell deftly handles all the roles but I have to admit that I wasn't as impressed this time as I was when I first listened to this six years ago.

🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 Short Story

The Lost Sherlock Holmes Story? (by Anonymous; narrated by Simon Vance) - An exercise in deductive reasoning that served as a promotional bit for a bridge opening in the early twentieth century, this short story was discovered in 2015 and speculation arose that it was written by ACD as apparently he was at the event. But no notes pertaining to the story are found in his papers. Either way, it's not much of anything and, though I adore Simon Vance, he didn't seem like the right voice for this.

🐾 Series
🐾 Sexy Read

Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1; by Melissa Foster) - A contemporary romance billed as a romantic comedy, this features Ben, who has had a long-standing crush on his best friend, Aurelia -- who ironically has had a long-standing crush on him! Timing has always been off between these two and now, when it looks like they are about to come clean with each other about their feelings, a baby shows up on Ben's door! This was a disappointing story: Full of over-the-top sentiments and platitudes, lack of true tension, and a multitude of supporting cast characters (which I can only guess are set-ups for future e-books in this series.) And ti top it off, if wasn't that funny and the sex scenes were smothered in hyperbole. I ended up skimming through most passages. So. much. waste. of. words :-/

🐾 Series
🐾 Sexy Reads
Ride: The Wild Sequence #1 (by Harper Dallas)

🐾 Series
🐾 Title Begins with a(n)S
🐾 SFF
Saga: Vol. 7 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
Saga: Vol. 8 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)
Saga: Vol. 9 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)

🐾 SFF
🐾 Series
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Monthly Challenge, "W")

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells) - This is the first novella in a set of four that I picked up last August (2018) when the price of the e-book dropped from 9+ dollars to 3$.99. (Be aware though that the other three novellas-- about 150-pp in length each, are running at the non-discounted rate!) Murderbot is a SecUniit-- an organic and non-organic hybrid security guard tasked assigned to a survey team on a distant planet. The thing about Murderbot that makes them unusual is that they have disabled the module that controls them. Instead of going on a murderous rampage, however, they consume massive amounts of media (movies, shows, music, etc.!) A story of mystery, action and, intrigue develops when a neighboring survey team goes radio silent. Definitely worth checking out of the library :-)

Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2 by Martha Wells; narrated by Kevin R. Free) -Murderbot becomes autonomous and decides to head out into the universe, seeking answers to the questions rattling around in their head. In this installment, we see Murderbot grapple with trying to blend into the world at large. I listened to the audiobook edition and, while I like the story (Action! Adventure! Killer bots!), I am less than thrilled with the audiobook narrator. While Murderbot is a genderless/non-binary sentient, the audiobook narrator is clearly a young male. Somehow the casting took away form the main character's neutrality and a bit away form the Murderbot experience. Also, there were times it seemed that Free kept confusing SecUnit with SexUnit (both are in the boo but there definitely times when a "SexUnit" appeared in the wrong context!

Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3 by Martha Wells) - Murderbot heads out to a former terraforming site, continuing his ruse as a security consultant. On planet, surprises and answers to questions they didn't even know they had await Murderbot and the team he is protecting. This had a distinct "Aliens" vibe-- No, not the exploding xenomorphs part! But in the Ridley Scott-esque sets with wide cavernous space and tight tension. This installment is my favorite in the series :-)

🐾 Sexy Reads

The Mistress Anetakis Tycoons (#1 by Maya Banks)

🐾 SFF
🐾 Series

Dark Life (Dark Life #1; by Kat Falls; narrated by Keith Nobbs - After the collapse of the Eastern seaboard into the rising oceans, people start colonizing the ocean floor. With classic pioneer spirit, they attempt to forge a future with its unique challenges inherent to underwater life. Against this backdrop, fifteen year-old Ty loves to explore but comes across more than he bargained for-- including a Top Sider named Gemma, a dangerous outlaw who is more than he appears to be and, a political conspiracy! But overall, it was just okay. Though the settings and world-building are well-done, the plot itself does not offer any surprises. 3/5 stars

🐾 Sexy Reads
🐾 AlphaKit 20 (Monthy Challenge "W")

Wanderlust (From Paris with Love #1); by Lauren Blakely)

🐾 Sound Recording
🐾AlphaKit (Quarterly Letter "T")

Tom Jones (by Henry Fielding; by Bill Homewood) . -At close to 38 hors total running time, this will undoubtedly be my longest listen of the year and on I probably would not have tackled without the existence of the Read Along hosted by DeltaQueen :-) A satire of eighteenth-century mores, it's surprisingly accessible and relevant to today, though the references to Classical Greek and Roman writers was a but challenging in spots (I mostly derived the intent of the passage from the context rather than take the time out to properly research the references-- So yeah, laziness on my part!) Full of snarkiness and melodrama, I enjoyed it. Bill Homewood delivered exactly the right note of condescension and sly humor to keep the story engaging. My only quibble was that there were a few places where you could here him turn/shuffle pages. 4/5 stars.

