December RandomCAT- One Day

For most of us this time of year is busier than usual. We're also trying to finish up our challenge for the year and thinking about next year's challenge. I know my reading time will be very limited in December. So I want this challenge to be easy. For this month's RandomCAT the challenge is to read a book that you can complete in one day. You don't have to read the book in one day, it should be a book that you could read in a day if you had the time.

I don't have any examples of books for this challenge. I'm planning to maybe read 1 or 2 short children's books about time travel or a few graphic novels.

Great theme! Perfect for the busy season.

I like this :) I may very well end up reading a YA or MG book, or maybe a poetry collection. The only short adult book I had still slated for 2017 is already more than halfway done lol.

If anyone wants adult read recommendations, some that come to mind for me would be A Lesson Before Dying and The Cellist of Sarajevo, both of which I devoured in a day, despite plans to go to bed! On the autobiography side, Maya Angelou's autobiographies are all surprisingly fast, short reads, and really wonderful--well, I've only read the first three of the series of five so far, but I look forward to the others :)

Ooh! I love this and have just the perfect thing. Charles Finch has a Christmas novella out called Gone Before Christmas that I should be able to knock out in one day.

>4 LittleTaiko: I have it too! Perfect for this challenge.

>3 whitewavedarling: I'm reading The Cellist of Sarajevo for November's CultureCAT, and really enjoying it. I usually make quite heavy weather of fiction, but it does seem like a pretty quick read.

I don't usually count little kid's books in my reading, but I do have one which I originally bought for myself which I will eventually give to my daughter (who is nearly 4) but not till I've read it, this seems like as good a time as any to read it. I'm expecting it to take no more than 10 minutes :)

I always read The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry at this time of year and I might check out that Charles Finch novella that Stacy mentioned.

The perfect excuse to pick up a Doctor Who novel! I will tentatively earmark Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara for this one, because it's already on my on-deck pile.

I may not have time to pick something out until the weekend, but I'm also thinking YA or a graphic novel might be good ones for me.

I have a number of shorter books or novellas that will work for this theme but for sure I will be reading A Child's Christmas in Wales which is only 48 pages.

Lovely theme! I'm not sure what I'll read, but there are a few options out there (YA, a short fairytale collection or a novella, I think).

I have a few YA books that could fit in this theme. I'm also thinking of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, as many of their books are quite short.

Most of Louis L'Amour's novels could fit this category.

I was unpacking some fabric and books today and came across a few more books that would probably work for this theme. Now to decide.

Thanks for a great suggestion! I always read A Child's Christmas in Wales but love Charles Finch too. Another short Christmas read is Skipping Christmas but sometimes I listen to it on audio CDs while I am driving.

One of Anne Perry's Christmas novellas might be my choice. Or Frederick Forsyth's beautiful story The Shepherd, also set at Christmas.

What a great idea! I may line up a bunch. Another good short Christmas one is Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

I have a couple of ebooks by Ben Kane which I could definitely read in a day and others which it is quite possible I could but I'll wait and only count books I do actually finish in a day.

>17 kac522: I agree on A Christmas Carol, but another short Christmas read I'd recommend is Miracle on 34th Street, which is a little different from the movie!

I usually reread The Adventures of the Blue carbuncle and the Cricket on the Hearth for my short reads this time of year.

Another one I really like is Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel.

COMPLETED The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in 4 or 5 hours.

Completed the full cast audiobook of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Plays are great for this CAT :)

I just realized that a play also fits the bill. I’m reading The Importance of Being Earnest.

>24 sushicat: - That is my favorite play! I need reread it again soon.

>24 sushicat: >25 LittleTaiko: One of my favorites too!

Finished my first One Day for December, Aesop’s Fables by Aesop.

This afternoon I completed Gone Before Christmas by Charles Finch.

Finished my first "one-day": The Trials of Phillis Wheatley by Henry Louis Gates Jr. This is a lecture given by Dr Gates in 2003, expanded into book form. Wheatley was America's first black poet during the Revolutionary period; little known today, but her experience had lasting influence. Dr Gates makes an interesting analysis of how history has treated her, both good and ill.

I'm hoping I can do one of these "one-day" wonders at least every other day.

>29 kac522: I like that idea, reading one every other day.

Yesterday I read Prince Valiant, Vol. 3: 1941-1942, a compilation of Hal Foster panels. The artwork is gorgeous, and the stories are fun to read.

I've decided I'm going to end up reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker for this challenge, which I've been meaning to read for ages. If I had time, I'm also going to read War in the Ruins, Book 1 of the Barren series; I've read other works by J. Thorn and devoured them in a day, so I feel pretty confident it will be the same with this one that I've got on deck.

