50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

How're you getting on so far?

Five - Oh no. Am very sorry indeed to hear that. I love Bernie. :(

21. Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Second book in her Darkest Minds dystopian YA trilogy.
Set in a world where a mysterious disease has killed most of the USA’s teenagers and left the survivors with a variety of special psychic abilities.

Telepath Ruby starts the book working for a rebel organisation which allegedly aims to help the USA’s children and teenagers. Then she meets her lost love’s big brother and gets sent on a quest to find an important flash drive that her lost love has accidentally wandered off with, which contains potentially world changing information about the disease. Lots of betrayals and conspiracy but it did feel rather slow in places.

20. Digging to America – Anne Tyler

For me, Anne Tyler novels are the ultimate comfort read. She just writes so well and compassionately about the mundane minutiae of everyday life. Her characters are real and flawed. Digging to America is no exception.

The Donaldsons and the Yazdans both adopt Korean babies on the same day and at the same airport in Baltimore, where they meet for the first time. In spite of their different approaches to how they will raise their daughters, they form a friendship built upon their common experience. Every year on the date of the girls’ arrival they hold an arrival party, which grows increasingly extravagant as the years go by.

This book reminded me of the friendships I formed with other parents when my DD was a baby, often women I had little in common with apart from our children who were born around the same time. Despite this, I’ve really enjoyed these friendships and found them rewarding. They’ve endured for many years and are still going strong. Digging to America explores these sometimes challenging, sometimes frustrating but always worthwhile relationships.

54. A life in the day - Hunter Davies Memoir is his writing/ journalism career and marriage to the novelist Margaret Forster.
I had previously read Forster's book about the homes they had lived in, can't remember the names, so lots of this felt familiar.
By his own admission Davies is quite willing to wear his heart and his life on his sleeve, unlike his wife.
Lots of this book feels disordered and sometimes not that interesting. I was mentally often accusing Davies of name dropping but then I felt I was being unfair. These people have been his bread and butter so why would be leave them out.
He does however have a bit of an obsession with how much he is earned, spent and saved over his lifetime.
Margaret comes across as quite a brilliant but difficult woman. They were clearly devoted to each other. By far the most successful and heartbreaking part of the book is when describes Margaret's last cancer and her final weeks.

54. The Pier Falls and other Stories by Mark Haddon

Make no bones about it these are bleak, all about the darker side of human life and no happy endings in any of the stories. But it is incredibly well written, stark, blunt, lacking in emotion but still emotional and each story is compelling to read from the first to the last. I can't say that I enjoyed reading it for the. subject matter but it was a very thought provoking book.

That's so sweet Terpsichore.
I think if you read them at the right age they'd be amazing. I'm wondering how I would have enjoyed them when I was young as it has all the elements I would have loved but I really disliked anything with religious undertones. I'm a bit more mellow now but then I'm not being forced to pray everyday in school anymore I guess.

Book 34
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
Began with some promise – a man finds himself at a country house, trying to solve a murder or save the potential victim, forced to enter a different ‘host’ in sequence and thus getting various clues (and facing various dangers) according to which host he’s in. Unfortunately it got increasingly long-winded, then silly and then all fell apart a bit. Ultimately really rather disappointing, after a clever premise.

Just finished George RRRRRR Martin A Feast for crows no 18. Found this slower going than the other books in this series due to the lack of Jon Snow and Daenerys. Still don't know where Tyrion is. Must persevere I suppose. Off now to read Lindsay Davis Ides of April which should take me less than the 2 weeks to finish the last one.

16 The Report by Jessica Francis Kane

Based on the true event of 173 men, women and children dying during WWII at Bethnal Green tube station which was being used as a shelter during the war. Based on the report written at the time which wasn't made public It starts with the build up to the tragedy on 3rd March 1943, 75 years ago, and is the largest loss of civilian life in one evening. A first novel by the author it is a very sensitive topic but written about well, especially when there are still survivors of the tragedy living. Last year a new memorial was unveiled at the tube station.

This books been on my kindle for a while, and it was an interesting read of a subject that I hadn't heard about and it is a very sad story that needs to be told.

