Ameise1's 1st ABC challenge

For the reason I'll probalbly won't be able to finish this challenge in one year, I've desided to do it this way:

no time limit
one set for authors, one for titles
not read in order
no language preferences

Recommendations are welcome :-)

ABC Authors

A: Jeff Abbott - Trust Me
B: David Baldacci - divine justice
C: Mary Higgins Clark - Just Take My Heart
D: E. L. Doctorow - Homer and Langley
E: Janet Evanovich - One for the money
F: Michel Faber - The Fire Gospel
G: Meg Gardiner - The Liar's Lullaby
H: Susan Hill - The Beacon
I: Arnaldur Indridason - Hypothermia
J: Iris Johansen - Quinn
K: Jonathan Kellerman - Bones
L: Dennis Lehane - The Given Day
M: Henning Mankell - Italien Shoes
N: Barbara Nadel - Pretty Dead Things
O: Michael Ondaatje - Divisadero
P: Robert B. Parker - Rough Weather
Q: Kate Quinn - Mistress of Rome
R: Ruth Rendell - Portobello
S: Karin Slaughter - Broken
T: Simon Toyne - Sanctus
U: Lisa Unger - Die For You
V: Fred Vargas - The Chalk Circle Man
W: Don Winslow - The Winter of Frankie Machine
X: Qui Xiaolong - The Mao Case
Y: Richard Yates - Easter Parade
Z: Markus Zusak - Fighting Ruben Wolfe

ABC Titles

A: The Appeal by John Grisham
B: Broken by Karin Slaughter
C: The Chalk Circle Man - Fred Vargas
D: Divine Justice - David Baldacci
E: The Easter Parade - Richard Yates
F: Fighting Ruben Wolfe - Markus Zusak
G: The Given Day - Dennis Lehane
H: Have Mercy On Us All - Fred Vargas
I: Italian Shoes by Henning Mankel
J: Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark
K: A Kind Man - Susan Hill
L: The Liar's Lullaby - Meg Gardiner
M: The Mao Case - Qui Xiaolong
N: New York by Edward Rutherfurd
O: Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd
P: Portobello - Ruth Rendell
Q: Quinn - Iris Johansen
R: Rough Weather - Robert B. Parker
S: The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
T: Three Weeks To Say Goodbye - C.J. Box
U: Ultimatum - Matthew Glass
V: Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle
W: The Winter of Frankie Machine - Don Winslow
X: Generation X by Douglas Coupland
Y: Yoram by Ulrike Kolb (read in German)
Z: Zola Jackson by Gilles Leroy (read in German)

Sounds like mainly thrillers and mysteries?:)

Welcome to the challenge and good luck.

Hi Annie!

Thanks for your best wishes. Yes, mostly I'm reading crimes, thrillers and misteries, but also historical fictions I like to read. The 'Dürrenmatt' is a biography.

Have a nice day
Barbara

From the top of my head:

A:
B: James Lee Burke
Mark Billingham
C. J. Box
Lawrence Block
Brett Battles
C: Sean Chercover - a bit gritty so you might want to check reviews/look into features,
Robert Crais - I like most of his although some are weird,
Harlan Coben
Michael Connelly
Lee Child
D:
E: Barry Eisler
Kjell Eriksson
F: Karin Fossum
Conor Fitzgerald - one of the newish names I like
Frederick Forsyth
Vince Flynn
G: Sue Grafton - with a warning that her detective is stuck in the 80s - literally
Elizabeth George
H: Dana Haynes - I liked Crashers and the second one is not bad either,
Declan Hughes - The Wrong Kind of Blood is pretty nice (gritty but nice),
Steve Hamilton - A Cold Day in Paradise
John Harvey
I: Greg Iles - one more of my personal favorites
Arnaldur Indriðason
J:P. D. James
Peter James
K: Jonathan Kellerman - favorite author.
L: Dennis Lehane
Donna Leon - one more personal favorite
M: Val McDermid - a favorite
Henning Mankell
N: Håkan Nesser
Jo Nesbo
P: Katherine Hall Page
Q:
R: Ian Rankin - a favorite
Kathy Reichs - a favorite
Peter Robinson
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Christopher Reich
S: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Daniel Silva
T: Brad Thor
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

If you let me know which ones are in your style and taste, I can come up with a few more names. Just now i am going for favorites and ones I really like -- but they span the genres pretty well. :)

Wow, it looks like you are a kind of a library! Well, I know some of your suggestions like:
Mark Billingham, Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Frederick Forsyth, Vince Flynn, Sue Grafton, Elisabeth George, P:D: James, Jonathan Kellerman, Donna Leon, Val McDermind, Ian Rankin, Kathy Reichs, Peter Robinson, Daniel Silva
I like them all. Whenever there are new books of those authors in our library I take them.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Nah - just reading a lot :) Keeping up with all favorite authors is sometimes a problem.