Finished these 1-day books -
Christmas stories Laura Ingalls Wilder
Molly’s surprise Valerie Tripp

I wasn't considering The Con Man for this month's RandomCAT but since I started & finished it today, I guess it counts!

I read another in a day, The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt by Walter Farley

An exciting follow-up to the very good book The Blood Bay Colt.

Alec Ramsey heads out to Roosevelt Raceway to see Bonfire, son of The Black, and meet his training crew. When Bonfire's driver, Tom, is injured, and with the horse's owner still recovering from surgery, Alec and Henry take over the training of the colt. Can they prepare Bonfire to race in the Hambletonian, harness racing's most sought after prize, only a week away?

Today's One-day book: Imagined London by Anna Quindlen.

Finished 2 more -
The Dog who saved Christmas and other true animal tales by Allan Zullo.
The night before Christmas and other holiday tales

I’m hoping the one-day challenge will help me reach my goal of 100 books for the year. I’m behind and trying to read 12 more books this month and it’s a busy month with family and holidays!

>36 nrmay: go! Do it!

COMPLETED The Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (10 pm Sunday to 9:30 pm Monday)

>38 Robertgreaves: oooh, I plan to do that one, too, before I see the movie...

>39 kac522: I saw the film first, having read the book many years ago,
but there were places where I was saying, "I don't remember that" so I re-read the book.

Today's One-Day book:

The Piano Lesson, a play by August Wilson. The best drama in a very short time leaves you asking more questions than answering them. This is one of those plays. The piano in the Charles family represents family history (good and bad); opportunity and enslavement; the past and the future.

Listened to audio of The cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens read by Jim Dale. One of Dickens Christmas Stories by Dickens. Great story and one of the the happiest best endings of all 3 books.

I picked Eugenie Marlitt's birthday today to read her novella Die zwölf Apostel. Typical 19th century romance, but I was in the mood for fluff.

My selection for this challenge is complete! Nothing like a Doctor Who novel to add some zip to my reading life, and Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, by Terrance Dicks, was just what I needed. (Just what the Doctor ordered?!)

COMPLETED The Hound of Death and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (12:15 pm to 9:40 pm Monday)

I have an unexpected addition to this challenge. I literally couldn't put The Jaguar's Children down until I knew what the ending would bring. This was an intense and moving read about a group of people who are being smuggled into America from Mexico, sealed in a water tanker. They are abandoned in the desert and left to die in a horrible way. I started the book this morning and finished it just a short while ago.

Today's One-Day book: A Tranquil Star, stories by Primo Levi
I'd always thought of Levi as a "Holocaust" writer. But these stories are anything but! The collection spans post-WWII until his death in 1987, and they reflect more his interest in literature and science than anything else. Levi was a chemist by trade, and many of these stories are short fantasy/sci-fi pieces, like humorous "TwiLight Zone" episodes. A poem that comes alive, a kangaroo that goes to a party, characters from books that assemble in another world, a special paint that keeps away disasters and bad luck. They all made me think.

Added my third book completed for this challenge: There's an Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George. While I usually love her books, like My Side of the Mountain, I did not like this one except for the actual descriptions of the animals in their natural environment. Yes, we know clear cut-logging is bad, stop preaching it every other page!

I finished The Ladies of Grace of Grace Adieu and other stories by Susanna Clarke. it contains 8 short stories so about a story a day, so qualifies here.

Just finished the novella The man who bridged the mist by Kij Johnson, winner of both a Hugo and Nebula award.

A BB from Kerry (avatiakh) filled this CAT with:



Penguin the Magpie: the odd little bird who saved a family by Cameron Bloom and Trevor Greive
The prologue, written by Bloom, gives a brief biography and an account of the heartbreaking injury to his wife Sam. Soon after her return from hospital their son found an injured magpie chick that had fallen from its nest onto a parking lot and the family had two patients to look after. The book describes Sam's devastating injury along with captivating photos of Penguin and how her antics helped. The photos, on opposite pages to text, correspond beautifully with the content of the text, illustrating how the magpie shared the lives of the Bloom family. As Cameron said: "Angels come in all shapes and sizes."

I've got two short kids' books to add for this CAT. Dav Pilkey's Kat Kong was as silly as you would expect from the author of the Captain Underpants series (which is a big favourite of mine), and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes: In the Shadow of the Night was, well Calvin and Hobbes. It put a smile on my face :)

Just read The Deal of a Lifetime Thoughtful, thought-provoking, well-written. Would never have read it if not for this challenge. Definitely worth it, but not typically my kind of read. I prefer to dig in to a book and live there for awhile. I did enjoy A Man Called Ove and Beartown is on my TBR. I like his voice.

