50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Five

58. Everything Under, Daisy Johnson

This book tells its story in short chapters which describe three chunks of the narrative, in parallel: sort of the beginning, the middle and the end all at the same time. In the first story, Gretel is living with her mother in a broken down houseboat on an isolated stretch of river in rural Oxfordshire. In the last, the now adult Gretel and her mother, who have long been separated, have come back to live together, this time in a small cottage, where Gretel is effectively nursing her mother as she succumbs to dementia. The middle strand is the most slippery, as Gretel revisits her past as part of her search for her missing mother.

This isn't normally the sort of book I like: fractured narrative, slippery story-telling, fey characters. But... but but but. I really enjoyed this. It's written beautifully, the story is mysterious, compelling and a bit scary, and it all came together as a great read.

59. The Year of Reading Dangerously, Andy Miller

Andy Miller is the guy from Backlisted who talks over people a lot. I started to notice how much he talks over both his fellow presenter and their guests and once you notice it you can't un-notice it . This book isn't really about books, or about reading, it's about Andy Miller and Andy Miller reading some books. He has a deeply middle-class midlife crisis, feels he hasn't achieved the things in life that he thought he would, and decides to put things right in one area at least by reading a list of books that he feels he should read in his lifetime.

Plus points: funny, clever, inspires you to read more of the classics. Minus points: way too much smug Andy Miller and not enough about the books! Did we really need a whole chapter devoted to a pretentious fan letter than he once wrote to Michel Houellebecq?

60. The Guilty Feminist: From Our Noble Goals to Our Worst Hypocrisies , Deborah Frances-White

I wasn't sure whether to include this as, if I am honest, I rather skim read the last half of the book and may have to go back and give it another chance at some point.

I found it a disappointment. Feminism is in a bit of a mess at the moment. Society seems to be having (yet another) nasty misogynistic moment and feminists are tearing each other apart and policing each others' views. I had hoped, from what I believed to be DFW's pragmatic and humorous form of feminism (this book has also been published with the subtitle "You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Overthrow the Patriarchy") that she might provide some useful views on how we might come back together and turn back to our common enemy (the Patriarchy, obvs). Sadly, this was not to be. Instead I found this to be surprisingly proscriptive and judgemental, despite the fact that I agreed with much of what she was saying.

Perhaps I was just in the wrong frame of mind to give this a proper chance as it gets gushing reviews.

27. Masterpieces on a Weekly Basis: Bach's Start in Leipzig by Bach Museum Leipzig

This little book was about J S Bach's first four years in Leipzig when he embarked on the impressive challenge of composing and performing a while cantata for each Sunday service at Thormaskirche in Leipzig, as well as a whole repertoire of large scale passion oratorios and other magnificent works.

I found most interesting the pictures of Bach's autograph scores and discussions on who his librettist might have been.

26. Divine Justice (Camel Club #4) by David Baldacci

This is the direct sequel to the last book I reviewed, where Stone assassinates two of the most important people in the US. It was a pretty good thriller with OK character development - my kind of beach read.

25 Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty - very enjoyable, I have become a big fan of Liane Moriarty, very easy reading with a little bit of bite

Finished My Sister the Serial Killer which I thought a disappointment. It felt like the kind of silly girly YA that I might have liked around 15. DP thought it was really funny, but it didn't raise even a single smile in me. I guessed the 'twist' really early on and just thought the whole thing lacked substance and style. I guess if you just want a really easy, mindless read then it could serve that purpose.

47. The Dark Side of the Mind - Kerry Daynes

Case studies and memoir from a forensic psychologist - someone who mostly works with existing inmates in prison and high security mental health facilities (as she explains, helping police with psychological profiling is very rare). This stood out for its compassion towards both offenders and victims, with a welcome emphasis on our shared humanity. Also illuminating was the specifically female experience of being a forensic psychologist, as she suffered harassment and stalking which offered interesting parallels to the offences committed by / inflicted on her clients.

48. Home Grown: how domestic violence turns men into terrorists - Joan Smith

Not quite so keen on this one. Smith's case that a large proportion of terrorists have suffered from and/or perpetrated domestic violence is based on anecdotal, rather than statistical, data. It's an interesting starting point but hard numbers are really needed if this is to become useful in profiling potential terrorists; Smith does not even acknowledge this weakness in her case.

More convincing is her wider argument that those who become terrorists often have troubled pasts (involving eg parental abuse and petty or violent crime); peaceful men don't just come across extremist ideology and instantly turn into mass-murdering thugs.

I certainly agree with her conclusions:

1. that more needs to be done to help troubled children and young people, and
2. that better systems of recording domestic violence are needed so that the authorities are aware of the perpetrators as men who are already on a violent path, and can factor this into profiling.

back on board. will be starting with a re=read of a Virago modern classic of a view of the harbour by Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress of course). £2.99 in the co-op of all places. World of books (2nd hand site) is 3 for 2 at the moment so have ordered another ET together with Superwoman by Shirley Conran (which I remember my mother buying when it came out or in a 2nd hand bookshop) - I seem to recall her housekeeping methods are nothing like so-called Mrs Hinch and reveal that the author would rather lie on the sofa with a novel rather than hoover underneath it.

Should finish My Sister the Serial Killer tonight. Not particularly taken with it, to be honest.

I read The Reality Dysfunction about 20 years ago and even then thought it was basically a zombie book with a lot of torture. It starts off interesting enough but then becomes all about the horrible tortures the ghosts inflict on the living to snatch their bodies I gave it the benefit of the doubt and read 2 sequels, as well, and it was just more of torture & zombies.

I've added The Reality Dysfunction to my wish list Stitches. Sounds right up my street.

56. Atlas Alone by Emma Newman

Set on a spaceship heading off to form a new colony following a Earth destroying nuclear strike.
Dee accidentally witnessed the nuclear strike, and she knows that someone on the ship pushed the button. She’s traumatised and filled with suppressed rage.
Then, she’s invited to play test a new mersive game. It’s a game unlike any she’s played before, and when a character she kills in the game bears an uncanny resemblance to a man who dies suddenly in the real world at that exact time, Dee finds herself hunting for information about those responsible for the nuclear strike and their plans for the new colony.

An absorbing book, with good character development. I think it’s a follow on from some of Newman’s previous books, but it works well as a stand alone novel.

57. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton

This was excellent.
I can’t remember who on here recommended it, but thanks, it was well worth the reading. And it’s well worth checking out for those of you interested in science fiction.

Set in AD 2600, and humanity has spread across the galaxy, in a largely peaceful Confederation. And then something goes wrong. On a primitive colony planet, a devil worshipping criminal encounters an alien entity.
Chaos is unleashed in the form of malevolent spirits possessing (or sequestering) their victims, and threatening to exponentially spread across human civilisation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.
It’s a great big epic complex sci-fi story. Great world building, detailed and believable, multiple plot lines spanning a diverse range of different worlds and habitats, with a large cast of well developed characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment in the trilogy.

It is very long though - 1200 pages and it’s the first in a trilogy - so not a quick read. (Not helped by the other library user who kept reserving it before I’d finished with it!)
It’s definitely the sort of book that’s best saved for when you’ve got some big chunks of time for uninterrupted reading.

I love the Pern books Sadik so i will be adding that to my list. Thanks for the review

I'm starting that later Alias really looking forward to it. It will be my 33rd book this year

37. All Among the Barley Melissa Harrison Someone on this thread recommended this, and I bought it for my kindle at the time and have just read it in two evenings. Thank you so much to the person who recommended it - I’m sorry I didn’t think to note your name down at the time!! - because I really enjoyed this.

59 The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein

Rowan is a Steerswoman, from an order dedicated to charting the world and increasing knowledge and understanding. If you ask her any question, she will answer, but you must answer her questions in return, or no Steerswoman will ever answer you in the future. The only people who don't interact with the Steerswomen, and will never answer their questions, are the mysterious wizards. At the start of the book, Rowan is investigating strange jewels, scattered in an inexplicable pattern across the land, but as she asks more questions, people start trying to kill her.
I really enjoyed this - it feels rather like the Pern novels in being something of a SF/fantasy hybrid (I suspect this will all become clearer in later books). The mystery element of the plot works really well, and unlike so many books where there's a pull-away-the-cloak moment of revelation, you see Rowan puzzling things out bit by bit. It's a shame I have two library books I really ought to read, because I want to read no. 2 right next.

25. Stone Cold (Camel Club #3) by David Baldacci

Adventures continue for this group of misfits headed by a former CIA assassin, as they battle the CIA for their lives while also helping a beautiful con artist deal with a murderous casino owner.

If that sounds corny, that's because it was. Still, it was a good beach read and better dick-lit than Jack Reacher books.

Just finished Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates. This is not she of Everyday Sexism fame but Dr Laura Bates from Indiana who spent many years working with many violent prisoners talking about and writing about (occasionally performing bits of ) The Bard. The book's main focus is on Larry Newton, an intriguing prisoner locked up for life without parole at the age of 17. He has written a whole book now and was studying for a PhD before the State withdrew funding. An interesting read. Not sure where I first heard of this book but it's a good one for anyone interested in criminology , Shakespeare, or both!

If I don't read fifty books this year, it will be because it took me well over a month to read

29 Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

It all started out well, but ran well into the sand about three quarters of the way through. The book takes place in two worlds - a real world of the pretty near future, and a computer simulation of a Land that people are having their brains uploaded to after they die. Without any notice or handholding from the author, it suddenly changes pace and focuses entirely on a Quest in the Land which I really struggled to follow the significance of. I think it would be as well to read a sympathetic review before embarking on reading this, to give some structure to grasp onto. When I had finished I checked it out on GoodReads and someone who had loved it was reminding me about all the good stuff at the beginning, which had been really enjoyable to read, about coping with future of social media. I had entirely forgotten about all this by the end. If you do read it, please get in touch if you understand and can explain who Brindle is - thanks!

23. The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
An old Cuban fisherman spends several days trying to land an enormous Marlin. Only one of them will survive....

I'd never read any Hemingway before this and found it to be an incredible page-turner. It's a very short novel but the action moves fast and I found several of the passages quite moving: the Old Man's respect for the fish, for nature in general, and his love for the young fisherman he trained. The simplicity of language and style reminded me of John Steinbeck's The Pearl which I read last year.

Has encouraged me to seek out more Hemingway...

Just swinging by to say that Philippa Perry's The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad that You Did) is a 99p Kindle deal today

45. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs - Steve Brusatte

So glad I picked this up as a 99p deal. I read quite a bit on natural history, but hadn't read a dinosaur book for about 30 years, since my parents became Baptists when I was 7 and the dinosaur literature was suddenly put away on the high shelf...

This was an excellent lay person's (re-)introduction to the topic, focusing on the natural history of the dinosaurs and the environmental forces that shaped their world, as well as the scientists and adventurers who have uncovered their remains. There was too much of the Nat Geo tendency to describe the habitual dress of every bit-part player, but I still found this a page-turning account and will be seeking out more in-depth dinosaur books now.

46. My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

Much reviewed on here, I raced through this short novel about nurse Korede and her efforts to cover for her sister Ayoola's nasty habit of sticking a knife into the men she dates. I loved the psychology of the sisters' interdependency, and the brief flashbacks to their brutal past showed just enough to understand how they reached this point.

The Lagos setting and elements of Nigerian culture were displayed vividly, but with a deft lightness of touch. The danger inherent in the central love triangle made this a genuinely tense read, although the denouement seemed a little rushed. Not perfect, but as this is Braithwaite's first novel, I would definitely seek out anything else she goes on to write.

Not getting much time or mental space to read lately, which is a shame as I've just got The Secret Lives of Colour and Bloody Brilliant Women turn up from the library after long waits.

I like Wide Sargasso Sea, and also enjoyed Margaret Atwood's early books - The Edible Woman, Dancing Girls etc - up to about the mid 80s. (But then I gave up on This Thing of Darkness, so am obviously beyond the pale.)

Welsh I would put both Cat's Eye and
Wide Sargasso Sea up there with my favourite books. It takes all sorts!

I enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea too, and I like some Atwood so put that bag back Wabbit.

77. Bitter Orange - Claire Fuller Picked up in the library after Splother reviewed it recently. Set in '69, a socially awkward woman is asked to assess the grounds of a dilapidated country house for the absent new owner. She arrives to find a younger couple in residence assessing the house and contents. They strike up a friendship that turns to obsession, but she soon finds all is not as perfect as it seems.

Simmering, full of suspense and some interesting twists with lovely writing. I couldn't put it down.

78. H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald (audio) Despite having zero interest in falconry other than having seen a few shows during castle visits, I was captivated by this blend of memoir and nature writing dealing with bereavement and the challenge of training a goshawk. I was enchanted by her stunning writing.