50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Five

Nothing exciting to report. Doing some easy reads to get my mojo back.

63. A Poisonous Plot - Susanna Gregory (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles #21)
    Medieval murder mystery of usual format. Starting to get quite samey this late in the series, but I like the characters so may as well keep going with only a few left.

64. Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Pérez
    A look at data bias and how it affects women in every aspect of life. Well written, researched and informative and somewhat concerning particularly from a medical perspective.

65. Diary of a Provincial Lady - E.M. Delafield (Audiobook)
    The original Bridget Jones. Compiled from a magazine column, this charming and witty diary observes and pokes fun at middle class life and problems in the 1930s. I laughed out loud in places. Are the sequels worth it?

25. The Only Story by Julian Barnes
Superficially the story of 19 year old Paul, and the relationship he has over many years with his married, fortysomething tennis partner Susan, this was really more of a philosophical musing on the nature of love, how it changes, and how it changes us. I enjoyed both the storyline and the reflections. Although the narration switched between first, second, and third person, this is very much Paul’s perspective alone, and while this worked, I would be intrigued to find out more about Susan’s experiences, which are hugely significant in how their relationship develops.

As an aside, this was my first ever Audiobook, borrowed from the library, and I’m not sure how I feel about the format. I am quite slow of thinking, and often like to re-read passages, and dip back and forth, which I couldn’t easily do. On the other hand, being able to multitask and enjoy a novel while cooking was a definite plus, although this did mean I missed the odd bit when concentration was elsewhere. And I don’t have sufficient brainpower to “read” two books at once anymore, and didn’t want to listen in bed, so ended up reading travel guides or Private Eye at the end of the day. Perhaps the format might be better suited to a more plot-driven book?

I seem to have got into a run of diaries:

38: The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell

Much-reviewed on here, and one of the few available things on BorrowBox that seemed remotely like anything I'd want to read. I wasn't sure I'd be particularly bothered about this but in fact I ended up loving it. I've spent a significant chunk of my life (as I'm sure most of us on here have) haunting secondhand bookshops and so there was a lot here that spoke to me very directly. I enjoyed his dry sense of humour a great deal. I can't quite believe the jaw-dropping Nicky was a real person, though....

Then on to two related books:

39: Gentleman Jack: the Real Anne Lister - Anne Choma & Sally Wainwright
40: The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister - ed. Helena Whitbread

I'm watching the current dramatisation of these on BBC1 but had seen the diaries for sale (in a secondhand bookshop) years ago, not bought them and have been mildly kicking myself for it ever since. Now, on making up for lost time, they're fascinating for any history-lover. Lister's sexual identity has been heavily trailed as the focus here but the TV adaptation unfortunately goes rather for the nudge-nudge, wink-wink approach - which, as the diaries make obvious, the fiercely-private Lister herself would have loathed. There's an academic case to be made for studying the evidence the diaries provide of the private life of a lesbian woman in the early 19thc, but that has to be in the context of everything else Lister was: a fiercely intelligent, frustrated, capable woman trapped in a male-dominated society, one to which she couldn't/wouldn't conform. The diaries and the companion-book provide a more nuanced picture than the TV series (which, as prime-time entertainment, is far from bad, just not able to convey the full story). I did find the diaries frustrating at times because the notes are hopelessly sparse and don't explain much essential background; the companion-book covers a different time-period of Lister's life but helpfully fills in lots of gaps, so it was good to read both.

74. Herring in the Smoke, L C Tyler
Latest instalment in crime fiction series. It's set in modern-day England, but with a nod and a wink to the Golden Age of crime fiction. It's a playful take on the genre, although not as funny as it wants to be.

Just finished Children of Blood and Bone which is a YA historical fantasy thing. I found it very derivative, of things like The Hunger games and Red Rising amongst others and some of the phrasing/imagery was very repetitive. It was very YA with a lot of 'He loves me, he loves me boy's stuff that got a bit wearing. And I thought the ending was weak. Still, it's one of the first things I've read in ages that seems at least worth a review, although I think I might be damning it with faint praise.

