50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Two

6. The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin Imogen is recently widowed, and despite her grieving is determined to remember that her late husband Ivor was also a bit of a bastard. Her bohemian, upper middle class peace is shattered when assorted relatives come "to look after her" in the weeks after Ivor's death.

Worse is to come when a stranger begins pursuing her, convinced she is implicated in her late husband's death. And then odd things start happening in the house, causing Imogen to wonder whether Ivor really has died after all.

This was excellent. It started out as a Mitford-esque comedy of manners, but as the story evolved it was equally successful as a tense thriller. I'd not heard of Fremlin before seeing her recommended on this thread, so many thanks for the tip-off. I will definitely be reading more of her work.

ChocFreak I enjoyed Bird Box I am a fan of dystopias ever since I read 1984 as a teen. This is an interesting one as we never really get to understand what caused the madness and fall of civilisation. It just happens. I think this is realistic as Joe Public probably wouldn't know what was going on. The focus is on the relationships between the survivors. The paranoia and claustrophobia feels real. I liked the central character too. So I enjoyed it. I don't have Netflix so no idea what they've done with it. Its an easy read (I read it in less than a day). I picked it up on daily deal so only paid 0.99p certainly worth that and I'll probably read the next book the authors writes. What did you think of it?

Marking my spot and following your reading suggestions 😊

Just joining!
Would love to read 50 books this year I'm just about to start my fourth book - Eve of Man & I think I'm going to get a couple of audio books to listen to at the gym/while crocheting!

So far I've read:

1. This is going to hurt - loved this, as an NHS worked and someone who has witnessed first hand the mental health issues some junior drs have to battle with it hit home and I love that it's out there for others who don't have any experience of behind the scenes in the NHS to have an insight of what it can be like!
2. Blink - I read this in a day as the story utterly gripped me. I'm a re reader but I don't think I'd read it again. (I'm not very good at reviews )
3. Slade house - I really enjoyed this, I've been putting off reading it for months because I wasn't sure I'd like it, I bought it on a bit of a whim and had no idea what it was about. Wasn't really sure about the ending though.

Definitely need to up my game, I find it hard to fit reading in around work/starting a small business & my DS so I think I'm going to try some audio books!

I have just been on the kindle monthly deal, managed to contain myself to 7 books

Lovely dog Fortuna

New joiner, my reading list so far:

1. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
2. Feminists don’t wear pink (and other lies) by Scarlett Curtis
3. On death and dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
4. Care of the dying: a clinical handbook by Nigel C H Stott
5. Divided by Tim Marshall
6. One of us is lying by Karen McManus
7. We should all be feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Currently reading The Unspeakable: And other subjects of discussion by Megan Daum

I read The Milkman last year and found it hard going. I think it is a book that you need to be able to devote significant chunks of time to as the style takes a lot of getting used to. When I had a hour or so to read I would suddenly find the flow but if I was reading 10 mins here and there it was useless.
I appreciated what the author was doing, admired the skill but definitely didn't love it. And I breathed a sign of relief when it was finished.

15. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron A dog keeps being reincarnated until he finds his purpose in life.

I normally wouldn't touch something like this with a bargepole but it's been getting passed round my dog training group for months. Everyone going on about what a heartwarming story it is. It turned out to be the emotionally manipulative tearjerker I suspected it would be and it had me ugly crying for most of the second half about my childhood dog.

I hate books that do this and avoid the cry bait genre like the plague. If you are a dog person and want to torture yourself I'd recommend reading this in one sitting with a big box of tissues.

Thankfully the current pup has figured out her purpose quite quickly (stealing and shredding the tissues mostly).

Just finished 10. The God of small things - on audio.

Dear Lord, I thought it was crap & I felt displaced all the time as there was no warning of the jumping about in time. There were occasional snippets of good but I drudged through it & like January, I'm so glad it's over.

Interested in the milkman as I'm in NI but have bought quite a few classics in the audible bogof so may go on to those next. Enjoying 'the examined life' at the mo & trying to get a gentleman in Moscow finished

Finally I finished off Reading Allowed, it got 4 on Goodreads instead of my usual 3.

I'm now reading Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber. It's not my usual kind of book but when I was trying to sort out the Kindle problems I download a free book/99p book to see if it was working or not. I wanted a light read when I couldn't sleep last night so started it and will probably finish it today.

BakewellTarts would be interested to see what you think of Bird Box, as I have just ywatched the film on Netflix.

I am listening to Milkman at work on audible and enjoying it, my best friend lives in Northern Ireland and the narrator sounds so much like his mother who died a few years ago that it is quite nostalgic.

