50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Five

16. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
In the 19th century Charles Landis created a utopian community, which became known as Vineland (New Jersey, USA). In Kingsolver’s most recent novel we follow Thatcher Greenwood and Willa Knox who lived in the same street of this town, but around 150 years apart. In both storylines the themes of family, self-belief and resilience are explored as well as the foundations we build for ourselves and our loved ones.

I simply fell in love with many of the protagonists and did NOT want this book to end. I feel bereft – I need to know how they’re all getting on!!

I adored the character of Willa’s daughter Tig (Antigone). Her strength and creativity, her deep-rooted caring nature and her vision of the future have renewed my faith in the next generation and their capacity to evolve and thrive despite the catastrophic state of the planet we live on. (and yes, I do know that she is a fictitious character !!).

If you haven’t got the message... I TOTALLY ADORED THIS BOOK.

Terpsichore - I have searched for that Charlotte Armstrong book & see the copy you must have is "rare" on the second hand book website (Books of the world?) and goes for about £7. Others available around £4 from Amazon etc so might pick it up some time. Whilst searching I came across the "classicmystery.blog" which is quite entertaining if you are a crime fan.
re David Sedaris - I agree that some of his stuff is really funny but quite a big percentage is a bit off-colour i.e. his pre-occupation with physical ailments etc. I recommended him to an elderly relative and hope she has forgotten the name as I think she might find him distasteful. Her cinema-going friend thought "The favourite" (film) was "absolutely disgusting" but she is not as reactionary as that.
Trying to drag myself out of the house now to library and other boring errands.

Welcome Shake Just seen on Twitter the next book they are discussing is Toni Morrison's Beloved

Yes, if ever a book needed drastic editing it was Lethal White. The whole section with his nephew could have been cut with no impact at all on anything. As could about 40% of the rest of it leaving a vaguely entertaining crime novel/love story.

88. Rivals by Jilly Cooper

One of my favourites, listened to this on audible.

89. The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms by Claire Cock-Starkey

Eponyms are things named after people and this book explains the history behind 150 of these. An interesting read if you like finding out about language.

17. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Fonny and Tish are school friends who become lovers in 1970s Harlem. Their happiness is threatened when Fonny is accused of rape, just as Tish falls pregnant with his child. Beautifully written, it's a poignant tribute to both romantic and family love, against a backdrop of omnipresent racism.

Cote - It's really not very good. Far too long and frequently very boring.

Thanks for the tip, Toomuch. I have downloaded the episode and am looking forward to listening to it.

32: Mischief - Charlotte Armstrong

This was terrific. DH and I collect old green Penguins (their crime novels and thrillers) and this 1951 novel was a chance purchase at the weekend. Very short at just 126 pages, so I polished it off in a day, and I really couldn't put it down.

Married couple Peter and Ruth Jones are in New York so Peter can give a speech at some industry dinner. They've brought their 9-year-old daughter Bunny with them, expecting a family member to babysit in their hotel-room while they go out, but when she lets them down, one of the hotel elevator operators offers the services of his niece and they trustingly accept. BIG MISTAKE.

I won't say more because it would be one big spoiler but this nail biting little tale was filmed in 1952 as 'Don't Bother to Knock', with Marilyn Monroe as the babysitter. If anyone happens across the book I'd certainly recommend it.

"Strike's incurable predilection for getting to the root of puzzling incidents tended to inconvenience him quite as much of other people"

ODFOD.

I'm reading J K Rowling's Robert Galbraith's Lethal White now. Can someone tell me wtf I'm reading? I'm 9% in and absolutely nothing happened so far. It's all about Cormoran and his assistant Robin's feeeeelings for each other

Indigo, I've had my eye on The Cost of Living for a while, but it's not in my local library and I'm hoping it will come down in price on Kindle.

For any Wollitzer fans, I enjoyed The Ten-Year Nap. It's about that hoary old topic, balancing motherhood and work/aspirations/being yourself, done with warmth and intelligence.

Have just reread The Reading Cure, by Laura Freeman (popular here last year: a young woman recovering from anorexia writes about how her favourite books helped her to see food as less threatening and more pleasurable again).

Because I really want to be on holiday, I'm now reading Dawdling by the Danube : with journeys in Bavaria and Poland by Edward Enfield. It's a bit like reading a blog of someone's cycling holiday.

14. *God Emperor of Dune (Dune #4) by Frank Herbert
15. *Heretics of Dune (Dune #5) by Frank Herbert
16. *Chapter House Dune (Dune #6) by Frank Herbert

I reread these old favourites for the first time in about 15 years, and I was not disappointed. They are not quite the summit of achievement that I once thought they were, but the world building is outstanding and the stories are interesting, especially in #4.

1. A Game of Thrones (A Song if Ice and Fire #1) by George R. R. Martin
2. Avenger by Frederick Forsyth
3. Mr Spaceship by Philip K Dick
4. The Collectors (Camel Club #2) by David Baldacci

1. The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu
2. Total Control by David Baldacci
3. The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein
4. Call For The Dead by John Le Carré (Smiley #1)

Happy birthday inmyown! Very interested in that Sisters to the King book!

Birthday book haul

I think my family want me to make more puddings...

Thank you Indigo .

