countrylife's CATs

You're all too clever a lot to mix with - I'm not even going to try ! But the CAT-challenges look interesting to me, so I'm in for the Mystery, Random, Geo, and (unofficial) Alpha Challenges. Happy New Reading Year, everyone!

Last year I only participated in the Alpha and Random CAT challenges, and did not try to structure a personal challenge for myself so that you are not the only one just participating in CAT challenges.

Hi Cindy! I'll look forward to your selections for the CATs!

Welcome! Enjoy the CATs!

Hi, Cindy! I've got you starred!

This group is all about flexibility. Whatever floats your boat! Have fun!

JANUARY CATs and Kittens:

GeoCAT (Canada/US):
Focus (Immigration) (boldened):
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (US:NYC)
Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (US:California)
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (US:Across the states)
The lost art of mixing by Erica Bauermeister (US:Washington)
One of ours by Willa Cather (US:Nebraska)
Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite De Angeli (US:Pennsylvania)
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (CA:Alberta)
Winter Range by Claire Davis (US:Montana)

MysteryCAT (Detective Novels - not employed by law enforcement):
Pardonable lies by Jacqueline Winspear

RandomCAT (The Janus Rules):
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Winter Range by Claire Davis
Ira says goodbye by Bernard Waber
How the leopard got his claws by Chinua Achebe
Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite De Angeli
Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
Think of a Number by Charles Verdon
One of ours by Willa Cather

AlphaKIT (D & V):
Winter Range by Claire Davis
Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite De Angeli
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
Think of a Number by Charles Verdon
Hippocrates' Shadow by David H. Newman

GastroKIT (any food):
The lost art of mixing by Erica Bauermeister

January Reading that fit NO CATs:
How to become ridiculously well-read in one evening by E. O. Parrott

Experimenting with how I want to list my CATs. Not sure I like the repeated titles above. Trying another format:

JANUARY CATs & Kittens:

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (2.7) (CAT:Janus; KIT:Alpha)
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (4 stars) (CAT:Geo & Focus, Janus)
Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (3.1) (CAT:Geo, Janus)
Hippocrates' Shadow by David H. Newman (5) (KIT:Alpha)
How the leopard got his claws by Chinua Achebe (3) (CAT:Janus)
How to become ridiculously well-read in one evening by E. O. Parrott (2.8) (NO CATs)
Ira says goodbye by Bernard Waber (3.5) (CAT:Janus)
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (3.7) (CAT:Geo, Janus)
The lost art of mixing by Erica Bauermeister (3.6) (CAT:Geo; KIT:Gastro)
One of ours by Willa Cather (3.2) (CAT:Geo, Janus)
Pardonable lies by Jacqueline Winspear (3.5) (CAT:Mystery)
Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite De Angeli (4) (CAT:Geo & Focus, Janus; KIT:Alpha)
Think of a Number by Charles Verdon (3.6) (CAT:Janus; KIT:Alpha)
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (4.4) (CAT: Geo & Focus, Janus)
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala (2.5) (CAT:Janus; KIT:Alpha)
Winter Range by Claire Davis (3.6) (CAT: Geo, Janus; KIT:Alpha)

Welcome - yes, anyway you want to set up your challenge is fine by us. The more the merrier!

FEBRUARY CATs and Kittens:

GeoCAT (Middle East & North Africa):
Focus (Holy Land) (boldened):
Sweet Dates in Basra by Jessica Jiji (Iraq)
Angels Don't Die by Soren Petrek (Israel)

MysteryCAT (Series):
The Shopkeeper by James D. Best (Steve Dancy #1)
Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Dr. Siri #4)
Itsy Bitsy Spider by Willow Rose (Emma Frost #1)

RandomCAT (Juvenile & Young Adult):
Thunder from the Sea by Jeff Weigel
Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbitt
Hitty by Rachel Field

AlphaKIT (H & R):
H:
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
Hitty by Rachel Field
Champagne: The Farewell by Janet Hubbard
The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein
R:
Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Itsy Bitsy Spider by Willow Rose
Sima's Undergarments for Women by Ilana Stanger-Ross

GastroKIT (Valentine's Day/Candy/Dessert or champagne):
Champagne: The Farewell by Janet Hubbard

February Reading that fit NO CATs:
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner
The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss

Looks like a very productive February!