>51 VivienneR: argh! Hit with a book bullet!

>54 fuzzi: Oh, my aim is good today! It was actually a ricochet from avatiakh (Kerry).

Today's One-Day Book: Bones & Murder, short pieces by Margaret Atwood, taken from her larger collections "Good Bones" and "Murder in the Dark."

I finished two other short romances by Marlitt, Blaubart (no touchstone) and Schulmeisters Marie. This was her first attempt at writing, unpublished during her lifetime, and she knew why. The short form doesn't really suit her.
The other one-day read was Russkie narodnye skazki, a selection of Russian fairy tales which I bought for the gorgeous illustrations by Bilibin. Unfortunately there's no information from which edition these pages were taken, the text differs somewhat from the versions in my German translation. I was also dismayed by my rusty Russian, if I hadn't known these tales so well I would have struggled.

I'm cleaning out my ROOTs this month using this challenge! Last night I read Betsy & Tacy & Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace:

Here in the second book of the Betsy-Tacy series we are introduced to their new friend, Tib, and learn about what it might have been like to be a young girl in the late 1890s. When Tacy catches Diptheria, she can't play for months, and her whole household is quarantined. So her friends send her messages using a fishing pole over the fence. Sweet and enjoyable, fine for elementary school children. Adults may enjoy it too, as the author does not "talk down" to her audience. Recommended, but read the previous book first if you can.

>53 beebeereads: - Happy to see your positive review since I'm hoping to get to that one this month for this challenge. Really looking forward to it!

I volunteered today at the library's vintage and rare book sale. This sale is open in the afternoons for a week. It doesn't see big crowds, but those that do come are always interesting people. The merchandise is interesting too and it's my favorite sale of the four annual sales we have. There are times when there aren't any customers and I have time to peruse the merchandise. Today I found The Story On The Willow Plate by Leslie Thomas published in 1940. It's a small book that tells the story of the pattern on blue willow china.

I think I've said on LT before that my mother gave me a small tea set when I was a preschooler that had the blue willow pattern on it. Two cups, two saucers and one teapot. Included in the box was a story about the blue willow pattern. Through the years I've found a lot of stories about the lovers on the bridge and somewhere along the way I started collecting the little books when I ran across them. This was a "new" book to me so I had to have it and had a pleasant hour reading it this evening.

>60 clue: Oh, that's a lovely thing, to collect those stories, and that you have the lovely little tea set still!

>60 clue: What a lovely find! I have a set of very old English blue willow from my grandmother.

Yesterday's One-Day book: A Suppressed Cry: Life and Death of a Quaker Daughter by Victoria Glendinning. Glendinning's first published work, a very readable short history of a remarkable great-aunt, one of the first women to attend Newnham College, Cambridge.

>60 clue: we had a blue willow set growing up, our mother's I think. I wonder where it went?

>60 clue: - that sounds like an interesting sale. Too bad you're so far away.

>60 clue: A lovely story, clue.

COMPLETED The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis (6 pm Thursday to 4:20 pm Friday).

I have had a stomach infection, which meant a lot of time available for reading in bed or on the toilet. Getting over it now.

COMPLETED: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I read most of Sovereign: Nemesis - Book Two by April Daniels on Wednesday when I had to spend a few hours on a train, and finished it today. Going to call it a one-day book because I could have finished it in one day if I'd had another half hour.

The wiki works again, here's the new link: click

>70 Chrischi_HH: Thanks so much! Someone will have to update the links on the main group page, as well.

>71 LibraryCin: For the 2017 group, I think that will have to be Eva. I will update the 2018 group's main page as the new pages appear.

I finished a library book today that would easily fit in this month's RandomCAT, Campbell McCutcheon's St Kilda: A Journey to the End of the World.

>72 rabbitprincess: Great! I knew it would have to be whoever set it up, but wasn't sure who that was. When people don't link to the wiki in the first post in the thread, I always rely on the group page to get there!

COMPLETED The Spook Who Spoke Again by Lindsey Davis (Saturday 10 pm to Sunday 3 pm)

The Snow Queen and Other Tales / Hans Christian Anderson
2.25 stars

This is a collection of short stories by Hans Christian Anderson. I’m not always a fan of short stories, and this one didn’t win me over, either. For most of them, I just didn’t get interested and pretty much skimmed. There were a few that held my interest, but not many, and of those, two were ones I already knew the general story for, so it was easy to pick up if I missed a bit in the middle. The extra 1/4 star is for the few stories that were ok and (somewhat) held my interest.