Thanks for the link Toomuch. The blog is fantastic by the way. I will be a regular visitor from now on

38. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

I picked this one up on a Kindle monthly deal after reading The Sympathizer to get a bit of a different perspective. I didn't know much about it so was pleasantly surprised to find it isn't a straight war memoir, but a blurring between fact and fiction. A collection of linked short stories and vignettes, it is partly based on the author's experience, but at various points, the rug is pulled out from under your feet as he explains that the events you've just assumed really happened are actually fiction. I thought this was an extremely effective way of making the point that everyone's experience of war - and indeed any significant event - will be different, and each individual only has a fragmented understanding.

39. The Reservoir Tapes by Jon McGregor

I enjoyed this "prequel" to the excellent Reservoir 13 but would have enjoyed it much more if I had read it straight afterwards. As it was I'd forgotten some of the characters and couldn't quite place some of the connections. I think I will have to read them both again close together. However, I thought the first and last chapters were really very good.

Place marking and bringing my list over:

1. Fire and Blood: A History of the Targaryen Kings from Aegon the Conqueror to Aegon III as scribed by Archmaester Gyldayn – George RR Martin
2. The Book of Death – Anonymous
3. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
4. Marilyn Monroe: A Life from Beginning to End – Hourly History
5. Whispers Underground – Ben Aaronovitch
6. All Creatures Great and Small – James Herriot
7. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
8. The Twits – Roald Dahl
9. Wait for Me! – Deborah Devonshire
10. Y: The Last Man, Book One - by Brian K. Vaughan
11. Octavia – Jilly Cooper
12. From Hell - Alan Moore
13. The Blade Itself – Joe Abercrombie
14. Before They are Hanged – Joe Abercrombie

There you go Indigo
bookbound.blog/2019/05/19/review-the-doll-factory-by-elizabeth-macneal/

Toomuch thanks for reviewing The Doll Factory. This book caught my eye at my local bookshop and I thought it looked interesting. Have added to my list. Could you link to the blog? Thanks

30. The Cost of Living – Deborah Levy

I didn’t realise this was the second instalment of Levy’s memoirs until about half way through, as this was an impulse borrow from the library. The first volume is Things I Don’t Want to Know – and I will be seeking this out next.

I enjoyed the spare, uncompromising style Levy uses in this book, as she reflects on the period when her marriage ends and she chooses chaos over order, the unknown over safety. This resonated with me, as I too got divorced after a relatively long marriage, spending many years prioritising the comfort and happiness of others! She reflects candidly on the often overwhelming challenges presented by setting up a new home, making a living and managing the day to day stuff of being a parent while trying to find her own way as a newly single person. A beautiful and inspiriting read.

Have been reading but not updating. Crazy busy and trying to maintain GCSE equilibrium!!

58. The house at the end of hope street - Meena van Preeg Book club read , not my usual thing. Story of a house which is magical and offer sanctuary to women in need. It as , in the novel, been the temporary home of many famous women including Christie, Pankhurst and Beatrix Potter . It felt like a grown up version of Nanny McPhee. Didn't hate it but felt there was so much more that could have been done with it. *
59. Templar Silks - Elizabeth Chadwick This is a Advance Reader coot. Released early June. Set in the reign in Henry II it is the story of Knight William Marshall's pilgrimage to Jerusalem. I read Chadwick's Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy a couple of years ago. She has an excellent sense of time and place and adds great detail. I enjoyed this.
60. In the shadows of wolves Another ARC this is a translation and story of the Wolf Children . German children who were sent by their parents into Lithuania to hunt for food at the end of WW2. Interesting story but hard to follow at times.
61. The Doll Factory - Elizabeth Macneal* this one I absolutely loved. Iris, twin of Rose becomes a model, muse and lover of a Pre-Raphealite painter, Louis Frost. Louis encourages her in her own artistic endeavours, but both are unaware that Iris has become the object of Silas' unwanted attentions. Silas is a taxidermist with a past and an attitude. Set in Victorian London this was delicious. There is a longer review up on he blog if you are interested, but I think Elizabeth Macneal is going to be one to watch.

Any Audible users, the sci-fi & fantasy sale looks pretty good - everything £3, and there's some solid stuff in there. I've bought Consider Phlebas, & thinking about the first Thursday Next book (have read it before, but I think it might be a good one to listen to while working). There's also some Robin Hobb, Naomi Novik, the Jodi Taylor books etc.

83. Closer by K L Slater

Bog standard psychological thriller. Emma’s ex starts going out with her boss, and Emma immediately has suspicions that her boss isn’t what she claims. Ok but the ending was rushed and left questions unresolved.

84. The Friend by Teresa Driscoll

Another disappointing psychological thriller. Sophie makes a new friend who isn’t all she seems. Unfortunately the ending is obvious from the start so there’s no real twist. Well written though.

85. Wigs On The Green by Nancy Mitford

Continuing working through her complete works. This one is a satire on her sisters’ affiliations with Hitler and Mosley, featuring a character trying to recruit everyone to the ‘Union Jackshirts’. As a background to all this are some rich young people trying to make decent marriages and putting on a pageant. This was out of print for years and I can see why.

86. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

I found this slow to start and a bit too long but the final third was good. It starts on the 1800s and tells the stories of the people drawn to Birchwood Manor and how they are all linked to each other. Not the best of hers.

87. One False Move by Robert Goddard

Goddard is one of my favourite authors but I was a bit disappointed by this. It started well but then got very confusing. A computer game company tracks down an expert player who keeps beating the computer. Unfortunately lots of other people also want his skills and are willing to do anything to get him. I ended up very confused with all the different people involved and the ending felt very rushed.