36 Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
Short Japanese novel which seems to have become very popular in the UK. Keiko is a (probably) not neurotypical/(possibly) autistic woman in her mid-30s who has only ever worked in a 24-hour convenience store. She learns how to be a 'normal' person by imitating those around her, but even so she is coming under pressure for not conforming to rigid social norms (still prevalent in Japan these days) by either getting a proper job or getting married.

There are definite hints of Eleanor Oliphant in the main character, which may explain its popularity, though I would have to say she is less complex and less sympathetic than Eleanor (and I was not a big fan of that book). Even so, it is a decent short read which tells you quite a lot about Japanese society.

I have just raced through The silence between breaths by Cath Staincliffe. It's the first book of hers that I have read and I couldn't put it down. It tells the story of several people who are travelling to London with a chapter dedicated to a specific person or family and reveals their personalities and life events. One person on the train is not what they seem to be and they are sussed out by a fellow passenger with disastrous consequences. Bravery features highly in this novel from some of the most unexpected people.

Well worth reading.

I haven't posted for a while so just updating and will then catch up on what others have read and the recommendations I have missed. I seem to have had quite a good run of enjoyable reads recently:

27. We have always lived in the castle - Shirley Jackson

Recommended by others on this thread and I really enjoyed it!

28. I am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes

Not the best written book and had some annoying style quirks but I found it a real page turner and raced through it. Whilst the ending was never in doubt it was the journey I wanted to find out about. Trying not to spoil for anyone who hasn't read it!

29. Last Bus to Woodstock - Colin Dexter

This was a Kindle Daily Deal. I love the Morse television series (and Endeavour) but had never read any of the books. The plot was fine but some of the attitudes in the book annoyed me (maybe of its era) and the style didn't particularly gel with me. Will probably stick to the television series.

30. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes

I started this a while ago and was quite put off by the opening paragraph and stopped. Glad I came back to it as I really enjoyed this exploration of relationships which was unpredictable and an interesting read.

31. The Quiet American - Graham Greene

I read Our Man in Havana earlier in the year so thought I would try another Greene. This was very different in tone from Our Man in Havana. Set in Vietnam during the war with the focus on a world-weary English reporter, a naive young American attache and a local Vietnamese girl against the backdrop of the different local factions. Really enjoyed this.

32. Black Sheep - Georgette Heyer

My go-to comfort read author. Lucky she was prolific. Thoroughly enjoyable as ever.

Probably back to A Dance to the Music of Time next - Book 6 up next so keeping on track with one a month. What will Widmerpool do next.....?

I'm reading Clothes Music Boys at the moment (I did get it on a daily deal) Satuski and really enjoying it, I'll definitely be seeking out the follow up after your, and other pp's, positive review. Another author I'd never have picked up without this thread.

72. Travels with Epicurus, by Daniel Klein
Non-fiction: American man in his 70s packs up his old college philosophy books and takes himself off to a Greek island to think about how to lead an authentic older life. I could poke some holes in it - there is a whiff of male entitlement (nice for him to sit and think while women still get the dinner on the table and look after those who need it) and a somewhat romanticised view of Greek peasant life (which he acknowledges), but there's a gentle appeal to his musing about what makes for a meaningful old age.

73. My Sister the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Older sister grudgingly cleans up after her younger sister's unfortunate habit of killing men. Enjoyably deadpan about the murders, and an interesting glimpse into prosperous urban African life. It's lightweight, and all the better for it.

45 A Buyer's Market by Anthony Powell, listened to on audio

The second Dance to the Music of Time book 2, and I'm thoroughly hooked - they're perfect for listening while working, engaging but slow enough paced that it doesn't matter if I miss a word or have to start & stop the book.

I love the way this thread encourages me to try things I'd never have picked up of my own accord. It's also reminded me how much I enjoy serial novels of this sort - shame neither CP Snow's Strangers & Brothers sequence nor (in a slightly more downmarket vein) Compton Mackenzie's Sinister Street & inter-related books are available on audio.