Remus I read The Boys in the Boat a few years ago now and really enjoyed it.

7 The Singapore Grip by J.G.Farrell
This is the third of his Empire Trilogy and the longest. It starts just over a year before the Japanese take control of Singapore and concentrates on one family, the Blacketts who are one of the major companies in Singapore. Alongside the Blacketts there are a motley crew of characters all intertwined with the family and intsrespersing this is the military decisions which were made or not made which led do the disastrous campaign over there. At one point there was a reflection by one of the generals that the commanders in Aisia were all deemed second rate and not good enough for the war in Europe. The book ends with the internement of the Europeans.

I read The Siege of Krishnapur and Troubles in my late teens and will be going back to re-read them.

Great book and highly recommend especially if you have an interest in military history as this is also a very factual book.

Will go and peruse the bookshelf for inspiration for book 8

Terpsichore thank you, that sounds perfect. Familiar with Barrow as he featured in Erebus. It may have found itself in my Amazon shopping basket despite my book buying ban. Off to check the library first.

I loved Milkman - it was my top fiction read last year. Personally I enjoyed the stream of consciousness style, but I realise that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I loved Milkman - it moves along quite quickly from halfway, but it doesn’t change if you can’t get on with the style. You have to kind of relax and go along with the flow of it and it comes together. I think if you try too hard to make sense of it as you go it can seem like a sticky read.

MrsDOnofrio, I'm still reading (avidly) and wasn't going to mention it until my review, but can't resist your plea for recommendations about exploration - so I'd urge you to find a copy of Barrow's Boys by Fergus Fleming as soon as you can. It's simply tremendous.

The last Franklin expedition is the final chapter in a fantastic narrative of amazing feats by early 19thc explorers, mostly - but not all - Navy men.

I'll come back with a proper review when I've finished it, but so far it's an enthralling read.

PS my husband gave up on Milkman. I've had a look at it and can see why.

Normal People by Sally Rooney - well written, well observed. If I were younger I'd have loved it but it's about young people at uni which I'm a few years past. Very enjoyable though.

The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd - utterly fabulous short stories. I'm not usually a fan of the genre but loved every page of this.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Blythell - absolutely loved this gentle memoir of a man who bought a second hand book shop in rural Scotland.

The Wild Remedy - How Nature Mends Us, A Remedy by Emma Mitchell I bought this after reading a beautiful excerpt in the papers and it's rather lovely. Makes me want to flee London and move to the middle of nowhere and just get lost in the countryside. Lovely.

The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig sort of Jilly Cooper-esque with slightly irritating and at times thoroughly unconvincing plot. Fine, reminded me why I hate Devon, but I was glad to finish it.

Not read it but opinion is very divided on a FB Book group I'm on. It appears to be one of those Marmite books

Anyone else struggling with Milkman? I'm finding it so tedious and tempted to give up.

Correction - previous book is Revelation, not Lamentation . Lamentation is the next book - #6

1. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
2. Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O’Porter
3. The Glass menagerie by Tennessee Williams
4. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
5. Endurance by Alfred Lancing
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
7. Animal Farm by George Orwell

9: Heartstone (Shardlake #5) by CJ Sansom
This is the fifth in the Shardlake series, and having read them all, I can say I enjoyed this one the most.
Set towards the end of Henry VIII's reign, lawyer Matthew Shardlake is asked by Queen Catherine Parr to investigate a claim by one of her servants that a ward of court, Hugh Curtys, has suffered a "monstrous wrong". The investigation takes him to Portsmouth, where he finds a dysfunctional family with a huge secret. Matthew takes the opportunity to also make additional investigations into a separate case (a loose end from the previous book Lamentation). A mysterious inmate of the Bedlam asylum, Ellen Fettiplace, came originally from the same area and Shardlake takes it upon himself to find out more about how she ended up in Bedlam.
The two storylines continue along at quite a pace, both with the threatened French invasion looming in the background, culminating with the gathering of the English fleet in Portsmouth harbour, along with the flagship the Mary Rose.

I rattled through it pretty quickly, complex enough to be interesting but not over-complex. Believable characters and an enjoyable story with genuine historical events (the sinking of the Mary Rose)
Probably the best fiction book I have read this year.

I've bought Scrublands, which the Grauniad mentioned a few weeks ago iirc. Also The Boys in the Boat which I've had my eye on for a while.

The Terror is needlessly long, but definitely worth a shot for 99p if you're into exploration and snow!