What's in a Name 2017 Wrap Up

I completed this challenge, hosted at The Worm Hole, ahead of schedule (that rarely happens) and I liked all the books.

• ‘a number in numbers’ : 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
• ‘a building’: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
• ‘a title with a ‘X’ in it’: Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
• ‘a compass direction’: Key West by Maureen Ogle
• ‘an item or items of cutlery’: The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons by Lawrence Block
• ‘a title in which at least two words share the same first letter’: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

The category "an item of cutlery" was my favorite--it was challenging to find one, but I thought it was a great category. The 2018 category list looks good too. This was my sixth time participating in this challenge and I highly recommend it. 

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
by Kathleen Rooney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a charming novel about a life-long love affair with New York City. On new year's eve 1984 an elderly Lillian Boxfish decides to take a walk through Manhattan and between the various interactions with people along her route we learn, through flashbacks,  the story of her life. This is a feisty old lady and I really liked her.

"While I treasured the occasional rural retreat ... the suburbs had always seemed mealy and unresolved. I understood that their in-between-ness--neither town nor country!--was supposed to be their very appeal, but I didn't find it appealing. I always wanted either to be in, or get away from the city, not just be close to the city. Were I off in the pastoral hills shingling my own roof or riding a horse, well then, what fun. And were I catching the subway for a night at the opera, well then, hooray. But int he suburbs I could enhoy none of those pursuits with ease." (p. 185)

This novel completes my 2017 What's in a Name Challenge as it includes the letter X in the title.

Review: Key West

Key West: History of an Island of Dreams
by Maureen Ogle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because of the title. For the 2017 What's in a Name Challenge I needed a book with a compass direction in the title and "West" fit the bill.
This history of Key West, Florida turned out to be fascinating, though a bit repetitive. It covers the island from the days of pirates and salvaging through the civil war (when the island remained loyal to the Union despite Florida's secession), the New Deal, and wraps up with the real estate boom of the 1980s. The boom and bust cycles of the military installations on the island and the various people (mostly writers) complaining about all the tourists several times gave me the feeling that I had read a particular bit before. Overall this was a very readable tale of a place I knew almost nothing about.
Maureen Ogle also wrote Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer (2007) which is definitely going on my TBR list.

Review: 206 Bones

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Evil backstabbing co-workers and a very different structure from the usual Brennan novel typify this book. Part of it focuses on Brennan's ex-husband's extended family which as a reader of the series I found interesting though it seemed like padding to this mystery. The off-again status of Brennan's romance with Ryan was also a demerit for this installment.
This book counts toward two of my current challenges: it is set in Canada so it counts toward the 10th Canadian Book Challenge and it has a number in the title which is one of the categories for What's in a Name. 

Review: Peril at End House

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A lovely young woman in danger draws Poirot out of retirement to untangle the mystery of who might be trying to do her harm. It is a twisty mystery full of misdirection and funny little outbursts from the world's greatest detective (self-described). Hastings is along for the ride which always improves a Poirot story in my opinion.

“You have a tendency, Hastings, to prefer the least likely. That, no doubt, is from reading too many detective stories.” ― Agatha Christie, Peril at End House

This title counts toward the What's in a Name Challenge as a book with a building in the title.

Review: The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons

The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery I have read, though it is not the first in the series. The characters were engaging and I liked how specific Block was with the NYC setting. The murder mystery aspect of the book seemed more of a side-plot than a focus of the book, but overall it was an entertaining read and I would read more of this series.
This book counts toward the What's in a Name Challenge as it has a title containing an item of cutlery.

Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This comic novel by Stella Gibbons was written in 1932 and takes place "in the near future." It seemed to me to be a bit of a spoof of the 19th century British novels of writers like Jane Austen and the Brontes. It even includes a very funny character with a weird theory about the novels of the Bronte sisters.
The main character, Flora Poste, is a practical young woman (in her own mind anyway) who sets about arranging things in a very Austen-like way and making observations on the world as she finds it.
“You have the most revolting Florence Nightingale complex,' said Mrs. Smiling.
It is not that at all, and well you know it. On the whole, I dislike my fellow beings; I find them so difficult to understand. But I have a tidy mind and untidy lives irritate me. Also, they are uncivilized.” 

This book could count toward several different categories for the Back to the Classics challenge: 20th century classic, by a woman author, a romance, or an award winning classic (it was the Winner of the 1933 Femina Vie Heureuse Prize).
This book also counts toward the What's in a Name challenge as an alliterative title.

What's in a Name 2017

This year I will again be participating in the What's in a Name challenge hosted by The Worm Hole. The basic idea is to read books where the title fits each of the six categories (examples are from the host site).

• A number in numbers (84, Charing Cross Road; 12 Years A Slave; 31 Dream Street)
• A building (The Old Curiosity Shop; I Capture The Castle; House Of Shadows; The Invisible Library; Jamaica Inn)
• A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it (The Girl Next Door; The Running Vixen)
• A compass direction (North and South; Guardians Of The West; The Shadow In The North; NW)
• An item/items of cutlery (The Subtle Knife; Our Spoons Came From Woolworths)
• A title in which at least two words share the same first letter – alliteration! (The Great Gatsby; The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite; Gone Girl; The Cuckoo’s Calling)