I think I got my numbers mixed up before think this is

15. To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine

I really loved this, and I’m not a huge reader of memoirs generally. It centres around the loss of her aged mother, to whom she is very close, and how it brings sharply into focus events from the past, which leads her to confront some truths about her life and family relationships. Along the way she companionably discusses the trials and triumphs of her post-punk, post-divorce life. She looks at herself and her relationships with others with a rare, courageous honesty that is both compelling and endearing. I felt very affected by it. She writes well and with a laid-back artistry, embedding literary and musical quotes throughout her narrative, making it a part of a bigger story of female struggle and success in the arts. I’m definitely going to seek out Clothes Music Boys but seem to keep missing it when it’s cheap on the Kindle.

Nothing much to add here - just popping in to say hello.

I've read some stuff but it's mostly been very uninspiring and I just can't be bothered to even write reviews of any of it.

27. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. Nine friends, old mates from uni and their partners, get together to spend new year's eve in a remote, exclusive Scottish hunting lodge. One of them is murdered and the snowy weather means that it was impossible for an outsider to travel in or out of the estate, setting up a classic locked room style whodunnit. My main problem with this book is that the identity of the corpse (as well as, obviously, the murderer) is not revealed until very near the end, making it much harder to guess whodunnit (as there are too many variables) and hence reducing the suspense which is usually a huge part of this genre. Otherwise, it was an okay read.

35 The Fair Fight - Anna Freeman
I am not usually much of a historical fiction fan, and the concept of a novel based around a female boxer growing up in a late 18th century Bristol brothel is not one that would normally draw me in, but this was a book club pick, so I did read it and ended up really enjoying it.

Freeman has obviously done a huge amount of research in order to ensure historical accuracy, but the book wears it lightly and it didn't seem like I was getting social history/period slang/boxing techniques rammed down my throat, so to speak. It is written in the voices of three of the main characters, not all of whom are particularly sympathetic at all times, but the worst ones get what they deserve (more or less) in the end. A good read.

58. The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story - Christie Watson I galloped through this well-written nursing memoir. It's the sort of book that makes you realise how lucky you are and to appreciate the good things you have while you have them. Many of the tales in this book were absolutely heartbreaking and the kindness of the nurses, working in very difficult conditions, shines through.

I've really got in to reading memoirs at the moment. I'm finding it easier to read non-fiction for some reason. However, I've just started Acceptance, the third and final part of the Southern Reach trilogy, which I have been reading at the rapid rate of one per year.

44. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

I very much enjoy Wolitzer's writing style and this book was no exception. It tells the story of Greer Kadetsky, a young woman who meets an "old school" feminist, Faith Frank, in a chance encounter at college, and how that experience shapes her life. It also focuses on her boyfriend Cory, and friend Zee, and how their experiences interlink with hers. The central theme is, I think, inter-generational feminism and mentorship, albeit (as many reviewers have commented) from a very white middle-class perspective. It was a very familiar milieu for me (albeit an American rather than a British setting), very enjoyable to read with well-realised characters, but I didn't think it told me anything new. I think part of my problem with this type of moulding/new generation/mentor novels is that I feel Muriel Spark did it so perfectly and efficiently in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that even very differently set novels like this one feel a bit verbose and lumbering in comparison.

In terms of Wolitzer's own novels, I much preferred The Wife which was crisper, shorter, more acerbic and in my view all the better for it.

I know biblio, the mind boggles

I am just dropping in to say I am still here, still reading your lovely reviews and still reading. Life has just thrown me a few curveballs at the moment. Keep meaning to up date and then... currently reading Lowborn by Kerry Hudson and it is very very good.

Greenbanks, not Greenbacks.

Not as good as "no holes barred", though Desdemona. I won't even speculate on what you thought the origin of that one was...

I quite fancy the sound of The Hoarder.

22. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen on Audible, no introduction needed with this one.
    I know the plot well from the film, and this is something of a bonus when listening to a book where there is no facility to flick back and get the facts straight. I do think Emma Thompson deserved her Adapted Screenplay Oscar for bringing this to life and fleshing out the characters, particularly Edward who is a bit of a cold fish in the book. I enjoyed this much more than Persuasion but nowhere near as much as Pride and Prejudice.

