50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2018, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

Just to add to the childhood memory debate, Stephen king who I think is one of the best writers on childhood (although his books are, of course clearly not kids books) said in the autobiography bit that he doesn't remember a great deal about his childhood bar a few specific incidents.

I know writing from a child's perspective is different from writing a book for children, however given that he writes about childhood so brilliantly,
I wonder what a kids book written by Stephen King would be like...

Chilli, I think most of the Valdemar books were intended as young adult- 14-18 bracket, and they mostly seem to cover childhood up to early adulthood.

Cheddar, I love DWJ (Howls Moving Castle is possibly my favourite book ever!), so as you can see I am on the side of those who enjoy children’s lit- Cote, even if you remember your own childhood, does it not interest you to read about the world from other child perspectives? I also often think writing for children is harder- you have generally more limited space, so have to use your words more precisely, you can’t rely on a significant pool of general knowledge to fill in any blanks, and you can’t add a ton of sex!

Mind you, I also like a bit of chick lit- I love Marion Keyes, Jilly Cooper, some Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding- I don’t go in for the trauma so much as humour I suppose. But I think Chick lit is often a way to dismiss the writing of women, about women- although some is just the current version of mills and boon.

And I also like Jack Reacher and detective novels, hence 13) Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh. The best of hers I have read so far, murder and an ounce of romance- strong similarities to Heyers Death in the Stocks, must look up which came first! However, I did not like Gone Girl at all so am not sure I will give Sharp Objects a go.

It’s not surprising I don’t fit much literature in- I think the only genre I never read is Westerns (do they still exist?). But it is surprisingly hard to write a good page turner, and I think all the authors mentioned above have achieved things that are not easy.

I think a lot of King could be considered YA Clash- Carrie, It, maybe The Stand- so not too far fetched a thought, depending on your definition of a children’s book.

1. The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.

A good read although I struggled to care about the characters in the beginning. This is the story of the Lindbergh marriage narrated by Charles Lindbergh's wife, Anne Morrow. They were the 'Princess Diana' of their day - mobbed by the press wherever they went. It's a fascinating story. By all accounts he was a brilliant but complicated man and I take my hat off to her for staying married to him for her whole life. If she'd been on the Relationship's board on MN, she'd have been told to LTB without a shadow of a doubt .

Next up - I'm off to the Himalayas again; this time with Ghosts of Everest

There's a lot of YA -ish books about that do seem to be aimed at the 'next step' readers, bit more grown up (so lots of sex) but still not too complex with a big dollop of 'angst'.

My next 2 books (I'm reading much slower than many of you)
5. Sea Fever - Ann Cleeves - I've read her Shetland series and just saw this in the library and picked it up. It was written in the early 90s, and rather than a police detective, it's a private detective series.

A 20-something man's parents hire the private detective to ask him to come home , officially to discuss the sale of a family business, but really because his mother misses him. They know via a recipt that's been sent to their home that he'll be on a bird watching boat trip holiday. There's rumours that he's involved in the drugs trade (noone really knows how he comes by his money). On the trip he's murdered. Quite a good murder mystery. Well written, although I know very little about bird watching so think I missed elements.

Which brings me to the terrible:
6. According to YES - Dawn French . Where to start with this shite. It's a book club choice so I was stuck reading it.

A jolly, fat Cornish woman (ex primary teacher) with a charity shop wardrobe, moves to New York and becomes a nanny for a rich Upper East side family, looking after the younger grandsons, who have moved back into the grandparents' apartment with their dad, who is divorcing their Mother. The mother has sent them off to live with their Dad, having no access for months because the boys want their Dad's attention - this is used as proof she's a better parent than the Dad because "she puts the kids first" .

Our "kookie" chubby English nanny fucks everyone, which is fine because she's helping them discover who they truly are. And anyway, the gran of the family is thin and cold and likes her staff who are paid to clean the apartment, to keep the apartment clean - so it's competely ok to shag her husband, grandson and son (in that order, this is the 18 year old, still at school grandson, completely fine for a late 30s Nanny who's an ex-primary school teacher to do, and the son case is all a bit rape-y, but hey, he learns about himself...)

Just don't bother.

I read the early Valdemar books when they came out in the late 80s / early 90s. You didn't really get YA lit in the same way back then really I don't think, but I'd say I was a typical reader in being late teens / early 20s. Anne McCaffrey's Pern books aimed at very much the same readership I guess.
I know it's very fade-to-black, but it's also worth remembering that the gay sex in the Last Herald Mage trilogy was pretty groundbreaking back then for mainstream fantasy.

