December RandomKIT: Roll a Die! and Wrap Up Your Year

Can you believe it's already mid-November? What happened to the year? At this time in November I'm thinking a lot about what I've been able to read so far this year, what I haven't, and what I can squeeze into the end of it. So for this challenge, I'm giving you the opportunity to do some catch-up.

For this challenge, you need a standard 6-sided die, real or virtual. Roll the die and follow the instructions for the number you roll:

1. Read a book for a CAT category from earlier this year
2. Read a book for a KIT category from earlier this year
3. Read a book for a Bingo DOG category
4. Read a book for one of your own categories that you wish you'd read more of this year
5. Pick either 1 or 3
6. Pick either 2 or 4

For 1 and 2, I encourage you to pick a category that you missed or skipped when it first came around, but really any category is fine.

Tell us what you rolled and what you read, and if you’re so inclined, add your choice to the wiki.

I rolled a 5, so I picked number 3, Read a book for a Bingo DOG category. I'm planning to read My Friend Maigret for the Bingo category "about friendship".

I also rolled a 5 and will choose No. 1. I don't know yet what I will pick, probably something that fits December and an earlier month's categories.

I rolled a 4. I'll check out my options! Cool idea :)

I rolled a 4! I think I will read a Pearl S Buck My goal was 5 this year, and thus far only read one. Good roll! Great idea!

That's a nice idea! I will roll my dice on the first of December.

I rolled a two and will take a look at KITS to see what I missed this year.

I rolled a 3. I will try to complete the card, or read another book from one of the prompts, whichever works best.

I rolled a 2 and have decided to revisit the April MysteryKit on Series with Frost at Midnight by James Henry.

Great idea! Thanks! I rolled a 4 (online dice). I will read one of my Kindle Unlimited books because I sort of got bogged down with those lately.

Such a cool idea, Ninie!

I rolled a 6 (with an online dice roller) and I'm going to choose option 4. I'm behind in several of my own categories, so this is absolutely perfect!

Oooh, fun! I'm not at home and might like to roll a real die, so I'll see what I'm doing in a couple of days

I love roll a die or random number generator games! I rolled a 2.

Great idea! I rolled a 5 and will read an earlier CAT. I keep a list of CATs I didn't get to, so I have several to choose from.

I love this idea! I rolled a 3 - "Read a book for a Bingo DOG category" - so that gives me lots of choices.

What a wonderful idea! I rolled a 2 (with a real die) which is perfect although any would have been good.

What a fun category!

I got a 6, and since that allows me to choose one of my own categories, that's my plan. I'm woefully behind on my nonfiction category, so I'm going to read one of the nonfiction books I'd hoped to get around to this year and still haven't. Probably Karaoke Culture by Dubravka Ugresic or China Witness by Xinran.

I will be rolling my dice when I set up my December reading.

I finally rolled my die and got a 5, so that's either 1 or 3:
1. Read a book for a CAT category from earlier this year
3. Read a book for a Bingo DOG category

I will check back and decide...

ETA: The easy way to go would be to pick the BingoDOG "Food or cooking" since I'll be reading the "Culinary Mystery" for the MysteryKIT.
But, if I can fit in an extra read, I might choose a previous HistoryCAT category that is "Science and Medicine".

Fun idea! I rolled a 4. I'll look to my Kindle TBR to find a December read. I keep trying to work that down!

I rolled a 3 and I’ll read Letzte Ernte for the food or cooking square.

>21 MissWatson: I have finished my read, and there are twins in it, so I’m counting for it another square. I can always fill the food or cooking with the next book in the series.

I rolled a 5, pick 1 or 3. I finished my BingoDOG card so I chose 1. Read a book for a CAT category from earlier this year. I will be picking from a CAT that I did not participate in.

I rolled a 2 for a KIT category from earlier this year. I chose RandomKIT June: Initials J & R

The Paddington Mystery by John Rhode
A puzzling plot followed by a protracted solution. This introduces Dr Lancelot Priestley, a mathematician who solves mysteries through examining the facts and using logic. For a 1925 novel, it was just ok, in comparison with Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written in 1916 and published in 1920.

This was such an easy combination of initials that I may read more.

I rolled a 6 and decided to go with one of my own categories which I haven't read as many books as I would have hoped, vision/blindness. I read Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander.

I rolled a 2 for a KIT category from earlier this year and chose RandomKIT June: Initials J & R.

The Jazz Club Spy by Roberta Rich
A hard-boiled mystery set in New York in the 1930s describing the lives of Russian Jewish immigrants and in particular, Giddy Brodsky’s experience as a a speakeasy cigarette girl and spy for the US government. It’s fast moving and entertaining.

