50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

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

How're you getting on so far?

Pepe, it's a thorny question when it comes to translations of Anna Karenina! I read the trusty Constance Garnett one but there have been some much more recent ones. The critic Janet Malcolm was on Garnett's side and wrote a passionate defence of her version in the NY Review of Books - which is quite amusing to read. I suspect it might mirror the strength of the argument between your friends

I am reading the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation of Anna Karenina - no particular reason why, just that it was cheap to buy in paperback! I'm about a third of the way through and I find the footnotes explain weirdly irrelevant things that I mainly already knew, while not explaining things about Russian society that I'm unsure about.

62. Touchstone, Melanie Rawn. Book 1 of the Glass Thorns series.

I really liked this - it's reminding me of Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind, which I loved. I have read some of Melanie Rawn's earlier stuff - Ruins of Ambrai and The Mage-Born Traitor and really enjoyed them too, but I was devastated to discover that the trilogy was never finished! I was less enamoured of her Dragon Prince books - liked the first one and then thought the quality dropped off a cliff. Rawn stopped writing for a long time due to depression and this book was written in 2012, a good 15 years on from the Exiles non-trilogy. This one is about the relationship between Cayden and Mieka - both male, not romantically involved, band-mates (essentially) and friends. Cayden has visions of different futures - he knows from their first meeting that Mieka is incredibly important to him, but his visions show dark and disturbing futures where they betray each other, turn into alcoholics/drug addicts, he sees each of them being violent in different ways, and he foresees the result of some relationships, but he doesn't know which future will actually come to pass. I was hooked - this is fantasy about relationships, not about situation or the struggle between good and evil. Plus it's built on a rollicking tale of young poor boys setting up a troupe of players (essentially a band), competing against the top acts in the kingdom and trying to win their way into the royally approved circuits, which would be an entertaining story in its own right. I've downloaded book 2 and had to force myself to stop reading at midnight.

21. Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon Jane Austen Despite being an Austen fan, I’d never really looked at this collection of one early, unpublished in her lifetime novel and two unfinished fragments. It was kind of interesting but Lady Susan isn’t great by her standards and the unfinished pieces just frustrated me.

Catching up after I fell off the last thread. I now have 200 posts to read from this thread and I expect plenty more recommendations to add to my TBR pile.

*13. The Tyrant's Shadow - Antonia Senior
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This is a historical fiction set just after the execution of Charles I. The main character has just been hired as a secretary to Oliver Cromwell and the story charts his family's story alongside Cromwell's struggle for power and peace at the end of the civil war.
I liked this. I read quite a lot of historic fiction but haven't read anything set in this period before. It didn't completely captivate me but the characters were interesting as were some of the themes; including domestic violence and the treatment of wives/women in the period, particularly by men who considered themselves "godly."

*14. Running Up That Hill - Vassos Alexander
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A memoir about running ultra-marathons by BBC R2 sports reporter and keen runner, Vassos. I think if long distance running is of interest to you, which it is to me, then this is incredibly enjoyable. The author's passion for the sport leaps off every page. Maybe not of so much interest to anyone else though! Has definitely inspired me to think what I might be capable of beyond marathon distance, much to the dismay/baffled amusement of my friends and family!

51: The Hollow – Agatha Christie
I’d never heard of this before, and then saw it mentioned in a Guardian feature on writers’ favourite crime stories. I enjoyed it and found it rather different to AC’s usual stuff (although still some really horrible anti-Semitism at one point).

18. The Red Room - Nicci French

Pyschologist Kit Quinn is asked to help out on a murder investigation, disagrees with the police along the way, but ultimately refuses to ignore her instincts.

Don't think I've read any Nicci French before and I was surprised at how undramatic this was. Plus Kit makes some really bad choices - surely nobody is that daft? Fine for a library quick read but wouldn't search out any more by the same author.

There's an Escape with Kindle sale on for the bank holiday weekend that might be worth a look, I just bought Reservoir Tapes by Jon McGregor and In the Days of Rain for 99p each, I've had my eye on these for a while.

Thanks murine there are a few good ones in there.

Brighton Rock and A Town Like Alice are both in te daily deals, both good reads.

Ooh thank you, Murine. In The Days of Rain is on my list too so I will take a look later. The monthly deals were disappointing as always!