>67 Robertgreaves: sorry to hear about your illness. Reading is the only bright spot sometimes when one is home, sick.

>67 Robertgreaves: I hope you're well on the mend now.

I finished two books that fit into this challenge. The first is Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, about his studies of the wolf population in Canada's north. The second is Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys's "prequel" to Jane Eyre, about the life of Antoinette Cosway, the first Mrs. Rochester.

>77 fuzzi: >78 mathgirl40: Thank you both. Now just dealing with the side effects of the antibiotics the doctor prescribed. They always make me feel mildly nauseous and bloated. I can't eat yoghurt to settle my stomach because the doctor said 'no dairy'.

I have completed another one-day book - a Christmas murder mystery called The Crime at Noah's Ark (Sunday 3-10 pm). A very enjoyable Golden Age mystery by little-known author Molly Thynne. 4*

Spent a lovely hour this weekend reading Gone Before Christmas. It was a nice fix while waiting for the latest book in the series to come out.

>79 Robertgreaves: you might want to clarify the "no dairy" with the doctor. I am lactose intolerant, but eat yogurt when I have to take antibiotics to prevent fungal infections that usually follow. Or you can try probiotics, as they also can help repopulate the beneficial "gut" flora that is destroyed by antibiotics.

>78 mathgirl40: did you like the Farley Mowat book? I've read that one, twice, and other works by that author, and he's never failed to give me a good read.

>82 fuzzi: I did enjoy Mowat's book. I know there has been controversy over the years about whether he had embellished the narrative. Regardless, it was an excellent story.

>83 mathgirl40: funny, and sad. He was a good writer imo.

Finished another - A stranger for Christmas by Carol Pearson.

I'm enjoying this category! It may help me to reach my 100 book goal for the year. 9 books to go! I have a few more that will fit this challenge.
But things are getting busy with holidays approaching . . .

>82 fuzzi: Interesting. I'll check it out, thank you.

I was surprised how quickly Den Stürmen zum Trotz went by. A history of one family on the island of Föhr in the 18th century. Not very well written, unfortunately.

I read a novella: Normal by Warren Ellis. I didn't read it in one day, but at 148 pages, you easily could.

I've hardly done any reading in December, but I'm hoping to read Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea and Kristan Higgins's Now That You Mention It for this CAT. Both of these are the type of book (middle-grade novel, contemporary romance) I can usually read in a day -- if I can manage to set aside the time!

I finished Blaubarts letzte Reise by Peter Rühmkorf, a collection of four modern German fairytales. I read them spread out on four days, but could have easily finished them in one single day. These tales will not become my favourites, but they were not too bad either. I had no clue who Peter Rühmkorf was, but found out that he lived in the north of Germany and added some small hints to that into the tales.

I've read These Modern Women: Autobiographical Essays from the Twenties, edited by Elaine Showalter who wrote a rather long introduction to the book (27 out of 147 pages), and short biographical introductions of each of the 17 feminists whose short essays were included. This book was published in 1978, but the essays were written in 1927 and 1928. Showalter wanted to compare feminism in the 1920s to that of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 70s.

I have posted the January RandomCat over at the 2018 Category Challenge. Here's the link: https://www.librarything.com/topic/277768

Today's One-Day book: The Two Heroines of Plumplington by Anthony Trollope. Lovely Christmas tale; Trollope's last work.

This evening I read the pamphlet Mary Ingalls: the College Years by Marie Tschopp which gives a brief history of the college and describes life there, shows the classes Mary took and the grades she got, and gives a brief description of Mary's life after college. I had not been aware that she had been there for seven years, finishing approximately four years after Laura and Almanzo had gotten married.

I honoured Rosemary Sutcliff's birthday yesterday with Song for a dark queen about Boudicca. Such a sad story, and so wonderfully told.

>94 sallylou61: oh, my, that's a book bullet for me...thanks!

Today's One-Day Book: Saving Mozart by Raphael Jerusalmy. This is a Europa edition that caught my eye. A very short novel, structured as a diary during 1939-40. It's the fictional diary of a fictional music critic who is dying in a Salzburg tuberculosis sanatorium. And although he seems ambivalent about Hitler in the beginning, by the end it is his goal to save Mozart from the Germans, or more accurately, the Germanic style of playing Mozart that the Nazis enforced. Very interesting read. Jerusalmy says at the end that all the musicians mentioned (in passing) in the novel's diary all cooperated with the Reich regime.

>97 kac522: That is on my TBR, I think I got it as a BB from someone in this group last year.