I rolled a 4 and read a Kindle Unlimited book from my downloads Amish Christmas Rescue by Samantha Price. I got sort of bogged down with my KU reads and I am now on my second one for this month.

I rolled a 5 and will do a few; this one matches HistoryCAT: Science and Medicine

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? / Frans De Waal
4 stars

The author studies primates. In this book, he is looking at various studies looking at cognition in various types of animals. He also does some comparisons of studies, looking at animals, then the same study looking at children. Of course, historically, there are areas of science that have “required” scientists to not anthropomorphize animals, and there have been many definitions of what makes humans “human” or distinct from other animals. Those goalposts have moved often as those definitions are proven wrong when there are studies that show animals who can and do actually do those things that were supposedly only the domain of humans.

I have read about some of the studies mentioned here before: some when I was taking psychology and anthropology in university, and others I’ve just read about. Anyway, it’s all so very interesting to me. Many of us with pets will read this (or in my case, I listened to the audio), and think it’s obvious, but of course, with science, there does need to be more objective studies, as well. I found the comparisons with children very interesting, as the author points out that with similar studies between kids and animals, kids get an explanation as to what’s happening; obviously, we are unable to provide animals with that same explanation, so it’s automatically biased toward the kids doing “better”. Of course (similar to IQ tests in humans that are culturally biased), many tests with animals are also biased toward humans. But some scientists are trying to change that. I found this very interesting.

I have completed my read of Frost At Midnight and this 4th "prequel" appears to be the last of the series.

I rolled a 5. This one matches one of the BingoDOG categories: Food and cooking

Julia Child: A Life / Laura Shapiro
3.5 stars

This is a (short) biography of Julia Child, though the bulk of it does focus on her career, food, and cooking. Julia, of course, learned to cook in France, and she was not a natural at it! She later wrote cookbooks and hosted tv shows. Her first tv show in the ‘50s was very popular and it catapulted her to stardom. People loved her. Though the cooking may have been more work than housewives wanted at the time (when convenience foods were becoming popular), Julia insisted her show wasn’t for housewives, anyway.

I listened to the audio, which was entertaining. The narrator did a decent job of Julia’s voice, I think. It didn’t sound exactly, but I can’t say for sure, as I’ve never watched Julia’s shows. I am also not “into” cooking, so the detailed descriptions of cooking and food might be of more interest to someone who does like cooking and/or is more of a “foodie” than I am. It was unfortunate to learn of Julia’s homophobia, although I suppose she was a product of her time (even though she and her husband, Paul, knew and were friends with gay people).

5. Another one for the previous HistoryCAT: Science and Medicine

The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean
4 stars

This looks at various ethical issues throughout history that still advanced science in some way or another. Each chapter was a specific person or issue, including piracy, the slave trade, competition that gets out of hand, stealing bodies for research, fraud, spying, animal cruelty (this still happens, but who knew Edison was torturing dogs, horses, and cows by electrocuting them in order to discredit a competitor?), Nazi experiments, lobotomies, and probably more I’m not remembering. There is a lot going on here. And a lot of unethical (and criminal) things happened in the name of science.

This was interesting. Some stories I’d heard before (maybe just the one of the title, the “surgeon” who did lobotomies with an icepick). In the conclusion, the author looks at some things to come… and there will likely still be scientists willing to do unethical things to advance science (or, at least, their own research). I don’t think I realized the author has a podcast, so I hadn’t heard of him, but based on this one, I’d read more of his books (he has also written others).

January's thread is up! https://www.librarything.com/topic/366475

BingoDOG: Food

Homicide and Halo-Halo / Mia P. Manansala
3.5 stars

In book 2 of the series, Filipino-American Lila has joined with a couple of friends to open a cafe and they are still setting things up. Meanwhile, her own family already runs their own restaurant. Lila once won the town’s beauty pageant and she has been asked to judge this year’s contest. But there have been threatening letters made toward the pageant. And it’s not long before someone turns up dead.

I enjoyed this. I like most of the characters and their stories; however, there is more food description than is my “thing”, but I’m sure would be appealing for many readers (as well as the recipes included at the end of the book). I do plan to continue the series, though.

>33 LibraryCin: I met the author at a writers conference in October, and though I'm not usually much of a mystery reader I enjoyed her workshops, so I decided to give the first in the series a try. I liked it a lot and have book #2 on hold at my library.

>34 susanna.fraser: Oh, that's cool!

I rolled a 2 and read The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont. I had originally planned it for May Alpha!

I rolled a 3 and filled another square in my second Bingo card: Die Vegetarierin has returned to the bestseller list after Han Kang won the Nobel Prize.

Next Bingo square for my 3 is "written from a different cultural perspective", Snow Flower and the secret fan.