40. Run for Your Life: Mindful Running for a Happy Life, William Pullen

This was OK. A self-help book mainly based on the author's own experience that running can help to concentrate the mind on issues that the runner is trying to work through. Nothing ground-breaking for me although it was worth a read.

41. An Almond for a Parrot, Wray Delaney

Or "The one with all the sex" as it is known on this thread. This is a fun C18th pastiche (these seem to be all the rage all of a sudden) with strong influences from picaresque novels of the time (Moll Flanders, Tristram Shandy etc) as well as some contemporary historical novelists (there was a definite whiff of Fingersmith about this for me). There is quite a lot of sex, involving such exciting devices as stiff maypoles and upright parsnips , and a typical cast of gamblers, dandies, rogues, drabs, sailors etc, all of which give it an authentic period flavour.

I liked the magic realism, I liked the erotic episodes, I liked the mystery element and I liked the romance, but all four meant that there was too much crammed in. The magic element, in particular, was underdeveloped and could have been much more than it was. Good fun though!

18. Amy and Isabelle, by Elizabeth Strout. Set in a small town in Maine in the 1970s, this novel charts the complicated relationship between a mother and her sixteen year old daughter, looking particularly at the damaging effects of secrets and betrayals over the course of a long, stiflingly hot summer in the town.

This was another great book by Elizabeth Strout. Slow and unhurried, there were no huge traumas here, just small but devastating hurts and slights and the effects they have on human relationships. The story is told from both their perspectives, but not annoyingly so (not tit for tat, or chapter by chapter, but a third person narration that covers both of their interior thoughts and feelings). The supporting characters - the small town co-workers and friends - are written extremely well, maybe more so even than Amy and Isabelle themselves. Definitely recommend.

There was the first Smiley by John Le Carre and Ghost by Robert Harris in the monthly deals but can’t remember much else.

I've now passed the halfway mark with two very different books. #24 was Vulgar Favours by Maureen Orth, which was the basis for 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace' on BB2 recently. It was very well-written and researched, going into the killer Andrew Cunanan's life in great detail - a lot more about drugs and pornography than in the TV series. It describes the police hunt across several US states and the missed chances to catch him, noticeably when he pawned a coin using his own name and address of where he was staying - at that time the system was not fully computerised and the person who normally dealt with the forms was on leave. I have been reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid to my son recently and it has been quite a relief to read about normal suburban American life where nothing bad happens.
#25 was On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry - quite different from Days Without End, the only other of his books that I've read. It's about 89-year-old Lilly looking back on her life after she fled Ireland for America as a teenager. It was quite sad in that Lilly's first husband is murdered, her only son is so traumatised by Vietnam that he goes NC with her, and her only grandson is so traumatised by the Gulf war that he hangs himself. But it was also uplifting in terms of the kindness shown towards Lilly and the good things that happened to her as well.

@badb I’ve had Amy and Isabelle on my kindle for a while now, so pleased to see your positive review.

41. Anecdotal Evidence - Wendy Cope
A rather sweet collection of poems including some rather touching ones about old age and the death of old friends. Being a susceptible sort I had a few tears in my eyes whilst reading some of them.

42. The Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne
Ok, so this book is not perfect by any means but you know what, I enjoyed it! I suspended my disbelief and accepted the unlikely coincidences that are strewn throughout the novel alongside a good smattering of Irish cliches.
Boyne is able to write conversations very well, many of which are genuinely amusing and I normally hate reading conversations in novels. The book follows the life of Cyril Avery from his birth, adoption and through his life, right into old age, jumping forward in 7 year sections. If you liked Any Human Heart by William Boyd, chances are you'll like this. It's a long-un, but an easy read, so doesn't feel long although I felt the last two sections could have done with some editing. So yes, I give this a thumbs up, whilst acknowledging its shortcomings.
As you were...

63. Elsewhens, Glass Thorns series, Melanie Rawn

Book 2 - I'm still really enjoying this series. I may be over-invested due to it seeming like ages since I found a new fantasy series I really like, but I cried in the first chapter and I don't even have PMT!

25. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Started this last night and finished it today. Very readable and nicely written. About two families whose lives become intertwined; the Richardson's, a well-off and seemingly perfect 'all-American' family and Mia Warren their tenant, a nomadic artist who decides to put down roots in Shaker Heights with her daughter, Pearl. Linking their lives further is the story of baby 'May Ling/Mirabelle' who is at the centre of a court case to decide if she should be adopted by the McCulloughs (friends of the Richardsons) or returned to her birth mother, an economic migrant from Canton.

