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?

making no more comment on lunchtimes (or teacher's holidays)

55. A hero for high times: A younger readers' guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956 - 1994 by Ian Marchant.

Bloody hell, this was hard work.
Read for book club and if no bugger else has read it I won't be responsible for my actions!!!
The basic premise of this is that the author is using the life story of his friend Bob (more about him in a minute) to prove his theory that young people today have no appetite for political protest or indeed politics. He believes the golden age for this was between 1956 and 1994, beginning with the Suez Crisis and the release of Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel and ending in 1994 with the burning of the pyramid stage at Glastonbury.
Bob has lived through the late 50's onwards and would see himself as alternatively a beat, a hippie and a freak - I think! Both he and the author support the legalisation of drugs, in fact drugs feature very heavily. Bob now lives in a van in the woods but has lived a very colourful life. We are led to believe that among other things it was Bob who first projected psychedelic patterns into Pink Floyd, Procol Harum was named after his cat, he was the first person to introduce Afghan coats to the U.K. and played tambourine live with LED Zeppelin. He has also squatted with various celebrities minor and not so minor and was a bit player in the Profumo Affair. There is definitely some fascinating stuff here - if it is all true.
Bob's life story is peppered with political and 'in the news' commentary and context.
Sometimes it is very interesting, but at other times it is tedious. And when it is tedious it is mind blowingly tedious!! For example the long descriptions of 2 trips to Afghanistan in mid 60’s to buy coats and drugs become one long painful ramble. If Bob was telling me this story in the pub I would have clouded over or gone to the loo and not come back.
As I said, both author and Bob have been and I believe still are drug users, dope and LSD primarily but not exclusively and both want it legalised. The passages relating to acquiring, taking describing drugs again I found tedious in the extreme. Lots of description of drug busts and random people being sent down.
In response to the author's initial argument about the youth of today. Several things came quickly to mind

1. Tuition fees means bring a student is much harder and a serious business. In general people are less likely to mess about for 4 years and much more likely to focus on studies.
2. Is protest really dead? Trump and Brexit and the rise of Corbyn came immediately to my mind.
3. Since the days of the 1960's and 70's world has changed. There is broadly more equality and tolerance. we are generally more accepting of difference in a mainstream sense.
4. And finally not all people in 60's and 70's lived like Bob and his crew. My own parents certainly didn’t. It is interesting to compare this book to Hunter Davies biography which I read just before. Same time period and often has the same cast of characters. Davies and Forster certainly weren't living like Bob.

And blow me... all four points are broadly the conclusion the author comes to at the end!! I could have told him that at the beginning!!
Honestly it was like being on some weird trip reading this??!? A very long review for a book that was 20% interesting and 80% a waste of time!!

22 The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

Classic Boys Own adventure story & kindle freebie. English gentleman Rudolf Rassendyll visits Ruritania out of curiosity, since his family is supposedly descended from a wrong-side-of-the-blanket encounter with their royal family. He discovers that he is, in fact, a perfect double for the about-to-be crowned King, and many adventures ensue.

Wonderfully enjoyable fun. I read this because a romance writer I like (KJ Charles - various books reviewed on previous threads) has an upcoming book based on the novel, Henchmen of Zenda. I'd expected it to be much more dated than it is, but it rattles along with romance, swordfighting et al.

32 H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker.

Before you get started the author recommends you listen to the complete guitar works of Barrios while reading. I concur. It adds another layer of the surreal to the whole experience.

Scrap what I said before in my previous post. You can only read the print version of this, it won’t work in any other format. It becomes more like some form of paper bound performance art by the end. That’s why it costs £20.

Somewhat difficult to review.

Imagine the premise of The Circle add a thousand years, an apocalypse or two, a hefty dose of Brave New World and a tab of LSD and you’re there. Sort of.
Mira A lives in the civilisation known as The Young. There is no pain, poverty, sadness, ego, ambition, religion or culture. Everyone lives in the perpetually monitored, mindful, ordered and happy present. All words and thoughts are externalised onto The Graph which monitors language and will highlight (called pinkering) anything emotive so that the individual can reflect and alter their thoughts. Unhelpful behaviours are modified by neuro chemicals and implants.
Mira is a musician and with a single encounter of Barrios' music slowly starts to question and become detached from the system.

