March 2017: BingoDOG reads

Since this thread has not been set up, I'm starting it. I have read Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg, which I'm putting in the Read a CAT square. I read it for the Awards CAT; it was a Newbery Honor book in 1968 when the author's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won. I could have put it in the Title Refers to Another Literary Work square, but already have purchased Reader, I Married Him edited by Tracy Chevalier for that square.

Thanks for starting this month's thread, Allison. I just finished a book that could have counted for two different squares as well, I decided to put Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore in the "Book About Books" square. I also read Murder At Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey and have counted it for the "Beach Community/Resort" square.

I read the first issue of the new America comics, which I'm counting for the "place name in title" square.

Also, just finished After the Crown by K.B. Wagers for the "author uses initials" square.

I'm currently reading The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters, which works for the "next book in a series you've already started" square.

I'm counting The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth as my "title contains a reference to another literary work".

I finished Roxelane which is set in Turkey and used it for the "country you have never visited" square. A great piece of historical fiction about the favourite wife of Suleiman the Magnificent.

Just finished Ghost Songs: a memoir by Regina McBride for the 'author abroad' square. The author was born in Yonkers, moved with her family to New Mexico in her early teens, and as a young adult (after both parents committed suicide within a few months of each other) spent a number of years in Ireland, searching for her heritage. A compelling and ultimately redemptive tale of how we cope with losses in our lives.

I've read Human Chain by Irish poet Seamus Heaney for the author born in the 1930s square. Heaney was born in 1939.

Author uses initials

Naked in Death / J.D. Robb
3.5 stars

This is the first in the series. Sharon is a “licensed companion” (i.e. an upscale prostitute) who has been murdered. Her grandfather is a high-ranking conservative politician, who doesn’t want detail of the murder to get out. Eve Dallas is the lieutenant investigating the murder.

I really liked the story, and would have given it 4 stars, if not for the love interest, who I really, really disliked. If he’d been there, but not as a love interest, or not been there at all, or had a completely different personality, I would have liked it better. Oh, there was a big reveal “scene”, but I was slightly lost with the use of familial terms, as somehow I had missed some of those familial connections and how some of them were connected to others, so until the end of the reveal, I wasn’t quite sure who was doing what to whom! The ending was very good, with some edge-of-your-seat moments right up until the end and there was a little twist. I have the next two books in the series, so I will read them, but if this love interest sticks around, I’m not sure if I’ll continue beyond the books I have.

Interesting… with my review written (except for this little extra bit), I’m perusing other reviews. I see I’m in a minority for not liking the love interest. Also (though a few things confused me and this explains it), I seem to have missed that this was set in the future… Even worse, I see that someone (though they seem not to think it’s a spoiler… seems to me it’s a pretty big one), has spoiled the rest of the series for me, and apparently I may not be reading much beyond the next two books, unless something changes

I've finally finished another Bingo block book - An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor for the "set in a country you've never been to" square.

I just read Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear for the Next in a series square. It is the third Maisie Dobbs novel; I read the second one Birds of a Feather for the MysteryCAT several years ago.

Although I've filled in 12 squares (nearly half), I do not yet have a bingo. Most of my bingo reading has been books I've read for the CATs or my book club.

>12 sallylou61: Yeah, I've got 14 read, but no bingo yet!

>13 LibraryCin: It's interesting. We both have 2 rows with 4 squares filled, and although we are using different bingo cards, neither of us have read a satire which would give us a bingo.

Also, it looks as if we are reading what we want to read when instead of reading specifically for a bingo.

>14 sallylou61: Yes, exactly! Later in the year, I'll probably make a point to find a few that I know will be trickier for me, and specifically work those in, but to start out, I do tend to be able to fill many squares with what I'm reading, anyway, which is kind of nice.

I finished Ein Held unserer Zeit, a Russian classic which has been adapted several times for TV and the movies.

I finished The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross, which I counted for "Set in a beach community" since large portions of it take place on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

I used The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg for the place name in title square.

Colour in the title

Copper Sun / Sharon M. Draper
3.5 stars

It is the 18th century. Amari is a 15-year old girl in her village in Africa when the village is attacked by white people and the survivors are chained up and taken away. Amari has a boy she was intending to marry, but obviously that will no longer happen (though he survived the initial attack, as well). To no surprise to the reader, they are shipped to the United States where they become slaves. On the plantation that Amari goes to, she becomes unlikely friends with a white girl around her age - Polly is an indentured servant.

It’s a YA book, so it doesn’t go into as much detail as adult books might, nor is it as complex, but it was still good. I’m still not sure if Fort Mose in Florida is real, though. It’s someplace I hadn’t heard of.

I've decided to use The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas for the "set in a time before you were born" block.

I finished Castle Rackrent on Friday and I'll take credit for 'place name in title'.

I've read a few more this month, but I have yet to obtain a Bingo!

Katherine Arden, The Bear and the Nightingale -- I'm using it for the "country you've never been to" square, as the book is set in Russia. Obviously, it would also work for the "animal in the title" square. :) I really loved this one; definitely recommended for fans of historical fiction or fairytale/folktale retellings!

C.H.B. Kitchin, Death of My Aunt -- For the "author uses initials" square. A competent Golden Age mystery, but not destined to be a favorite.

Tana French, The Likeness -- For the "place you'd like to visit" square: I've never been to Ireland but am dying to go! I don't normally gravitate toward this type of mystery/thriller, but French's books have been very compelling so far. I'll definitely be continuing with the series.

Winston Graham, Jeremy Poldark -- I'm currently reading this one, and it will go in the "published in the 1940s-1960s" square. Pub date is 1950.

I have counted In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson for the "Author Abroad" square.

I've put In a Dry Season, by Peter Robinson, on the "author uses my initials" square. P.R. is the reverse of my username initials (RP).

Place name in title

On the Banks of Plum Creek / Laura Ingalls-Wilder
4 stars

In the 4th Little House book, following Laura Ingalls-Wilder and her family, they have just arrived in Minnesota, where they trade a few of their things with a Norwegian farmer for his land and sod house, built right in to the hill. The girls go to school and church for the first time. The Ingalls family has to deal with drought and grasshoppers on their farm, as well as winter prairie blizzards.

This is where many of the characters from the tv show are from; we meet Nellie Oleson in this book. One of my favourite chapters was their first Christmas tree at the church. These books are so very good at descriptions: the descriptions of the farm, the sky, the weather, the grasshoppers, the blizzards… These books are just really enjoyable!

Published 1940s to 1960s

A Stir of Echoes / Richard Matheson
4 stars

It started with a party at a neighbour’s place and one friend who said he’d like to hypnotize someone. Tom said he’d be hypnotized, but later that night, he couldn’t sleep… and there was a “woman” in his house. That is, possibly a ghost? From there, Tom seemed to be able to sense what others were feeling… then he seemed to be able to “see” things happen before they happened… And on and on…

I really liked this. Not only was all this going on with Tom, but Tom has a wife and young son. His wife, in particular, was very upset about the whole thing, so in addition to Tom trying to figure out what was going on with himself, the book also explored how this was affecting their relationship. And there was a surprise ending.

For the "Country I've Never Been To" square, I used The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi which takes place in India.

For the "appeals to the senses" square, I read The Secret Place by Tana French. This book is full of vivid descriptions of the setting -- its sounds, smells, lighting, architecture, etc.

I read Bombshells Vol. 1: Enlisted, which is set during World War II, for the "set in a time before you were born" square.

I used Eileen for the one-word title square. This was the only square I filled on my card all month. I must have gotten through the easy ones.

I've just started Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones, which works for the "author born in the 1930s" square; DWJ was born in 1934.