I finished another short one: Tristan and Iseult by Rosemary Sutcliff. Can't say I'm overly fond of the main characters. They seem to be always acting selfishly.

I read another book in the Hal Foster Prince Valiant series: Prince Valiant, Volume 4. I've enjoyed every one I've read so far, but it might be a while before I can read #5, as it's very expensive for some reason ($100+ USD).

I decided to spend the day with a Kindle book that had been languishing for far too long -- Julie Smith's Jazz Funeral. Being in the frozen north, it was nice to vicariously visit the heat of New Orleans!

Finished Deal of a Lifetime a very quick novella set at Christmas time.

Today I reread (for the first time since childhood) Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm aiming to reread all the Little House books this year (and don't have much time left).

Looking for short books in my TBR I found Loco, a western written by Lee Hoffman in 1969. Rather unusual, I thought, a young man with no name or family drifts into a valley where some recent newcomers are suspected of cattle rustling and meets a feisty young woman running her father's ranch. None of the expected things happened: no range war, no romance, no wedding.
I've got several of her westerns in German translation (there was no easy buying on the internet in the late 70s, alas) and they all have an unusual protagonist. Reading her for the first time in English, I find that the language is typical of the genre, which looks incredibly dated now.

I just read A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas; it was a quick read set around the time of the Civil War (1864-65).

>103 sallylou61: I love the Little House books!

I love this challenge, I've read eight (8) "One Day" reads so far!

I listened to A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas today. This was a copy of a radio broadcast that originated in 1952 of the poet reading his own works and I was struck with how melodious his voice was.

I read A Child's Christmas in Wales today. Our version was illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Lovely. I actually don't think I ever read this before...really? Found it amongst my Christmas books as I was unpacking. A classic for sure and one I know my kids read. Thank you to >1 VioletBramble: for spurring me on to these short reads this month.

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen. This was a easy one day read. The audio was 5 hours long. It is short stories that cover a variety of immigrant/refugee stories. The audio is read by the author who does a good job.

>109 Kristelh: - That was one of my favorite books of the year. I had to pace myself to not just read all the stories at once.

I finally got around to reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker--not remotely Christmas-y, but something I really enjoyed, and read in two sittings which certainly would have been one sitting if we hadn't been traveling :)

I finished another book for this challenge: Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, a fairytale by Brothers Grimm, retold and illustrated by Janosch. It has only 52 pages with mostly pictures and only little text. I love Janosch, so it was a perfect fit.

My December CultureCAT book turned out to be a quick read so I can count it here too. The Optician of Lampedusa was harrowing but excellent - 5*.

Finished another for this challenge.
Children’s classic all-of-a-kind family by Sydney Taylor.

Welcome Home: An Animal Rights Perspective on Living with Dogs & Cats / Nathan and Jennifer Winograd
3 stars

This book argues that dogs and cats are ok to keep as pets (in contrast to what PETA and at least one animal rights lawyer suggest).

I agreed with most of what the authors had to say (though not quite everything). Although I knew some of what PETA does (and it’s not what most people think!!!), they provided specific examples, and it’s not good. I did find that part (part 2, that focused on PETA) most interesting. Have to admit, though, that much of it read a bit like an academic paper (but I guess that tells you that there are lots of bibliographic references for what they have to say!). And they include some photos – sad photos. :-(

I read 7 books for this CAT, 5 graphic novels and 2 children's books:
Madame Pamplemousse and her Incredible Edibles
Madame Pamplemousse and the Time-Travelling Cafe
Proposition Player
Sleeper: Season One
Sleeper: Season Two
Goldie Vance: Vol.2
Ramayana: Divine Loophole

Just finished The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, read in two fairly brief sittings that surely would have been one sitting only if time had permitted! Full review written for anyone interested :)

This was an awesome idea! I finished 8 one-day books. I may make it an annual end of the year ritual, or maybe an end-of-the-month ritual! Why wait 'til December?

I can add a few children's books from my sister's library, all read in one day: Minus Drei wünscht sich ein Haustier, Feiern die auch mit? and Five on a hike together. Plus a collection of anecdotes about troublesome customers in the service industry, some of which were very funny: Kunden aus der Hölle.

I read nine, including several ROOT books that I needed to get off the shelves:

Prince Valiant, Volume 3: 1941-1942
The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt
There's an Owl in the Shower - (ROOT)
Betsy & Tacy & Tib - (ROOT)
Prince Valiant, Volume 2: 1939-1940
Striding Folly - (ROOT)
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace - (ROOT)
Prince Valiant, Volume 4: 1943-1944
Prince Valiant, Vol 1