🐾 SFF
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 Series

The October Man (Rivers of London #7.5; by Ben Aaronovitch; narrated by Sam Peter Jackson) - This was meant to be something of a palate cleanser as this urban fantasy series is known for its clever and fun writing; But this was definitely a miss for me. Set in Maintz, Germany, a wizard-detective on par to Peter Grant in London, is assigned to a case in which a a man is discovered has having suffocated by a very fast-growing mold. Vineyards and wine-making, river goddesses and revenants are all brought in but I never got a sense of the detective himself. Despite the short length of the audio (less than 4.5 hours) I somehow missed the wizard-detective 's name, description and background! Sam Peter Jackson sounds like a British narrator with excellent fluency in German--but I think I might have been better off reading this one rather than listening. 2/5 stars

🐾 SFF/SFFkit201919
🐾 Sound Recording

Redshirts (by John Scalzi; narrated by Wil Wheaton) - This is a satire of the Star Trek series: Its suspect science and technology, lazy plotting devices and, overall campiness. In a future time in a distant galaxy, five ensigns on a spaceship twig on to the fact that there's something very suspicious about the away team assignments! The whole adventure gets very meta (not the least of which is having Wil Wheaton narrate! :-D ) and is actually a lot of fun. 4/5 stars

🐾 SFF
🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

Rewinder (Rewinder Book #1; byBrett Battles; narrated by Vikas Adam)
This is time travel book of sort in which Denny Younger, a lower caste member in an alternate universe, is brought up through the societal ranks when he becomes a genealogical researcher. The best evidence to confirm a family's history is first-hand experience and, the agency that Denny works for has the means to make that happen! They are trained to bear witness and be careful to not change history, but the smallest mistake can have huge ramifications... This is a YA/New Adult title that was surprisingly boring. Picking it apart, everything seems to be in order: interesting premise, well depicted settings and people, tension and, an exciting and clever ending ... but oddly the whole ending up being somehow less than the sum of its parts. I wasn't that thrilled with the audiobook narrator either. Most of the narrative was fine (POV1) but the women's and girl's voices sounded weird and, there were enough female characters in the story to make this problematic. Though this is a first-in-series, the story does not end in a cliffhanger-- which is just as well for me as I won't be continuing in the series. 3/5 stars.

🐾 SFF
🐾 Series
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Monthly Challenge "W")

Exit Strategy (Murderbot Diaries #4 by Martha Wells) - Things come full circle for Murderbot in that armed with answers (and an arm cannon!) he returns to fit all the puzzle pieces into place. More action, killer bots and sarcastic humor still make this a Pick, but this is probably the weakest installment in the tetralogy. Action lines/choreography were not clear and I often found myself re-reading a passage a couple of times, trying to sort things out. As for Murderbot , while not human, he now comes across as someone very like someone on the Spectrum: Inability to process emotion, issues with sensory intake (direct eye contact, touch) and, a laser-like focus on not only the task at hand but with their coping mechanism of watching media. Still a Pick for overall effect and plot. Can't wit for the full-length novel Wells has promised for 2020!

🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 AlphaKit 2019 (Monthly Challenge "G")

Whack A Mole (by Chris Grabenstein; narrated by Jeff Woodman) -This is the third title in the John Ceepak series wherein Ceepak and his partner, Danny Boyle solve cases in the seaside resort town of Sea Haven, NJ. The previous two books were what I considered great Summer beach reads-- not too graphic, light banter, but this one took a much darker turn in style and tone. Ceepak's hobby of metal detecting on the beach turns up a charm bracelet from the 1980's and, he looks into the story of how it might have gotten there. What follows develops into a case involving a serial killer of a particularly gruesome bent, a touch of religious fanaticism and mental instability. The story is told form Danny's POV and his usual light heartedness and turned into sarcasm and cynicism. Jeff Woodman did a great job as always. I'm giving third 3.5 out of 5.0 stars though because one of the plot points didn't make sense in terms of following up a lead. Not a huge deal, but one that stuck out in my mind and made the story a little less credible.

🐾 Stand-Alone
🐾 Sound Recording
🐾 SFF/SFFkit (Monthly Challenge "Comedy")

This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us (by Edgar Cantero; narrated by January LaVoy) - This a parody of the detective noir genre and features twins who are co-mingled genetically in the same body. It's all so weird and bizarre that I'm honestly a little uncomfortable when I laugh (am I supposed to find this or that part funny?) I just don't know what to make of the plot, the characters, the design and tone of the narrative.. so I'm not going to rate it for now. I do know that I am hesitant to pick up another book by this author so there's that strike against it. But on the audiobook side of things, January LaVoy!