I think you managed more CATs than I did.

MARCH CATs and Kittens:

GeoCAT (Central America, Mexico and Caribbean):
Focus (The Commonwealth Nations) (boldened):
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (Jamaica & the high seas thereabouts)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (Mexico)

MysteryCAT (YA and Children's Mysteries):
The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Midnight is a Place by Joan Aiken
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

RandomCAT (bird in the title or in the cover illustration):
The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (homing pigeons)
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (blackbirds)
The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert (swan)

AlphaKIT (L and M):
L:
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
M:
The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield
The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

GastroKIT (Irish/St. Patrick's Day/green food or beer):
The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield (Beer. Irish beer, no less!)

March Reading that fit NO CATs:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (5 stars)
The Fault in our Stars by John Green (4.5)
Perfect by Rachel Joyce (3.9)
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (2.9)

You're having lots of fun with the CATs. Good for you!

I haven't done nearly so well on the CATs.

Hi Cindy, you are doing really well with all the Cat Challenges. I enjoyed Lost Lake last month as well and I am glad to see you gave The Rosie Project 5 stars as I hope to read that before year's end.

APRIL CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (Eastern Europe):
Focus (Occupation) (boldened):
The boy in the suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol (Lithuania)
The Property by Rutu Modan (Poland)
The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman (Poland)

MysteryCAT (Nordic Mysteries):
The boy in the suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol (Denmark & Lithuania)
A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Denmark)
The man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (Sweden)

RandomCAT (Poetry):
Men Who March Away by I. M. Parsons (WWI Poetry)

AlphaKIT (I and P):
I:
The boy in the suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol (title)
Life is Short but Wide by J. California Cooper (title)

P:
Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (title)
Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons (author)
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (title)
The Property by Rutu Modan (title)
The Sea Captain’s Wife by Beth Powning (author)

Both I and P:
Journey into the Past by Stefan Zweig (title)
Men Who March Away by I. M. Parsons (author)

GastroKIT (Seafood or Juice):
Slipknot by Linda Greenlaw (cod fishing)

April Reading that fit NO CATs:
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Feels Like Home by Maggie Shayne
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias
Home by Toni Morrison
Open Season by C. J. Box
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Running from the Devil by Jamie
Tell Me by Lisa Jackson
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

MAY CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (South Asia):
Focus (India) (boldened):
The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar (India)

MysteryCAT (Classic & Golden Age):
And then there were none - Agatha Christie

RandomCAT (Motherhood):
The Sweet By and By - Todd Johnson
The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar
Bound to You - Vanessa Holland

AlphaKIT (E and U):
E:
The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty (author)

U:
The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar (title and author)

GastroKIT (Dairy or Coffee):
Dairy Queen - Catherine Gilbert Murdock (dairy farm)

JUNE CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (Islands and Water):
Focus (Atlantic Ocean) (boldened):
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
The Lighthouse by P. D. James
The Blackhouse by Peter May

MysteryCAT (Police Procedurals):
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
The Lighthouse by P. D. James
In the Woods by Tana French
The Blackhouse by Peter May
The Likeness by Tana French
Test of Wills by Charles Todd
The Bat by Jo Nesbø

RandomCAT (Rose in Title):
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (Black Baccara Hybrid Tea Rose)
The Lighthouse by P. D. James (Morning Light)

AlphaKIT (A | Q):
A:
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (author)

Both A and Q:
Second Sight by Amanda Quick (author)

GastroKIT (Meat or Red Wine):
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (Linganore Winecellars Black Raven)
The Lighthouse by P. D. James (Lighthouse Red – Cape May Vineyard)

When are we going to start discussions on the CATs for 2015?

Did you mean to post this somewhere else, Chèli? I don't have anything to do with CAT organization. But I believe that it was over in this thread where it was mentioned that discussion would start in August: http://www.librarything.com/topic/160893

my apologies - wrong thread - sorry.

