April AlphaKIT: U and O

Welcome to the 2024 AlphaKIT.
This is an unofficial challenge for the 2024 Category Challenge Group. Each month has two letters selected for you to use however you choose.

There are no rules. Have fun and enjoy reading. April letters are: U and O

and

If You like, update the WIKI with your reading:

I do need to update my March readings to the wiki!

Thank you for all you do.

I'm planning on Under the Heavens by Ruth Fox as my 'U' book, and Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver as my 'O' Book.

I'm planning on The Oppenheimer Alternative and The Unfinished Clue

Surprisingly enough I have quite a few possibilities, so I'll wait and see how they fit with other challenges first

Planning to knock out both letters with The Regional Office Is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales.

My book club is reading Oath & Honor by Liz Cheney that will fit.

My book club is reading Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney so hopefully I'll get to that.

U is always a bit "trickier". I generally will have something on the tbr, but it's less likely something else I'm reading anyway will fit. I'll take a closer look on the weekend to see what I've got.

I hope to read two books that have been very high on my to read list for a long time:

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien
Owuors Heimkehr by Stefanie Zweig

O and U are both letters that I do not have many books for, so I expect that these will remain the only ones.

I am counting Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers for this one, and not sure what else I will choose.

I am planning on reading In the Blood by Lisa Unger and, finally, The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

I'm planning on Montmorency on the Rocks by Eleanor Updale and Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan but we'll be away for a couple of weeks so I'm not sure.

missed the April thread announcement. I'm late!

Death Of a Chocoholic ✅
Death Of a Coupon Clipper ✅
Death Of an English Muffin ✅
Digging Up History ✅
Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies ✅
Murder Checks Out
Murder Once Removed
Overdue or Die
Serving Up Spite
Sign Of Four Spirits ✅
Underground Library ✅

Finished an O: Opposite of Always

I'm listening to The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks for O.

I just finished Ellis Peters's One Corpse Too Many.

I read On Retreat with Thomas Merton which was not what I expected, but the black and white photos were interesting.

Starting "Darius The Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

COMPLETED Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Finished The Regional Office Is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales, which hits both letters.

I've finished Montmorency on the Rocks by Eleanor Updale.

Finished another O: One Cowboy, One Christmas

COMPLETED A Leg To Stand On by Oliver Sacks

Starting "Language Unlimited" by David Adger

I changed my mind and read The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal for my "O" book this month.

Requiem / Lauren Oliver
3.5 stars

This is book 3 of (I believe) a trilogy. The gist of this dytopian trilogy is that people are “cured” of a disease with a surgery when they come of age. That disease is love. They will no longer feel love. They are then paired with someone to marry. But there is a group of people who don’t want this to happen, at least to them. This book follows Lena and Hana, once best friends. Their points of view alternate.

Possible spoilers for previous books: Lena is living with a group of people in the “wilds”; she has not had the surgery nor does she want to. Hana has had the surgery and is slated to marry Fred. Fred’s father was the mayor, but he died in an uprising and Fred is now mayor. He emphasizes how much he despises the uncured. He was married previously to Cassie, but Cassie seems to have disappeared.

I listened to the audio and this was good. Once again, it took a bit for me to figure out who many of the characters were (though I knew the main characters). It was interesting to see Hana’s and Lena’s different viewpoints, given where they each were at this point in their lives. I found Hana’s POV a bit more interesting than Lena’s. I did like how it ended.

COMPLETED Language Unlimited by David Adger

For U: Gods of the Upper Air

I finished The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks for O. It was interesting, but felt a bit like being presented with a series of freaks at the fair. Language was rather technical for a non-specialist and, in places, it showed its age.

I left my original plan and listened to The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama as my first O book.

For U, I read All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
Ky Tran, a Vietnamese-Australian journalist, decides to investigate the murder of her younger brother, Denny in Australia. The examples of racism are well known nowadays, as are the strict rules of immigrant parents. A promising debut novel but it was slow and went on a bit too long.

May AlphaKIT is up.

