50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Eight

*109. Weather, by Jenny Offill
Fiction told modishly in disconnected paragraphs. Woman broods about looming environmental catastrophe and the wellbeing of her family and acquaintances. It's all very readable and quirky but I finished it feeling a bit "so what".

108. Juliet Tango Foxtrot: How did it all go wrong for British policing? By Iain Donnelly
The title means JTF - job's totally fucked. The writer was a police officer for 30 years and misses the old days when police chased down scrotes and looked properly smart in their uniforms. I'm not sure we would see eye to eye on everything, but he makes some sensible points about what an organization needs to succeed - a clear mandate and enough resources, and not to be treated like a political football. Teresa May does not come out well.

Ooh, my local library has a copy of Featherweight

Thank you so much emmaw1405. I didn't know Mick Kitson had written another book and will definitely seek it out.

@CluelessMama I went to see Mick Kitson at an event back in 2018 when he was promoting Sal - really great speaker and I loved Sal.

He bought out a new book this year, Featherweight, which is set in Tipton in the Black Country about a Romany girl sold off to a bare-knuckle boxer. For anyone who has ever been to the Black Country Museum you'd recognise the descriptions of the canals and houses. Highly recommended!

113. I Am A Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter (Audible)

Quoting from Amazon as I was struggling to summarise :

Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, soul, consciousness, I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop",a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called I." The I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse. How can a mysterious abstraction be real,or is our I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics? These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop

This was challenging. I realised early on that

a) I would have been better reading this in print
b) That I didn't have the much referred to accompanying PDF and
c) that, published nearly 26 years after his seminal Godel. Escher. Bach it was one for established fans, and guess what? Haven't read it.

On the whole I found some of the philosophy side overly simplistic :

Do Dogs Have Souls?

Is Sign Language Language?

But yet the maths side, refs to Principia Mathematica baffling, as Maths is not my strong suit and I was lucky to pass GCSE.

If anyone has read Hofstadter or is involved in similar academic fields, feel free to @ me.

Just realised that I DNF House of Glass. I got a bit bored and distracted at one point and mean to go back to it. It is good.

Just a reminder to Dickensalongians that tomorrow is 1st December!

98: Enigma - Robert Harris

I’m probably the only person who’s never seen the film of this so while I broadly knew the basic premise of the plot, it was new to me. Brilliant cryptanalyst Tom Jericho, in a state of emotional collapse after the end of an affair with a beautiful colleague, is summoned back to Bletchley Park to resume work on cracking the Enigma code. The fate of an Allied naval convoy hangs in the balance, but there are other mysteries at play - can Jericho unravel the puzzle in time?

A pacy page-turner, though I freely admit to not understanding a lot of the technical stuff. I kind of suspect Harris didn’t either, but it sounds very convincing.....

Belated thank you for the new thread southeastdweller. House of Glass is one of my favourite reads this year, I found it fascinating.
52. All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle
Previously reviewed on here. I found the style of writing in this to be quite light, easy reading but think the issue of loneliness and the challenges faced by those who are struggling were well described. Any of us can have a slump that is hard to get out of. I'm still trying to work out if I forgive the author for a certain plot point or not though.
53. At Home by Bill Bryson
A gift that has sat on my shelf for years. The format of this is that the author shares and discusses the floor plan of his home, built in 1851, and takes the room names as chapter headings. The subtitle 'A Short History of Private Life' probably more accurately describes the content as Bryson uses his structure as a loose guide while heading off in tangents he finds interesting, often about stately homes and wealthy individuals or the lives of various inventers. The Passage, for example, becomes a history of the telephone as this is where one had been installed in Bryson's home, and The Study unexpectedly told me more than I ever wanted to know about vermin and infestations as it happens to be the room in Bryson's home in which he has most requirement for mouse traps! It is a long book, I tried to read a chapter a day and even then found it was often so filled with details that I couldn't take it all in. There are lots of interesting stories though, and having put it off for years I did find it interesting and enjoyable overall.
54. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
The author is a teenager living in Northern Ireland, writing about nature and campaigning on environmental issues. I wasn't familiar with his work before I read this but it reads like he got the book deal because he had some level of public profile through writing a blog and campaigning alongside well known figures like Chris Packham.
I love listening to beautiful nature writing on audio and that is one element of this book. Unfortunately it happily washes over me and I rarely retain the details! What will stay with me, possibly reading as a teacher, is the descriptions of growing up with autism. The author finds it easier to cope in the natural world and is critical of the envoironment that many schools provide for children and young people generally, and those on the autistic spectrum specifically.
55. Sal by Mick Kitson
I haven't seen much about this novel but picked it up in the library on a whim. Thirteen year old Sal has spent months planning to run away, stealing maps and studying survival videos online to prepare to live in the woods with her younger sister Peppa. Now the time has come to run, because Peppa is ten, which is how old Sal was when Robert started on her, and Sal will do anything to protect Peppa.
I was looking to read something Scottish and I loved the descriptions of the Scottish landscape combined with the (also very Scottish) hardness and humour of the two girls. This novel is short, in some ways quite slow paced, but the premise kept me engrossed as I was desperate to know what happened to Sal and Peppa. We see the world through Sal's eyes, and while I didn't see this as an 'unreliable narrator' novel, I did sometimes wonder what she was like in the eyes of others. I thought the descriptions of the girls' lives at home were well handled - descriptions of abuse which are not explicit but paint a very vivid picture. I just finished it this morning so I'm still mulling over the ending, but I thought this was a bit of gem.