Sounds like you like pretty much the same type of the genre that I like so I will get through my list and pull some more names later :)

#6 A great list, I've read and loved most of these authors. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread for something I might have missed! Good luck with the challenge!

Looks like you are already making some good progress here!

G: author done - L: title done



It was my first Gardiner and I really enjoyed it. It was a fast-paced plot with a lot of twists. Whenever there will be another Gardiner at my library, I definitely will read it.

(3 1/2 stars)

W: author and title done



It was a great pleasure reading this book. A good plot with a lot of Mafia hints. The main character is a really gourmet not only for pasta food but especially for brewing coffee dot on the minute. I had the feeling that I could smell this lovely coffee.

(4 stars)

Double Ws should earn you extra points!

Thanks! This was an unexpected coincidence :-)

R: author done - P: title done



An absolutely outstanding novel. Three different plots with four main characters. All of them have an addictive personality, some strong ones other mild ones. During the reading I got a great sympathy for each of them. All plots are linked to each other.
Rendell's gorgeous language made me feel being a sneaking observer right into Portobello Road.

(4 1/2 stars)

B: author done - D: title done



I like the Camel Club. This one was a real page-turner. Sometimes it was so breathtaking that I I had to read pretty fast. I suffered along with Oliver's struggle against his past and future. His friends had been loyal as always and they have got a new reliable member.

(4 1/2 stars)

Double Ds...more extra points I say!

Thanks PaperbackPirate :-)

Are you joining the readathing week as well? Just finished my work at a local Primary school. Now I'll hurry up home for my reading.

Happy reading to you too

Yes, I signed up for an hour last night but I fell asleep! I'll sign up for a slot tomorrow too. Are you going to read a Dickens book?

No, I won't read a Dickens. I read a lot of his stories 30 years ago. Now I'm very busy with a big pile from my local library.

Happy reading :-)

X: author done - M: title done



It's a wonderful crime fiction from China. Diving into an other world was like escaping from the occidental life. CI Chen's subtle approaches finding out what happend in the past, is showing how governments are keen to keep people in the dark, so that the disreputable past can still stay in a blaze of glory.

(3 1/2 stars)

Z: author done - F: title done



A fast-paced brilliant story about two brothers finding their place among the lower part of the social ladder. A family with strong bonds and a lot of love. Boxing, fighting and winning.

(4 stars)

F: author done



This book didn't catch me really. There are many rudimentary ideas, which unfortunately aren't thought through til the end.

(2 1/2 stars)

S: title done



A wonderful Irish story telling two different lives which are related to each other. There are also little history parts of the Irish life during WWI, the civil war and the dispute between Catholics and Prebyterians.

(4 stars)

T: title done



Wow, what a breathtaking fast-paced thriller. It was an easygoing reading. I was suffering with the characters, always hoping that final will be ending in a good way. It kept me guessing until the very last page.

(4 stars)

A: author done



It was my first Abbott but definitely not my last one. A gripping suspense with a lot of twists and turns. Fast-paced reading and kept me guessing until the end.

(4 stars)

S: author done - B: title done



It's a gripping plot, really fast-paced. I couldn't put it away until the very last page. I recommend to read Slaughter's earlier books first to be able to make the connections between the different protagonists and to understand their thinking and their action.

(4 1/2 stars)

Y: author done - E: title done



A wonderful portrait of society during the period 1930 until the middle of the 70s. One of the main focus is put on alcoholism and its inevitable consequences, another one is put on divorce and liberated women. Men dealt violently with women under the effect of alcohol and women turned to alcoholism and were reliant on their husbands or had been trying to escape in an independency.
I strongly recommend this novel.

(4 stars)

V: author done - C: title done



It's the first book of The Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery. Adamsberg is a cranky personality. He intends to solve the crime by listening, thinking and waiting and he never seems to be in a hurry. He seems always absentminded and isn't able to catch track on his thoughts. For his subordinates it isn't easy to work with him but everyone is adoring him and is fascinated by his unorthodox investigation. The plot was so enthralling that I wasn't able to find out, until the very end, who the culprit was. It was my first Vargas but definitely not my last one, anonther one is already on my TBR pile.