ScribblyGum I loved Restoration. The fact that Merivel's a bit of a tit makes him quite relatable, a bit like Pepys in that respect. I hope someone will get me Merivel for my birthday - have moved it to the top of my wish list.

6. The Road Home by Rose Tremain Lev is an Eastern European migrant worker fresh off the coach in London, and with little idea of how he will make a living. He has left his mother and daughter back home, his wife having died of cancer. From spending his first night on the streets, his circumstances gradually improve, but the fate of those he's left behind seems only to get worse.

The world of the economic migrant feels very real, although perhaps Lev's continued ability to land on his feet is perhaps a bit unbelievable. Lev news modern British life as an outsider, giving the opportunity for a critical look at modern art and restaurant culture. A good balance of light humour to contrast against some of Lev's starker experiences.

1. The Silkworm Robert Galbraith - mixed reviews for this series on here I know but I’ve enjoyed both books, this one possibly slightly more than the first. It’s all a bit daft, and could do with tighter editing, but an enjoyable read.

I am still gluey/fluey and hopeless and have raided DD’s bookshelf and read my way through some of The Princess Diaries (bittersweet memories of reading them to her) and the last 3 Shopaholic books. God, they are annoying. What an irritating character. I have no discernment clearly because I couldn’t put them down.

I went through a Sophie Kinsella phase a few years ago, and read a lot of the Shopaholic books then.
I think the main character in the Shopaholic books (Becky) is one of the most annoying characters I’ve ever come across. I reckon in real life someone like that would have alienated her husband and everyone else close to her long ago.
It’s especially annoying because I suspect Kinsella wants the reader to think that Becky’s really a dippy but adorable person who deserves everyone’s affection and a million second chances.

It really enjoyed the first Shopoholic book- it was funny and had a streak of reality- but I think she has squeezed it to death now. Once married to the millionaire it lost the “buy 3 for 2 in boots, plus get my points, then that’s half price” kind of detail, which I had liked.

The Herald Mage stories were definitely some of the first positive m/m romance stories around in that genre- I think I would describe them as slash, before slash fanfic became a widespread thing. I have hesitated to use the word gay, as as with a lot of slash, I think it fits with being written by women, primarily for women readers, another interesting genre.

11 (because I seem to have misnumbered earlier) - The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

I’ve been listening to this as an audiobook which was perfect because it let me fade in and out of the detail at times. I found her quite a sympathetic character when she’s talking about balancing work and motherhood, negotiating raises and discussing being a powerful woman in a male environment. And the 80s excess is great, as is the name dropping. Trump looms large and it did make me wonder how much editing she’d done to reflect current circumstances.

12 A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

The story of a Japanese born Korean who like many returned to North Korea when Kim Il-Sung promised paradise on Earth. Although it was a quick read and I’ve read several memoirs by N Korean refugees it was notable for its descriptions of what hunger feels like and does to a person, which were striking and utterly harrowing. It wasn’t the most well written book but that’s ok. I hope the money he makes from it helps him - his life in Japan doesn’t sound a whole lot better in some ways, despite the much improved material circumstances.

Oh no 3 days with no internet! But I have finished 9. The Medieval murderers-The Tainted Relic which was better than I thought it would be with lots of footpads and naughty monks. Reading Eye in the Sky by PK Dick at the moment. People get smited by God for doing wrong with locusts and things. Its all a bit crazy but I can't wait to see how it pans out.

9. Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

A somewhat bleak political satire set in post-Soviet Ukraine in the mid-90s, featuring a newspaper obituary writer and his pet penguin. Society is in a state of collapse, corruption and gangsters are taking over everything, human life is increasingly valueless, and the lead character is caught unwittingly in a deadly conspiracy. The penguin is a humanising touch, as a silent observer and reminder of the absurdity of life in those circumstances. A good book, though rather depressing (I gather things have in many ways only got worse in Ukraine since the novel was written twenty years ago).

I quite liked Death and the Penguin - I think there was a sequel too? Penguin Lost or something.

tarahumara oh well, I’m no scientist!

piggy The Secret History is quite an easy page turner once you get past the first bit, I don’t love it as some do though.

There is a Valentine’s Kindle sale, so fans of books written by women for women, about women, with romance themes are in luck

I saw a couple that might be of interest here - Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, her modern reworking of the Pride and Prejudice story, Federica by Georgette Heyer and Call Me By Your Name - the film adaptation of which is up for Best Picture at the Oscars this year.

Someone mentioned Westerns, sorry I couldn’t find you again scrolling back - but I really recommend True Grit if you want to give one a go. Excellent female protagonist and well written. I’ve got Lonsome Dove and Butcher’s Crossing (by the chap who wrote Stoner) lined up to read this year, both in that genre.