National Geographic-esque descriptions of the trousers and facial hair of every scientist he interviewed

53. Spillover - David Quammen

Published in 2013, this is an eerily prescient exploration of zoonotic diseases (originating from animals) and their potential to generate the next big human pandemic. It tells a very important story about how human overpopulation and disturbance of habitats has led to an increased risk of contact with previously unknown viruses. Unfortunately, it tells it in an incredibly slow, drawn out way, with National Geographic-esque descriptions of the trousers and facial hair of every scientist he interviewed. The imagined story (fictional but incredibly detailed in its made-up ‘facts’) of the first man to bring HIV from the rural backwaters of Cameroon to the cities of the Congo was a particular low point. A good long form article could probably convey as many facts as this 20-hour audiobook. I do know a lot more about why bats are especially good at harbouring nasty bugs, though.

"@Sadik, I would highly recommend Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory- I loved it, and almost more so the hints at another story within it; I must find out if there is a sequel/companion piece."
I'll definitely add that one to the TBR, thanks Tanaqui :)

I agree that the Strictly threads have a very odd tone at the moment.

Thanks sol. It's very frustrating. It does remind me a bit of when Alexandra Burke was on. I think quite a few posters wanted to gun for AJ, found they rather liked her and fancy Kai so have gone for the obvious targets of a 19 year old girl and a 45 year old Christian man

Hey ho! I still like watching!

[quote EineReiseDurchDieZeit]**@SOLINVICTUS* @Piggywaspushed*

Off Topic

I am pretty much decided I am not posting this weekend and just enjoying the show.[/quote]
I confess I'm now just skimming instead of spending a lovely hour on a Monday chuckling and catching up. (I'm on iPlayer of course so tend to watch the results on Monday)
Sorry, will stop hijack now!

@SOLINVICTUS @Piggywaspushed

Off Topic

I am pretty much decided I am not posting this weekend and just enjoying the show.

Have added the Josh W and the Running Hare to my wishlist
I went through a short but intense phase from Sept 88-May 89 in what I now recognise as depression- post university, living with a (for me) wrong 'un, and I did watch Neighbours twice a day. And EastEnders. And Corrie. And Brookie. And Prisoner Cell Block H.
I then went full circle and didn't have a telly for about 4 years. Have always been extreme.
@Piggywaspushed- hijack- your post on the Strictly thread was perfect, well done. (channels the judges) I'm lurking this year as am finding it a bit bizarrely toxic tbh, about both men and women. Such a Shane, as like this thread, the Strictly threads have always been a safe haven. Oh well.