(4 stars)

I really did like The Chalk Circle Man but haven't got round to picking up the 2nd in the series yet. I'll have to rectify that soon. Fred Vargas seems to write very interesting characters and that's what I liked most about the other book of hers that I've read, The Three Evangelists, but the story wasn't quite as good as this one. Which do you plan to read next?

Hi AHS-Wolfy

The next one will be Have Mercy On Us All. I know its the forth Adamsberg, but I could pick this one up at my local library. They have two other Vargas as well so I will lend them later. You are right all the characters are impressively and I'm really looking forward to reading more.

O: author done



It's a wonderful story about different characters and their lives. Sometimes they are crossing their path, on other occasions they are linked to each other because they share a past or they have something in common. Also the spelling style changes when the story takes part in US or France it is different. The outcoming was very surprisingly.

(4 stars)

K: author done



This was my 2nd Alex Delaware thriller and like the last one I've really enjoyed reading it. Amazingly, all characters are set out right from the beginning, but it took me as far as the last fifth of the book until I was able to recognize who the murderer really was. The plot is psychological cleverly arranged and extremely gripping.

(4 stars)

P: author done - R: title done



It was an easygoing read, nothing spectacular to think about, just an entertaining story. It was soon clear who has set off the kidnapping and also why.

(3 1/2 stars)

hey... how do you put up those book covers?

Hello sanz57!

You'll find all answers here http://www.librarything.de/topic/59470

Everything you need to put up covers, writing bold, italic etc. is on this site.

Have fun with your own creations :-)

H: title done



It was another fantastic Vargas. Within the topic of bubonic plague it is obvious that Vargas' main profession is a historian and archaeologist specializing in the Middle Ages. The twists and turns she is setting out for human primal fear is amazingly. Commissaire Adamsberg's unorthodox method of evaluations are tight tested. Sometimes his gorgeous gut instinct got lost and he had to step back to retrieve the thread. Nevertheless it is a gripping fast-paced reading. As always all characters are set out from the beginning and and it kept me guessing up until the very last page.

(4 1/2 stars)

Glad you enjoyed another foray into the Adamsberg series. It's good to know you rate that one even higher than your first.

Hello AHS-Wolfy

Yes indeed, it was better than the first one, probably it is because there is a stronger topic than in the first one. I like Adamsbergs's way of solving problems and I'll try to lend the next Vargas from my local library as soon as possible.

L: author done - G: title done



It is a brilliant narration about the time 1918/19 in Boston. Also this book is a fiction Lehane is giving a clear inside view of those turbulent period. Based on the life of a police family the story is telling about their suffer and campaign for better conditions of employment but also shows the conflicts of opinion inside of a family. Additionally there is also discussed the point of race relations with a deep friendship between a white and a colourd man.

(4 stars)

I: author done



This is a marvellous story which is taking place in Iceland. Detective Erlendur does his research in his special own way. He can't leave small incidences alone. He is following track to all gossips also they are looking of no importance. His investigations are looking like jigsaws which finally come out as whole pictures. Next to a current case he is also solving a 30 years old case and is following his own past up.
I enjoyed this story very much. It was enthralling from first until the very last page. I can strongly recommend it.

(4 stars)

T: author done



The plot is very similar to the Dan Brown's books. It is fast-paced and gripping and is also set into religious fiction thriller. It's a pity that the characters don't have rough edges, but rather are fictional personalities. I prefer more those characters, which one could meet in the flesh with tics and a own life next to the story, just someone I could identify with.

(3 1/2 stars)

M: author done - I: title done



What a wonderful story about an elderly man, who in the beginning was living by himself on a little island. By and by four different women are dropping into his unspectacular routinely everyday life. Some were aroused from his earlier life others he just met recently. His life is taking a completely new turn with lots of troubles but also with lots of emotional moments.

(4 1/2 stars)

V: title done



What a charming mystery! It's written in a humorous style with a lot of wink and French attitudes. It's starting in Hollywood with a theft of good wine, but the most part of the story is taking place in France. The trio, who is solving the case in unorthodox way, couldn't be more different, but they complement one another perfectly. One should have eaten before starting to read the book because there are such a lot of lovely meals described that one's mouth waters.

(3 1/2 stars)

Wow - you are making great progress with this challenge..... you are nearing the final corner!

Hello lkernagh!