16. The Heart's Invisible Furies by Irish writer John Boyne is just fantastic. Boyne returns to similar themes explored in A History of Loneliness - also excellent - this book is about Cyril, an illegitimate child adopted up by a wealthy couple, Maude and Charles, who treat him as a curiosity. The book opens with his describing his pregnant (unwed) 16 year-old mother being kicked out of her village church by the parish priest and told to leave the village and never return.

Cyril discovers he is gay at a young age. The torment of growing up gay in 1960s Ireland is very well described. Cyril finally leaves Ireland and moves to Amsterdam and then the US before eventually returning to Dublin to face his past.

It's a heartbreaking novel; very tender but also very witty - the dialogues had me chuckling to myself. Just wonderful and I felt quite bereft after I had finished.

Just started Four Sisters - the lost lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses. Hoping that I will actually get to the end of this book as I abandoned Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montefiore last year half way through.

14 All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage It is not easy to classify this book: ghost story, thriller, romance, family saga and that is a compliment. The characters are complex, heartbreakingly real, the events believable with a touch of the supernatural and the ending both satisfying and surprising. There is real wisdom and insight in this book and I will think about the characters for a long time. I am sure that I will reread it at some point.

I've been a bit under the weather, so retreating into easy/comfort reading, which for me is crime. Not sure what that says about me!

7. The Child, Fiona Barton I enjoyed this - well written, clipped along at quite a pace and I really liked one of the main characters, a journalist.

8. Cold Blood, by Robert Bryndza I've read all the books in this series so far, featuring Detective Erika Foster. Crime novels seem to love a grumpy detective with a challenging home life but it's a nice change for that to be a woman. Read this in a day while languishing in bed feeling sorry for myself.

9. Missing, Presumed, by Susie Steiner More crime but a stand-out in terms of quality, really well written. Another middle aged woman detective, but this absolutely gripped me - really atmospheric, and she writes people, places and conversations equally well. So good that I instantly downloaded the next one onto my kindle, am feeling mildly addicted.

I really need to stop binging on crime novels and get back to my reading challenge, but that won't happen at least until I've finished the next Susie Steiner

13. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride. Written in a stream of consciousness style, this tells the story of an Irish girl (whose name we never find out) from childhood, through adolescence to young adulthood. Themes of family relationships, Catholicism and sexual abuse. It's well-written and I can see why it won awards, but I can't say I enjoyed it. A distressing read at times.

22. Uniquely Human by Dr Barry M. Prizant with Tom Fields-Meyer

Subtitled “A Different Way of Seeing Autism”.
A short, positive book and written in a very readable way. Aimed at parents, teachers, therapists or other carers for people on the autistic spectrum.

It’s basically about trying to understand autistic behaviours, about asking “why?”
The message is that, we should try to gain an understanding of the behaviour, whether it’s as a response to the environment or as a coping strategy. Once the reasons behind the behaviour are understood, then it becomes easier to take effective steps towards providing the support needed to help people with autism to build on their strengths, and to help them develop effective strategies to deal with the challenges they face.

Definitely worth a read for anyone who has a child with ASD, or anyone who works with children who have ASD.

13. Falconer's Lure Antonia Forest Lovely Marlows move to the country, Nicola turns falconer, they enter various sporting, musical and theatrical competitions and it's all jolly English and earnest. I was trying to read The Awakening in an attempt to be vaguely literary, but I don't really have the brain for it at the moment, and my to-read shelf is looking awfully serious, so this was a lovely easy escape. I'm more interested in the family dynamics than in falcons, but fortunately there were plenty of both. Thanks to whoever told me Girls Gone By had reprinted - I've been wanting to read this one for ages.

Thank you Stitches, I have added 22. Uniquely Human to my list

28. The Ministry of Utmost Happinness by Arundhati Roy

Loosely follows the stories of two women, Anjum a Hijra (name given to intersex and trans people in India) who ends up living in a graveyard in Delhi, and Tilo who becomes embroiled in the devastating conflict in Kashmir.
Attached to these two central characters are a myriad of other people, maybe thirty of forty, good grief I lost count. Even in the last five pages of the book Roy introduces another character and gives them a detailed back story. In addition to this chorus of voices there is also huge amount of Indian politics. I don’t mind politics in a novel but when it comes in huge info dumps sandwiched between bios of yet more new characters, oh and throw in time jumps and switches between third and first person perspective, well, then the reading experience is no longer a pleasure, it’s just hard bloody work.