23. My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen, an enjoyable no holds barred memoir that has an authentic voice. (Just checked the spelling of that expression and discovered it relates to wrestling and I've been incorrectly saying 'no holes barred' my entire life! ) I think it can probably be assumed that she won't be making the big money through singing in the future, her first album sold 2.5 million copies and the fourth album, released a year ago, has to date sold 14,439 copies. Writing is therefore no doubt a profitable second string to her bow, and 'warts and all' is the way to go if you want the big bucks. I'm sure this book has done wonders for her bank balance but I very much doubt it has done anything for family relations. Her parents are depicted as being largely neglectful and her sibling relationships seem tense. Lily Allen has been through some difficult times in her life and she covers the highs and lows in this book. She doesn't shy away from describing her own diva-ish, often drug fuelled, behaviour but there isn't much introspection even when she's describing her 'close friend' and manager quitting by letter, being sued by another 'close friend' who had acted as her booking agent for several years and her entire band quitting - within the space of a few months. I came away thinking she probably wasn't an easy person to work with but that she was an interesting and honest writer.

24. The Hoarder by Jess Kidd. Maud Drennan - underpaid carer and unintentional psychic - is the latest in a long line of dogsbodies for the ancient, belligerent Cathal Flood. Yet despite her best efforts, Maud is drawn into the mysteries concealed in his filthy, once-grand home. She realises that something is changing: Cathal, and the junk-filled rooms, are opening up to her.
    With only her agoraphobic landlady and a troop of sarcastic ghostly saints to help, Maud must uncover what lies beneath Cathal's decades-old hostility, and the strange activities of the house itself. And if someone has hidden a secret there, how far will they go to ensure it remains buried?
    My expectations were low on this one, I picked it up on an Audible 3 for 2 deal and this was the third 'throw it in the shopping cart and hope for the best' book. However I was pleasantly surprised, the writing was good and I was keen to find out the mystery at the centre of the plot. Kidd could be accused of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it; there's a murder mystery/detective saga, supernatural goings on, dual time narrative (the childhood mystery isn't properly explored and feels a bit superfluous) and the Greek Chorus Of Saints that only Maud can see adds magic realism to the mix, which could be a bit distracting but I really liked, (particularly the lecherous Saint Valentine who was metaphorically rubbing his thighs a la Vic Reeves at every interaction our heroine had with a prospective romantic conquest.)
    Kidd kept me guessing till the end as to who were the goodies and who were the baddies and there are many twists and turns of plot (perhaps too many to properly keep up with in an Audible book) over all though very enjoyable and I will be seeking out her debut novel Himself which most reviewers on Goodreads seem to prefer to this one.

71. Greenbacks, Dorothy Whipple
An account of three generations of a middle-class family and their struggles with family life, originally published in 1932. I started it ages ago,, found it a bit dull and stalled, but it grew on me. There are some enjoyably awful husbands (well, not enjoyable for their wives) and some satisfying accounts of women finally asserting themselves. There was one plot strand that was surprisingly reminiscent of the second series of Fleabag.

I read the Dance to the Music of Time when I was a teenager, and I remember enjoying it, but not a huge amount else. I really very rarely re-read, but I think I’m starting to plan an exception to this rule!

62. The Kindly Ones - Anthony Powell DTTMOT #6 (audiobook)

Also just finished the next installment. The book opens with a flashback to 1914 and Nick's childhood before school and concentrates on the 'downstairs' staff. This initially feels very odd and out of synch however is needed to set the context of later events. Nick is now jostling for position before the war breaks out.

I agree that these gets better with each passing book and also think I probably won't be able to ration them out.

I'm glad I'm not the only joyous Widmerpool greeter. He's becoming a bit pantomime villain with that impending creeping up and yell of "He's behind you!"

I do wonder why these are not more popular or known about as they are simply brilliant.

pepe it is fun and indulgent, and I didn’t feel at any point like I wanted to give up, but wished there was more to it and a bit more grit I suppose. It had some good lines and the way it was put together was a nice idea - lots of people telling the same story but with different recollections of the same incidents - but the story could have been more inventive. It was bought for me as a present in hardback which shouldn’t make a difference but maybe slightly raised expectations compared to if it had been a Kindle deal,