Thanks a lot for your encouraging words. So far it hasn't been very difficult but now it starts getting tricky. Especially with X titles I haven't found a book by now (not in my local library nor in my favourit book store). Perhaps you could give me some ideas :-)? Thanks for your help.

I fudged a little on my X and used A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There's an X in there!

Good luck finding your X book!

Hello PaperbackPirat!

Thanks for your suggestion. If I understand you correct than I could just read a book with anywhere an X in the title? This way it will be must easier.

Good luck to your challenges as well :-)

I was quite lucky for my X title. I had Xenocide lined up but it is the third book in the Ender's Game series.

Thanks AHS-Wolfy, lucky you, but I coudn't find this one in my local library nor in the bookstore. Perhaps I'll find something in German where a name starts with X.

A: title done



As always, it was a gripping Grisham plot and a fast-paced read. Even though it's a fiction there is a lot of truth in it. All over the world politicians are affected by lobbyists and to be honest not always in a good manner. Money makes the world go round is unfortunately true and therefore only a handful is able to benefit from the lobbying. Whenever I hear of such extortionate settlements I can only disbelieving shake my head. In Europe we are not used to such amounts.

(3 1/2 stars)

I think it's probably cheating, but it's hard to find X titles and authors. Since it's a self-inflicted challenge I thought it would be o.k. if I just got an X in there somewhere.

Thanks PaperbackPirat! If I don't find a tiltle starting with X tnan I start cheating as well.

Have a nice weekend :-)

Q: author done



What a breathtaking gripping historical fiction! I couldn't stop reading. Diving into Ancient Rome was a very easy task. Following all the network of intrigues was a great pleasure. Sometimes I got the feeling that I am an observer experiencing all the smells, music and gatherings by myself. All the characters are inimitable and so profoundly described that I've got the feeling I must know them since a long time.
I can strongly recommend it for all friends of the Ancient Rome period.

(3 1/2 stars)

U: title done



It wasn't a good reading. First, it took a long time to get at the bottom of the thread. It was not only boring it was also very confusing and surreal. Furthermore it wasn't catching or gripping it was more a very hard deal to get through the plot. I definitely can't recommend it.

(2 stars)

C: author done - J: title done



It is a fantastic story. It was enthralling from the first until the very last page. There are strong personalities and I've got quickly familiar with all of them. It also shows, that it's not up to somebody's education or social position whether they stand on the good or on the worse side of the law. On the other hand there is also a hint how the public view works when trial are discussed on broadcast. In this case it was helpful but that could easily turn around into the contrary.

(4 stars)

N: author done



It was a humorously enjoyable reading. It was easy dipping into Istanbul's magical life between Occident and Orient. It shows how people struggle with the changing of 'modern' life. Firstly it looks like some habitants had aquired an occidental habit on the other hand old traditions are deep-rooted. The conflict of those different point of view is the foundation of the plot. One is suffering with each character, which are perfectly described and it was a lightness to be familiar with each of them.

(4 stars)

O: title done



It is a thrilling and breathtaking fast-paced story. The language is absolutely brilliant. It shows how the life of a young man was turned upside down. Getting back a worth living life he has to solve a murder. He isn't helping the police which are hunting him, quit the contray he is playing a pharmaceutic group off against a bounty hunter. In the end he is getting a new life back. Probably a better one?

(4 stars)

H: author done



It is a very interesting family story. It’s starting with the death of their mother. One of the daughters is living with her at the old family place where a lot of ancestors had lived. The family’s secrets and their lives are told as jumping throughout all the times but always coming back to the present. During this travel I became familiar with all the characters. As in every family there is also in this one a ‘black sheep’ and when the other siblings tried to avoid him mother’s last will is keeping them together and on the other hand separating them for ever.
I can strongly recommend this book.

(4 stars)

X: title done



A great book especially when reading it 19 years later as it was first published, because time has caught up with the books future view. Anyway, the meaning of the plot is the following: Three people had been leaving their 'yuppie' lives and are living in Palm Spring, telling each other bedtime stories, whereas the stories main characters were always themselves. As a reader one's got a good idea about those three. Sometimes they got visitors from their 'earlier' life. Those guests are trying to leave there yuppie life for some days but would never give up it, whereas the three dropouts would never give up their newly freedom.

(3 1/2 stars)

Z: title done



This is a very insightful book about an old woman who struggles through the Hurrican Katrina, whereas her mind is living in the past. This past is helping her to do everything right. She thinks that her dead son is telling her what she has to make correct that her house will not be demolished. This woman has a strong ego and when also several people try to rescue her she won't get with them because she can't leave her dog behind her. The end is a real surprise.