Weird, really bizarrio stuff but I thought it was great. Very thought provoking particularly in light of recent events on FB and how we modify and display ourselves on social media which is then fed back to us in a loop of desirable behaviour.

This ticks the breaking the mould/ creative fiction check box on the long list. If it wins I will be like at the swarm of one star reviews on goodreads that will follow.

Great review splother. You need to have words with your book club.

Great review Scribbly - I've just reserved H(A)PPY from the library :)

Scribbly yep! I need to 'grow a pair' as my 16year old DS would say and indeed have a word.
Great review of H(A)PPY although at the moment I am yearning for something just straightforward and absorbing. And Upmost tedious Happiness is looming!

Best, I look forward to your thoughts on Sourdough; £1.29 is a deal!

Satsuki, you've got a keeper. . And, I thought "softer ions" sounded like something a ridiculously expensive hairdryer would produce...

H(A)PPY is now on my list. Thanks, Scribbly, for the intriguing review.

Hmmm, I like a bit of Barrios myself but H(A)PPY sounds like a smidge too much of a commitment just at the moment. Very intriguing, though, Scribbly, I'm definitely tempted! Especially as I really liked Nicola Barker's 'Burley Cross Postbox Theft' (and also The Circle, for that matter).

(Sorry - occasional lurker here - I keep surfacing then sinking back into obscurity)

Ooh, I have to read H(A)PPY now. That sounds intriguing.

Just finished book eleven - the aptly named Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.

I was a bit "meh" at first, found it hard to get into - kept expecting more from the post apocalyptic chapters - more description of the aftermath of the virus and the breakdown of society. Instead I got hints of that which frustrated me a bit - what happened to Kirsten during year 1 which makes her not remember - does that shape who she is now? I would have liked to know more about the prophet's cult and what happened in the time in between the airport and the town.

I did eventually get into the story and read the last 1/3 in one sitting. I'm not a follower of post apocalyptic novels/programmes - never seen stuff like The Walking Dead or The 100 (but did enjoy The Cordon on BBC4) so I was surprised that despite the long (and incomplete) list of things lost to the list apocalyptic world "No more diving into pools of chlorinated water lit green from below. No more ball games played out under floodlights. No more porch lights with moths fluttering on summer nights. No more trains running under the surface of cities ......No more cities."^^ that society hadn't broken down altogether. The Symphony, seem to me, to spread hope and bring a little joy and colour to the world. They primarily perform Shakespearean works in Mandel's "brave new world" (she even has a character named Miranda) - showing people what once was, but more importantly, what might be again.

Can't say I'd rush out to buy anymore of her books, but if one happens to fall in my lap, I'd read it. Onwards now to American God's by Neil Gaiman. No idea what to expect as I've not seen the televised version - 635 paged, so I may be sometime 😀

My list, so far:
1. Mythos - Stephen Fry
2. Origin - Dan Brown
3. The Mitford Murders - Jessica Fellowes
4. Paris - Edward Rutherford
5. The Four Quartets - T S Eliot
6. The Magus of Hay - Phil Rickman
7. Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir
8. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood (audio R4)
9. Land Rover: The story of the car that conquered the world - Ben Fogle
10. The Good Terrorist - Doris Lessing (audio R4)
11. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

That's a pleasing coincidence with the numbers, Bell.

Tara, DD is a big fan of Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy. She loved the Lemony Snicket books. She's also keen on Louise Rennison, although her advice was that some 10-years might not be ready for these last books (teenage angst and endless swooning over boys). DD is 10 going on 16. She's not interested in the fantasy I loved at her age. Like Susan, she'd be banned from Narnia for caring about lipstick and nylons (read: bras) but she'd be just fine with that. She'd be more interested in the trauma of the Pevensies' separation from their parents than their magical adventures.

For myself, I'm on The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe by Michael Pye. I'm enjoying it so far, lots of monks and Vikings and precious manuscripts and amber and silver, but he hops around quite a lot and it requires a bit more application than usual.

*some 10-year olds

Katherine Webber's Sinclair Mysteries (Edwardian) and Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mysteries are supposed to be good. And I have friends who rave about Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co (Victorian with ghosts). Haven't actually read any them, but they're the current big kid's mystery series after Wells and Wong.
They put out a kid's mystery anthology, Mystery and Mayhem a couple of years ago, which I have read. Rather a mixed bag, but the better stories were great.

@bibliomania - indeed it was

14. The Durrells Of Corfu - picked up on Audible via Borrow Box because I'd quite enjoyed My Family and Other Animals. It debunks some of the lies and omissions (the biggest being that mother 'liked a drink') in the original but all in all was fairly uneventful. I wasn't keen on the narrator who was far too Actorly with a capital 'A'. One of the points made in the book is how unimpressed Margo was with Gerry's depiction of her in MF&OA, I suspect she'd have been equally unimpressed with the whiny 'voice' assigned to her in this Audible book! Made me feel sad that the people I was hearing about were all long gone, not something I've really thought about before when reading, I must have reached that age where your own mortality weighs heavy!

Now about a third of the way through Conn Iggulden's Dunstan which would have to improve dramatically to be on a par with His excellent Wolf Of The Plain and dipping into and out of The Observers The 100 Best Novels In English as complied by Robert McCrum because a like a good list book!

In spite of the fact I must have nearly 100 books at home waiting to be read, I've just picked up another 5 from the library.
It's like some kind of compulsion. I need to be surrounded by books.

Thank you Biblio, that North sea book sounds perfect for my mother's birthday present, have just ordered her a copy :)

24. Mindful Running: How Meditative Running can Improve Performance and Make You a Happier, More Fulfilled Person by Mackenzie L Harvey

Bit niche this one - obviously only of interest if you run and want to do mindfulness. I do rely on running a lot for keeping my mental health where it should be but wasn't sure about the concept of mindful running - I tend to listen to a lot of podcasts while I run, so I can ignore the fact that I am actually running, whereas this book advocates being in the moment and listening to your breath and the sound of your feet. I haven't tried the practice yet so it may change my life.... watch this space....

25. Cheer Up Love by Susan Calman
Reviewed several times here already. I like Susan Calman on the radio and I mostly liked her in this honest book about her struggles with depression and anxiety. I have a good friend who has been suffering with the same and I would recommend this to her, which I guess is a recommendation. My favourite person in the book was Calman's wife, who sounds like a top notch good egg :)

Hope she likes it, Keith. I'm enjoying it so far, but I notice that the g
Goodreads review tend to be quite divided (one reviewer said her 89-year old grandmother liked it, but she's not sure how well her grandmother understands English).

I agree that Susan's wife sounds nice, although I kept thinking of Monkseal's line about Susan's tango in Strictly, "whilst her wife is wearing the face of someone who will be hearing all about it in the car on the way home in detail, even though she just sat and watched the entire thing."

For running, I've taken up the Run, Zombies, Run! thing at the moment. Not sure I'd like to be fully conscious of what I've experiencing in the moment during a run.

Well, quite, Biblio - my usual aim when running is to squeeze as much exercise as possible into a short space of time while convincing my mind that I am actually doing something relaxing like listening to The Infinite Monkey Cage.

Ooh, the reviews are bizarrely polarised for the North Sea book, aren't they? I will be interested to see what my mum makes of it.

Place marking to where I've read up to. Have about 3% left of current book, so should have a review for tomorrow. And it's HOLIDAY TIME! Sighs of relief all round.

Happy Holidays remus !

I have just this minute finished book 23 Fatherland by Robert Harris. Really glad I read this, having started the year being underwhelmed by Munich. It's well plotted and exciting and also pretty horrific. it may imagine a victorious Germany but many of the details (will spare them because of spoilers) are sadly and dreadfully factual. I have never actually read such a graphic description even though I feel highly informed about the Nazis.

The only criticism I have is I guessed the turncoat.. Thought it was obvious and March was , therefore, a bit thick.

Loving this thread at the moment! I can't wait to hear if anyone else in your book club finished the book, splother! And thanks for the recommendations, biblio and Cheerful.

Thanks, Piggy.

I really liked Fatherland. Munich not a patch on it. Enigma isn't bad and I think it might still be cheap on Kindle.