Up and Down / Terry Fallis
4 stars

David used to work in Ottawa, but moved to Toronto to be closer to his dying mother, who has been mostly taken care of by his sister. His new job is with a PR firm and he is thrown into the fire immediately to help with a NASA campaign. Some love, some don’t, his idea of a “citizen astronaut” campaign. People can enter to randomly be selected to go up to space, as long as they can pass the training requirements. But the people at NASA who matter love the idea and it’s on. There will be one winner from the US and one from Canada. But someone (in the DC office of the PR firm) have specific ideas about who they think should win the “random” draw. And the random person in Canada? Definitely not what anyone expected!

This was fun! Fallis’ books are humourous and this was definitely that. And I loved L Percival, Canada’s winner. There were interesting “side” stories for both David and L Percival. The PR guy in DC was horrible! But, I suppose, for the humourous slant of the novel, it makes sense to have some over-the-top characters. I really should read more of Fallis’ books (I’ve already read the political ones with Angus, but no others -- yet.)

I read Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning for another O.

Starting Just By Looking At Him by Ryan O'Connell

I have completed my reads of In the Blood by Lisa Unger and The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

I finished Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts; I'm also planning on reading One by One by Ruth Ware.

I have finished a re-read of Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian.

I read The Use and Abuse of the Bible by Henry Wansbrough for U & O

Another book for O is L'Ombre du Vétéran, historical fiction from the Napoleonic Wars.

Finished Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver as my 'O' book! Full review written, but this calm little book of poetry is a lovely read.

For O: I read Over My Dead Body by Jeffrey Archer
Archer can be relied on to write a page-turner in perfect English and without resorting to sex, swearing or violence. This is the 4th in the William Warwick series and I’m looking forward to the next two episodes that will close the series.

I read The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older for both letters.

I just finished The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn for O. Still need to read a U book for this month...I've got a couple options and just hope I can find time for them!

Finished Under the Heavens by Ruth Fox and wrote a full review. I did enjoy it, but I admit it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. The book is a blend of space opera, climate fiction, and young adult dystopian, and I'd hoped for a little bit more of the climate element and a little bit less of the YA angst. I probably won't go on with the series, but if Fox turns to writing adult material, I'll definitely pick it up. (I've given it 4 stars because, in large part, I think the book just wasn't for me vs. that it has many failings as the book it is--I suspect it would be 5* for a lot of writers who enjoyed YA stuff more.)

I read Other Men's Horses and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Read for O : Valley of the Shadow by Carola Dunn

I finished The Lies we Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood for U.
It's compared to Circe and Song of Achilles. Trust me - it's not in that league.

I finished one more U, Much Ado about Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin.

I have finally read a book for U: Undine und andere Erzählungen, which contains three classic stories from the German Romantic period. The style is very much over the top for modern tastes. It also provides a review written by Edgar Allan Poe.

I finally finished The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones, for another O book.

Hooray, I finished my U book, Under a Dark Moon by Stella Riley. Fans of historical romance should definitely check out her work!

Another book for O is Der grüne Fürst by Heinz Ohff. A biography of Prince Hermann Pückler-Muskau who led an incredibly adventurous life and left two famous English gardens.

I finished a U and two Os:
The Museum of Unconditional Surrender by Dobravka Ugresic
The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Wonderful O by James Thurber

No U books this month, but here are my O books:

Mad Monkton and Other Stories, Wilkie Collins (1881)
"Oedipus the King" from The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles
How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis (1890)

I wish to add my second O book and my only U book of the month:

Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. by Christopher Tolkien

>56 MissBrangwen: Have you seen the TV adaptation of Heartstopper? I haven't read the books because I don't want any spoilers for the adaptation, but I gather season 1 covers volumes 1 and 2 and season 2 covers volume 3 and a bit of volume 4. Season 3 is coming out at the beginning of October.

>57 Robertgreaves: I haven‘t seen it so far but I want to after I have finished the books. So far I have only watched a few scenes on YouTube and I think that the actors were chosen incredibly well!