(4 stars)

Y: title done



This is an absolutely wonderful with a lot of love written book. Two world which join their lifetime in postwar period as couple. She is German and he is Israeli both are involved in the student revolt (the end of the 60s), both won't be gentrified and both can't leave their family's past which forms their present really deeply. She is looking for a better and profoundly knowledge about Jewish life during the WWII and is detecting her father's past that doesn't looks like he tried to show her. He is struggling with his mother's past from the WWII. They have a daughter which is leading the familie's past shadow into a better future.
I can strongly recommend this book.

(5 stars)

N: title done



It is a gorgeous historical fiction in a wonderful written language. The story about New York is extending to the last 350 years. It starts with the first Dutch merchants and ends with their New Yorker's descentants. It's not only the history of a single city but also the Amerikan Independency. It narrates the most important American progress and on the other hand the City's development. It's carefully discribed how the buildings and old Manhatten could have been in the 17th and what major transformations it took up until now. On the basis of a family chronicle it was very easy to dip into the story and also to learn about different social points of view. Money and its rise and fall is not only in our days a major subject but also in the earlier time this family was depended on it. All the important Wall Street affairs can be found in this story aswell.

(4 1/2 stars)

D: author done



It looks like I'm sticked in New York. Homer and Langley is a wonderful story about two brothers which are living at the Fifth Avenue during the 20th century. Homer had lost his eyesight when he was a teenager, but his other senses were really sharp especially his sense of hearing. They have lost their parents early and were living together their whole live. The most important 'credo' was their self-reliance and they worked it out excessively. During nearly the whole century they were confronted by all different kinds of social changes and it seems that they were diving into those adventures with a great pleasure.

(4 stars)

I loved Homer and Langley when I read it last year! Make sure you look them up on Wikipedia - a lot of the story is different from their actual lives. For instance, their birth order is reversed in the book.

U: author done



Well, the praises for this book from a lot of writers (on the back of the cover) don't really fit in my opinion. O.k. it's a 'crime thriller' but each step is too obvious and so it isn't really a surprise. On the other hand there is a lot of romantic relationships which are in my point of view much more important than the criminal actions are themselves. It is an easygoing reading but not actually gripping.

(3 1/2 stars)

E: author done



This was my first Evanovich but definitely not the last one. It is one of the most funniest books I've read since a long time. Stephanie Plum's character is amazing on the one side she is pretending to be tough and confident always in charge to stand her ground. On the other hand she stumbles very often over her boldness and mindlessness and luckily she is getting help from all over. The love-hate relationship between her and Jo Morelli is gorgeous and longs for more, so I'm really looking forward to reading more of them.

(4 stars)

K: title done



This was a fast-paced one. Like the 'Beacon' the story is set out somewhere in the UK's landscape. A family story whereas one sister (Eve) is soft and calm wheras the other (Miriam) is unhappy and feels begrudging. Their two husbands can't be more different. Miriam's husband is a real lazybones whereas Eve's Tommy is a very kind and helpful person. Tommy got seriously ill and with 'paranormal' luck got healthy. With this health he is able to heal other people, but he would never do it for money. He sense that with taking money for his preternatural he will lose this power.

(4 stars)

J: author done - Q: title done



Well, during the reading it was very easy to dip into the plot. Also I've never read a book by Johansen I was getting very quick familiar with the characters. Mostly it was gripping and I liked the different views to solve the case. BUT I was really disappointed at the end, because there is no end. On the backside of the book cover is written:

. . . and test their resolve to uncover the ultimate bone-chilling truth.

Well, I can turn and shift the book as much as I like, I can re-read the last pages as often as possible BUT there isn't any bone-chilling thruth. It's an abrupt end and as a reader I've been left in a vacuum. In my opinion this is an absolutely NO-GO.

Here is my new thread: Ameise1's 2nd ABC
This time with cities, villages, places or locations.

Congrats on completing your alphabet challenge.... and for starting another one! ;-)

Congratulations.

You did it and in less than a year!!!

Congratulations!!!

Good luck on your next one.

Thanks to all of you. This one was a great fun and I've definitely enlarged my reading of different authors which I'm grateful that I've done so.

I have been neglecting this challenge this year, but I am trying to catch up now. I'll be interested to follow your new thread, I like the sound of it!