🐾 Author's last name begins with a(n) "S"
🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Series
🐾 Released in 2019

The Price of Scandal (Bluewater Billionaires Romantic Comedy series #1; by Lucy Score)
The Mogul and the Muscle (Bluewater Billionaires Romantic Comedy series #2; by Claire Kingsley)
Wild Open Hearts (Bluewater Billionaires #3 by Kathryn Nolan)
Crazy for Loving You Bluewater Billionaires #3 by Pippa Grant)

🐾Author's Last Name begins with a(n) "S
🐾 SFF/Space Opera
🐾 Series
🐾 Sound Recording

The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1; by John Scalzi; narrated by Wil Wheaton) - This is the first in a series about the collapse of something called The Flow, an interstellar tide of sorts that enables ships to to cross space in better-than-real-time. The Empire is based on commerce so when it looks like The Flow is falling apart, it threatens the collapse of the empire. I really like Scalzi's writing: It moves quickly with clearly depicted characters and settings without the heavy exposition. This is a space opera that has truly engaging intrigue, action, tension, and satisfying comeuppances! It has the right dash of humor and humanity, some interesting ideas about future tech and society and the pacing of the plot is just right. It does end on something of a cliffhanger though, which instead of having me want to dnload the next one, had me sighing in disappointment. Wil Wheaton seems to be his choice of narrator and it works! The narrator gets Scalzi's sense of humor and sarcasm.

🐾 Stand Alone
🐾 Released in 2019

The Cockroach (by Ian McEwan)

🐾 Series begins with a(n) "S"

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock #5; by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Introduction by Benedict Cumberbatch)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019

Once Upon a Holiday (by Claudia Burgoa

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019
🐾 Series

My Boss's Sister (Make Her Mine #3 by Alexis Winter)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019

Junk Mail (by Kendall Ryan)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019
🐾 Series

Man Cuffed (by Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Series

Kissing Jenna (Big Sky #2 by Kristen Proby)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019
🐾 Series

The Lineup (Sport "Stand Alones" #3 by Meghan Quinn)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Released in 2019
🐾 Series

That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1; by Meghan Quinn)

🐾 Something Sexy
🐾 Series

Piece of Work (Red Lipstick Coalition #1; by Staci Hart)
Player (Red Lipstick Coalition #2; by Staci Hart)

🐾 Author's Last Name Begins with a(n) "S"

Fast Food Nation (by Eric Schlosser)

The book is an expository non-fiction work covering the history and business practices of fast-food franchises, the farms and ranches that supply the fast-food restaurants, and the people behind the counters and corporate desks. Despite this edition being nearly twenty years old, there is a lot that hasn't changed and will definitely make you think before you order another Big Mac!

Alongside an article I read about animal cognizance*, and another about an animal rights group** (which led me down a metaphorical rabbit hole of videos,) I've made some changes in my life: No more fast-food restaurants, and less meat overall in my diet. There may very well be a point in which I become a total vegetarian, but I'm not quite there yet: I still eat seafood/shellfish and I had pepperoni on my pizza the other day, but other than that, I've been pursuing more vegetarian options. Luckily, my DH who does all the cooking in the house is very supportive despite his own prediction for a carnivorous diet :-)

* https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/what-the-crow-knows/580726/
** https://www.wired.com/story/direct-action-everywhere-virtual-reality-exposing-fa....

It's the End of the Year Wrap-Up for me! This year, I knew getting any reading done would be a challenge: I work at a start-up company and the hours are long but I did manage to meet my personal goal of 100 books (actually came in at 114!)-- 40 from my TBR stax (up from my original target of 25.) Sadly, however, I didn't meet the challenge of reading Shakspeare's histories (only read 1, King John) and only made it to Book the Fifth in the Series of Unfortunate Events, The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket.) I also didn't manage to get a Stephen King novel in this past October or more than the one John le Carre spy thriller, The Russia House but I think I can get them in next year if I'm more realistic about my time. One thing that I learned is that really, I don't get much reading in past October so I need to keep that in mind as I make up my lists for next year.

I'm going to try and get one more book finished by the end of the year (or close to it)-- A Suitable Boy (by Vikram Seth.) I'd like to get a bit of closure in for the year-long group read I'm hosting.

You did well reading 114 books while taking care of the job. I have to say I've enjoyed the photos of Spike and look forward to more in 2020.

Happy New Year!