Just finished Toxic Childhood. This is a 2015 revised edition of the seminal book about post 20th century childhood which examines the influence of digital technology, junk food, lack of play and things like cotton wool parenting. Sue P got into a bit of hot water about seeming to be anti feminism (she does discuss this as an awkward issue since she says research supports her on some issues about early childcare, although she never explicitly states it should fall to mothers) and, more perhaps obviously and less forgivably, some generalised views on the parenting skills and abilities of people who live in greater poverty. I do think she can sound sweeping and a touch judgemental there, although her biggest target is consumer capitalism and the marketeers, to be fair.

It's a reasonable handbook for parents with some tips and guidance. I read it for the research material really so skimmed bits. Thought provoking on the whole and a bit depressing.

50. The Penultimate Peril, Lemony Snicket (or Daniel Handler)

This is the first time I have ever hit 50 since I started tracking back in 2013. This, as the title suggests is the penultimate story in the woeful and unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire orphans. Book 12 of the children’s series ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ more clues and connections are dropped as to what is really going on with the secret organisation VFD and the lines between being noble and a villain are increasingly blurred. I’ve really enjoyed these books with my reluctant reader 10 year old. I think that they are very clever, and enjoy the nods to adult literature and idiom and jokes.

51. What is History, Now?, edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb

This is a series of essays that look at various different ways of practicing history. It’s inspired by Carr’s great grandfather who wrote a key book called ‘What is History?’ in 1961 (that we all had to read as undergrads). I liked the different voices of the contributors and various examples that they used to illustrate their point because they were often things that the reader may not already be aware of and the handy reading list at the end of each chapter will definitely facilitate further reading for me. It covers everything from global history, disability history to why history at the movies is important as well as indigenous history and women’s history. If you are interested in history then it’s a very accessible volume that is worth reading.

107. Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City, Edmund Richardson
Non-fiction. A solder deserts from the East India Company and ends up in Afghanistan searching for one of the lost cities founded by Alexander the Great. His searches are frustrated by lack of funds and then by being swept up in various political machinations, much against his will. I expected a tale of 19th century archaeological derring-do, but it turned into a tale of Western bungling in Afghanistan, with some uncomfortable modern resonances. Told with panache, although all the plotting and suspected plotting occasionally became a bit confusing, and it ended on a rather downbeat note of failure.

I’m turning up late to the new thread…. and thanks southeast

My list so far:

1. Sweet Pea by C J Skuse
2. Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
3. Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
4. Skitter by Ezekiel Boone
5. Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey
6. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
7. The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden
8. Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
9. Goodbye to Malory Towers by Pamela Cox

And

109. Jo of the Chalet School by Elinor M Brent-Dyer

A re-read of one of the earliest Chalet School book.

110. The French Girl by Lexie Elliott

A group of British graduates had a holiday in rural France, joined by a French girl named Severine. She vanished about the time the holiday ended, and now, a decade later, her body has been discovered. And the graduates are the prime suspects.

111. Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink

Non-fiction, discussing research into why and how people eat more without realising they’re doing it (mindless eating), and how this knowledge can be used to help steer people away from eating more.

112. Maid by Stephanie Land

The memoir on which the Netflix series is based and I wanted to read first, as it is now clear to me that Netflix has departed from the book.

I found the way in which the welfare system in America is set up and sorted out really shocking in terms of the very deliberate public humiliation people suffer, particularly not being allowed to conceal they are a benefit claimant whilst shopping. It's a completely cruel system.

The thing is Maid proves repetitive and depressing, but that's the point, its a lesson on how those who fall between the cracks are treated by their Average American peers. Answer : Really, really badly.

I was so angry for her, but I believe and hope that we treat those struggling in society, particularly young Mums, far better than our friends across the pond.

@elkiedee, that observation does chime with my recollection of the Peyton novels I loved- the Pennington series, which intersected with one of the horse series, intensely romantic boys, and girls who give everything up for them.
@Sadik, I would highly recommend Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory- I loved it, and almost more so the hints at another story within it; I must find out if there is a sequel/companion piece.

110. Girl A by Abigail Dean. At first I felt a little uncomfortable reading this, as if it were exploitative (possible spoiler, it is the fictional tale of a girl and her siblings, who escapes from being imprisoned by her father). But in the end I felt it was actually handled quite well,and was just quite excruciatingly sad- particularly regarding one of the youngest characters. I will be interested to see what she writes next.