THanks Satsuki, that was me! Also re kindle sale I would wholeheartedly recommend Frederica, but I found Call Me By Your Name a real disappointment after the film.

*Lonesome
*Frederica

Thanks tanaqui I wasn’t sure about CMBYN might swerve and wait to see the film (always trying to keep the list down)

Book 8 , my next education book The Learning Rainforest by Tom Sherrington.

This is cheating a bit as I will confess to having skimmed through all his blether until I got to the interesting bits about alleged ways of reducing marking workload, improving feedback and his explanation of flipped learning, which I had only heard of recently, working as I do in the 19th century.

I have my doubts about this author : I think he likes the idea of coining an education phrase and likes the sound of his own voice. Like a lot of education books, it's really a meta analysis, rather than anything new. I'd still like to leave it hanging around and see if SLT picked it up as lots of these books are fairly provocative about incessant marking and data collection!!

Also, Tom's most widely cited experience is at King Edward's grammar School, so I take some of his high mindedness with a pinch of salt.

I preferred David Didau on the whole : he is more critical and outspoken and more fun to read, although he bangs on , too!!

23. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson read this last night and this morning due to a chronic bout of insomnia and a snoring husband and dog!! What a strange book!! Story is a woman physicist and her affair with a husband and wife. Quantum physics, mathematics and the possibilities of time travel all run through out as a theme. Parallel universes and beings are important too. Have to admit there were times here I got a wee bit lost. There is an air of magic realism about the whole thing, shades of Angela Carter's Wise Children at times. There is also pockets of truly stunning writing. Winterson can certainly turn a phase. Her description of the wife's anger and desolation after she discovers her husband's affair is genius. There were also parts of the book where I completely lost and at times bored rigid. Still not sure what I think of it!

1. Why be Happy When You Could be Normal by Jeanette Winterson - Written 25 years after Oranges are not the Only Fruit which was an autobiographical novel this is a memoir/autobiography written after the death of her adoptive parents. The book revisits Oranges and tells it how it really was living with an extremely strange and seemingly cruel mother. I found it interesting and very poignant. Toomuch I agree, she does have a very distinctive style of writing which can be hard to follow.

1. The Watchmaker of Filligree Street by Natasha Pulley - listened to this as an audiobook and liked the narrator. A good story set in Victorian England regarding a Japanese watchmaker Kato Mori. Listened to it quickly and definitely missed some of the finer details of the story but would recommend. I enjoyed the Japanese detail.

Book 12 11/22/63 by Stephen King
In 2011 Jake Epping steps back in time to 1958 with the mission of stopping the Kennedy assasination.
I raced through this in 2 days. There is no one like King for keeping you gripped and the sense of time and place in this book are so well done. A great read and really recommended.

24. Fall down 7 times get up 8 - Naoki Higashida Borrowed this from a colleague and there are other people waiting for it so was under a bit of pressure to get it read! This is an amazing book written by young Japanese man with severe autism. He is non verbal but written by pointing at characters set out on card that follows the QWERTY keyboard. He can not use a computer as the screen is too distracting. This is his second book.His revelations about his autism and the very fact he can write in this way challenges the view that people diagnosed with severe autism can not understand the world and language around, and have limited intellect.
His work was discovered by author David Mitchell and his Japanese wife KA Yoshida when they were searching for help after their own son's autism diagnosis. They say what they learnt from Naoki revolutionised the way they interact with their son and his ability to cope with the world. It was Mitchell and his wife who translated the books into English and over saw their publication here. His foreword to this book is moving and poignant.
The book is short but amazing. I will get my own copy as there was so much I wanted to highlight, annotated and incorporate into my own practice.

As a small aside there was an interesting perspective on why the author still enjoys picture books even now in his early 20's. While I acknowledge this is from a neuro - atypical perspective I thought it was a valuable addition to our discussion on revisiting children's literature as adults.

"I prefer to think this is not owning to
limited intelligence: rather, it's because when I read them, my mind goes wandering off inside the world of the picture book and I can freely, safely, unwind. Here in the real world, there aren't many places where I and my autism can lower our guard. Like flowing water or the texture of sand or the beauty of light, my favourite picture books afford me a therapeutic comfort."

@ellisisland I am amazed you managed that in two days! Fab book though

1. Exquisite by Sarah Stovell.

A woman in her twenties goes on a writers course in Northumberland and develops a relationship with the female tutor. One of the women is writing from prison in the first chapter but you don’t know which one. The book is told from both perspectives.

I enjoyed this page turner thriller. I did feel a bit manipulated but I really wanted to know what happened and read it quickly. Definitely worth 99p kindle deal. Good recommendation from the What page are you on podcast.