There are moments of really wonderful prose, and Anjum in particular is a great character, full of complexity and pathos, but it’s not that sort of novel that is about a person's story. I think what Roy is trying to do is provide a snapshot of the diverse and complicated nature of modern India. I really wanted to love this book but sadly found the experience of reading it unsatisfying.

45. Needful Things, Stephen King.

Finishing the Castle Rock books - this time round actually picking up what it means when Alan Pangborn is muttering to himself about sparrows! Interesting Goodreads review speculating that Leland Gaunt is Flagg - not very sure, as the only reference I can spot is his eyes glowing red. I do like Alan and Polly. As I get older I find that different scenes affect me - I used to be petrified by the horror, but this time around it was Brian Rusk's fate that got to me.

46. League of Dragons, Naomi Novik.

Temeraire book 9, finally! As a conclusion to a series, this was just a bit weird. Most of the action takes place off-stage and there are odd jumps in time to skip important battles. A scene that the series has been building towards since book 2 takes place off-screen and is never satisfactorily explained. And what about Emily and Demane? It feels like there ought to be a book 10 to cover Napoleon's exile and escape leading up to Waterloo, but that doesn't seem to be Novik's plan. A bit of a damp squib, really!

14. The Witch Finder's Sister by Beth Underdown
Fictionalised story of Matthew Hopkins, 17th century Witchfinder General, from the perspective of his sister Alice, who returns to live with him after being widowed.

Now, I know that on this thread books in the The format are somewhat infra dig, but I rather liked this one. Alice's slow realisation of what Hopkins is up to, and her horror when she does, feels genuine. The sense of unease and fear among women of that time, and the absolute power of men over them is well conveyed.

I found ministry hard work, too scribbly but quite liked the bits in Kashmir. Wish she'd just done that really...

I love God Of Small Things but my A level class seem indifferent to it, which saddens me.

Oooh, Station Eleven has arrived!

Good luck with that then Cheddar - review it with the utmost tact!

31. House of Spies by Daniel Silva I can't remember if this was recommended by someone upthread, or by my Dad, but either way it sounded like something I would enjoy. However, it just didn't come alive for me - too may p.o.v. characters, too much unnecessary exposition, and too neat an ending!

I love Falconers Lure Cheerful, it has so much of the backstory referred to in the school ones (which, like many people I think I had read first as they seem easier to get hold of). Another Marlow book would possibly be my top choice on the "sequels you wish for " thread!

Piggy I wished she'd stuck with any of the dozen major characters and just told their stories. Had a real fondness for Saddam Hussein, loved the details of how he came to his name and why he was always wearing sunglasses.
It’s the sort of book that I wonder if I was a better and more accomplished reader, if I could appreciate truly great sophisticated writing, that instead of finding it tedious then I would have found it astonishing and marvelled at Roy's craft. Sadly am not that reader so just felt mostly relief when I got to the end.

I agree scribbly : I found myself speed reading just to get it over and done with.

29. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (audiobook)

The story starts during the Great Depression in Brooklyn. Ed Kerrigan takes his eleven year old daughter Anna to visit the wealthy gangster Dexter Styles to ask him for a job. Fast forward eight years and Ed has disappeared without a trace. Anna has joined the war effort as part of work force at the naval ship yards in New York. Initially all she is allowed to do as a woman is inspect parts, but eventually, despite much resistance becomes a diver repairing ships before they return to war in the Atlantic.
Her quiet home life of supporting her mother and severely disabled sister becomes embroiled again with that of Dexter Styles from whom she seeks to find out information regarding the fate of her father.

Egan certain has the writing chops. This is a book that within a chapter you can relax, safe in the knowledge you are in a the hands of a skilled writer. Nothing weird happens, no magical realism, poetry, idiotic twists or messing about with fancy fonts and type settings. There is no agenda apart from a solid, immersive, engaging story about the lives of three people. It's not going to win the Women's Prize and I wonder if novels like this should be literary fiction prize worthy at all. It’s not doing anything groundbreaking, but it’s still a bloody good enjoyable read. Highly recommended.