JULY CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (Polar Regions):
Focus (Antarctic Research Station) (boldened):
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

MysteryCAT (Hard Boiled and Noir):
Britten and Brülightly by Hannah Berry
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

RandomCAT (Books About Books):
The last Dickens Matthew Pearl

AlphaKIT (C | W):
C:
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan (author)
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (author)

W:
Hunter's Stew and Hangtown Fry, What Pioneer America Ate and Why by Lila Perl (title)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (title)

GastroKIT (Fruits or Tea):
Britten and Brülightly by Hannah Berry (fruit-author AND tea-story)

AUGUST CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (Western Europe):
Focus (Religious Changes) (boldened):
Water, Stone, Heart by Will North (Cornwall)
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve (England, France)
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (England)
As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer (London)
Heresy by S.J. Parris (England)
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller (England)

MysteryCAT (British):
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer
Heresy by S.J. Parris
The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

RandomCAT (School-themed):
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (Girls Boarding School in England)
Heresy by S.J. Parris (Oxford)

AlphaKIT (F | T):
F: As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer (Flies)
T: Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
T: The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

GastroKIT (Water or Garden Vegetables):
Water, Stone, Heart by Will North (water : title)
As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer (garden vegetables : story)

Cindy did you manage the CAT trick?

By george, I did! Good eye, Chèli. I was rather in a hurry to finish posting my August stuff, since I was leaving the 30th for vacation. Where, by the way, I met your sister!

SEPTEMBER CATs and KITtens:

GeoCAT (East Asia):
Focus (Vietnam War) (boldened):
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

MysteryCAT (Book-Themed):
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

RandomCAT (Toronto Film Festival):
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

AlphaKIT (J | O):
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus (J-Author, O-Title)
And Furthermore by Judi Dench (J-Author)
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (J-Author)
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (J-Author)

GastroKIT (Milk or School Lunch Items):
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (Milk-title and story)

OCTOBER CATs and KITs:

GeoCAT (South America):
Focus (Amazon River) (boldened):
The Lost City of Z by David Grann

MysteryCAT (Global Mysteries):
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill

RandomCAT (Book Bullets):
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns (tutu)

AlphaKIT (N | K):
Presidental Pets by Niall Kelly (author - N and K)
How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis (author - K)
Seven Patients by Atul Kumar (author - K)

GastroKIT (Fall foods/apples/winter squash or cider):
Bendigo Shafter by Louis L'Amour (deer/venison)
Cider Brook by Carla Neggers (cider and apples)

NOVEMBER CATs and KITs:

GeoCAT (Australia / Oceana):
Focus (Australian Outback) (boldened):
The Light Between Oceans – M.L. Stedman
Sorry – Gail Jones

MysteryCAT (Historical Mysteries):
Letters from Skye – Jessica Brockmole
The Dead Shall Not Rest – Tessa Harris

RandomCAT (Disasters):
Blizzard of Glass – Sally M. Walker
A Wedding in December – Anita Shreve
Whiter Than Snow – Sandra Dallas

AlphaKIT (G | S):
Blizzard of Glass – Sally M. Walker (Title – G / Author – S)
Sorry – Gail Jones (Author – G / Title S)
Letters From Skye – Jessica Brockmole (Title – S)
Clay’s Quilt – Silas House (Author – S)
All Mortal Flesh – Julia Spencer Fleming (Author – S)
The Light Between Oceans – M.L. Stedman (Author – S)
A Wedding in December – Anita Shreve (Author – S)
Whiter Than Snow – Sandra Dallas (Author/Title – S)
The Flyer – Stuart Harrison (Author – S)
Like Sweet Potato Pie – Jennifer Rogers Spinola (Author/Title – S)

GastroKIT (Turkey/Thanksgiving or White Wine):
Like Sweet Potato Pie – Jennifer Rogers Spinola

DECEMBER CATs and KITs:

GeoCAT (SubSaharan Africa):
Focus (Southern Africa) (boldened):
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

MysteryCAT (Cozies):
Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer
The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton

RandomCAT (Childhood Wish):
Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich (Sugar plums! What are they? This kid wanted them!)

AlphaKIT (B | X/Y/Z):
A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd (Title – B)
The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett (Author & Title – B)
The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer (Title – X) (It’s a stretch, I know, but I forgot!)
The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton (Title – B)

GastroKIT (Christmas foods or hot drinks):
Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich