50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Eleven

Thanks Stitches for the Bridgerton info.

And Eine good to hear you loved the TV series. I've been immersed in Scandi crime lately - just finished DNA and Valhalla - and ready for something completely different.

Posting my last list and reviews of the year, I have a kindle book that I'm over 70% through and an audible book I'm over 50% through but lots of cooking to do today so think they'll be pushed into next year.

1.	The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen 
2.	<strong>Holes</strong> by Louis Sachar
3.	The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 
4.	The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey
5.	<strong>The Green Mile</strong> by Stephen King
6.	<strong>Sweet Sorrow</strong> by David Nichols
7.	Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
8.	The Acceptance World by Anthony Powell
9.	<strong>Bring Up The Bodies</strong> by Hilary Mantel 
10.	Himself by Jess Kidd
11.	The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
12.	The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel
13.	The Dutch House by Anne Pratchet
14.	Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.                                  
15.	My Antonia by Willa Carter
16.	<strong>Alias Grace</strong> by Margaret Atwood 
17.	11.22.63 by Stephen King
18.	The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood 
19.	Abomination by Robert Swindells
20.	Me by Elton John
21.	Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
22.	Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin
23.	Carry On Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
24.	The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
25.	At Lady Molly’s by Anthony Powell 
26.	Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant by Anthony Powell
27.	The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
28.	The Kindly Ones by Anthony Powell
29.	Girl, Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo 
30.	<strong>Love After Love</strong> by Ingrid Persaud
31.	The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
32.	<strong>American Dirt</strong> by Jeanine Cummins
33.	Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 
34.	Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
35.	<strong>The Silence Of The Girls</strong> by Pat Barker
36.	Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
37.	A History of Loneliness by John Boyne
38.	The Institute by Stephen King
39.	A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
40.	The Foundling by Stacey Halls
41.	Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
42.	Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
43.	Malorie by Josh Malerman 
44.	<strong>A Fine Balance</strong> by Rohinton Mistry
 45. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaimen

My last three books were chosen mainly for their brevity, to try and get me over the line to 50, never mind there's always next year. I'm totally in awe of the people who have read 100+ books, that would certainly make a dent in my TBR pile
46. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

47.	The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

This was free on Audible last year but I didn't get round to listening. Quite a slight tale and the 'twist', such as it is, is very obvious from early on.

48.	A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams 

A kindle 99p daily deal recently that, being a play script, I knew would be short! I've heard a lot about this play, mainly about Blanche DuBois and Stanley, but never actually seen it performed or watched the movie.
Williams gives us intricate character studies and back stories as well as dialogue, so for example when Stanley is first introduced Williams stage directions are:
STANLEY throws the screen door of the kitchen open and comes in. He is of medium height, about five feet eight or nine, and strongly, compactly built. Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes. Since earliest manhood the centre of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence, dependently, but with the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens. Branching out from this complete and satisfying centre are all the auxiliary channels of his life, such as his heartiness with men, his appreciation of rough humour, his love of good drink and food and games, his car, his radio, everything that is his, that bears his emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer. He sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing into his mind and determining the way he smiles at them.
It would take some actor to suggest all that in one entrance, but it certainly gives method actors something to get their teeth into, and for a reader like me fleshes out the characters. My daughter said she studied it for A Level and I can see that it would offer a lot of material for study.
I'm glad I've read it and the film or play is now on my TBW list, although I think it may be a bit over wrought and claustrophobic.

Back soon with highlights.

Also, can I just signpost this thread to anyone who might be able to help the OP with book suggestions. I came up with some but all SF.

Remus - I have to say I'm not surprised! I stand by my recommendation of KJ Charles as absolutely the best 21stC equivalent to Heyer - but you do have to not mind a fair amount of explicit (usually gay) sex. Personally I'd specifically avoid any US authors writing British histrom unless they came with a 100% copper bottomed guarantee that they've got the language & research spot on.

@highlandcoo the Bridgerton series is based on a series of books by Julia Quinn.

I read them years and years ago, but I can’t remember all that much about them.

The series is sublime though.

That's awesome! It's amazing to think that they all know each other. I've just brought out my copy of TWOAF and I'm going to start it this afternoon.

Remus so is it a book? I'd only heard of it as a TV series. Was hoping for some nice fluffy escapism among all the depressing stuff.

WillYou Stop, I knew that ages ago but had completely forgotten! Thanks for the reminder. I might just squeeze in a reread before the new one appears in a week.

In more CB gossip, did you know he plays in a band, The Fun Lovin' Crimewriters, along with Mark Billingham, Val McDermid and not sure who else. I saw them at the Glasgow book festival Aye Write a couple of years ago. Val being the singer. They only sing crime related songs; I Shot the Sheriff and similar. They were having a great time.

Posted too soon. Thank you highlandcoo for the information about the release date for the next in the series. I actually loved the look and feel of the first paperback so will order this one too, rather than kindling it. I am more inclined to order paperbacks at the moment as I'm trying to support my local bookshops.

Bridgerton - The Duke and I
I have only two words - fucking awful.
Read it for the wedding night sex scene. And then burn it. Jesus wept.

Adding to the Christopher Brookmyre talk, I also have The Way of All Flesh on my TBR pile. I bought it not knowing it was cowritten by CB, who I love, but I think his black humour is present from the first line.

highlandcoo yes Still Game is great, never saw the last series though as it was on TV round about the time my DF was really unwell. I did see the tall one with the nice eyes from the show when I was standing in line at a West end sandwich shop years ago. Felt a bit star struck and said hello. He said hello back

^ it's predictable, ds is anything but

Betts interesting comment about A Kestrel for a Knave!

I also had to study Kes at secondary school. It stands out in my memory as the most unrelentingly depressing thing I’d ever read. Maybe I was just too young to appreciate it?

Although I can’t say that I’m in any hurry to revisit it and see if I like it any better now!

A bit off topic, HeadNorth and InTheCludgie (great name by the way) but do you ever watch Still Game? It's quite touching; the friendships and close relationships in what aren't the most beautiful surroundings. Obviously very funny too.

Fortuna you've just reminded me how much I enjoyed The Way of All Flesh, thank you. I lived in Edinburgh for a while and really enjoyed the setting. It was a fun read.

I've been waiting for the next in the series to come out in paperback and just found out it's due on 7 January so looking forward to that.

Highlandcoo and HeadNorth I have Shuggie Bain on my wishlist but think I need to be in the right frame of mind to read it. One side of my family were from a very (in)famous scheme in Glasgow so I spent a lot of time there in the 80s when growing up. Not been back there for about 20 years but I have mostly fond memories - AFAIK its now nothing like it was back then, but the negative 'image,' is still hard to shake for the place.

It didn't feel like a vintage year for reading either, *Pepe." Books has to fight for my attention.

I slipped in one more read for the year - I'd abandoned it before at 77% read so I realised I could easily finish it.
136. My Last Supper, Jay Rayner
Food critic muses about his ideal last meal, researching the perfect ingredients and interweaving anecdotes about his past. I like JR and enjoyed hearing about his childhood, but I wouldn't call this a profound work of memoir - more of a journalistic trot around some slightly random stories.

So, looking at my Goodreads I started keeping track of my reading in 2014 when I managed to read 55 books and since then have never bested that. UNTIL NOW. In 2020 I managed to read 58 books, and am currently on my 59th although it will end up being book #1 of 2021. Thank you to everyone on this thread, it has genuinely been a little spot of light on the internet. I have a few additions from the last time I posted, but just adding them on to the end sans review because it's Hogmanay and I'm feeling lazy.

1. Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
2. This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El Mohtar
3. I Might Regret This - Abbi Jacobson
4. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
5. The Cactus - Sarah Haywood
6. Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo
7. Story of a Soul - St Therese of Lisieux
8. Daisy Jones and the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
9. Queenie - Candace Carty-Williams

40 of the 58 were written by women. The others were mostly by Stephen King who I read for the first time this year. I also seemed to go on a bit of a Caitlin Moran binge at the end there, and still have another of hers on my kindle to read next year.

54 were fiction as I'm not really a big non-fiction reader. The ones that were non-fiction were almost all autobiographies.

See you all next year, bookish Mumsnetters!

All I can say is that Lord of the Flies had certainly improved between 1979 and 2019. Astonishing really.

Going to attempt my last two OMF chaps today and finish another book to seal off 2020...

Bit distracted by the News so this may be optimistic...