This is more 'light-hearted' than Ng's previous novel Everything I never told you but just as good.

By total co-incidence, I have just read two books with restaurants in the title one after the other 28.Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant – Anne Tyler and 29. Last Night at the Lobster - Stewart O'Nan

28. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler

The title refers to kindly Ezra Tull’s heroic efforts to unite the Tull family in the seemingly simple act of eating a meal together without an argument erupting and at least one Tull storming out.

Pearl Tull is left to bring up her three children alone after her salesman husband walks out on them. I thought the layout of this book worked well. In chapter one we see things from Pearl’s point of view as she looks back on her life as an elderly woman; she remembers herself as a full-time working single parent, struggling to make ends meet and arrange child care. She does not always find Motherhood joyful, but she does her best.

Subsequent chapters explore matters from each child at various stages in time and at significant points of their life as they move towards middle age. With each new chapter more of the full picture is revealed.

There were times in this book when it was hard to read as Tyler spares no one. Pearl struggles so much and her life seems very bleak. Tyler explores with unforgiving detail how her bitterness impacts on each child. Her behaviour is often abusive and cruel. Just when you think you have everything worked out, Tyler shows us Pearl compassionately supporting her adult daughter when she experiences a crisis in her life. No one is perfect, everyone is flawed, but there is always hope, the chance to be better. Older son Cody also acts cruelly to younger son Ezra. However Ezra continues to love him, and love his Mother despite everything. I’ve read quite a few Anne Tyler novels and in my opinion this was the most complex. A challenging but enjoyable read.

Badb I've also had Amy and Isabelle on my wish list for a while. Might move it up a few places as it sounds like I would enjoy it.

Whippetwoman agree re the John Boyne dialogue, it was very good and very believable. I think if it had carried on in the same vein as the first section, I might have pressed on. Once the adoptive parents were introduced, it went downhill for me I'm afraid. And yes it is long! Glad you enjoyed it.

39.) The Cheapside Corpse, by Susanna Gregory -- It's 1665 and the Earl of Clarendon has ordered nine pairs of curtains. Unfortunately only seven were delivered and the Earl duly appoints his intelligencer Thomas Chaloner to track down and obtain the missing two pairs of curtains from the disreputable merchant Baron, recently appointed the King of Cheapside after the death of hated goldsmith and banker Dick Wheler. There might also be a couple of murders to solve along the way, but mainly it's all about the curtains.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. A murder mystery set in Restoration London, fairly heavy on the adventure, with a wry humorous touch and a main character I've sort of fallen in love with. Not quite as serious (or quite as well written) as the CJ Sansom books, but I've gone and ordered the first one anyway (this was the 10th in the series). One thing I really liked was how Thomas spent half the book trying to solve an incredibly trivial problem (those bloody curtains), as well as dealing with his impecunious wife's debt. A really fun read.

whippetwoman such a coincidence that I have just finished William Boyd's Any Human Heart and am contemplating The Heart's Invisible Furies as my next read (although I do have a couple of other books on the go already!!)

11. William Boyd – Any Human Heart
If someone had described this book to me or encouraged me to read it I probably wouldn’t have given it the time of day. I was at a book-swap thingy and the name ‘William Boyd’ called out to me. I thought Brazzaville Beach was amazing and Sweet Caress is on my TBR pile. I digress…
A great journey through the twentieth century told from the viewpoint of an Oxford-educated young man, turned author, who I neither warmed to nor could relate to in the slightest for at least the first half of the book. And then he grew on me. Surprisingly, I actually found this a very interesting read. The subject matter was greatly enhanced by the diary format and I found myself enjoying the snippets referring to Waugh, Hemingway, Woolf and other authors of that time as well as many historical moments related from an unusual angle. I feel like I've been reading it for months (in fairness it's only been weeks) but reading it as a diary has made it really easy to dip in and out of and now it's finished I feel a bit bereft. That's got to be the sign of a good read, surely?

New word learnt – dipsomaniac.

I am reading Gillespie and I after seeing it recommended a lot on MN (although I can't remember if it was people on these threads or not). Must admit I'm finding it about as exciting and quite a lot less satisfying than waxing my moustache. Worth continuing?

It's been a while since I read it, Remus, but while I quite enjoyed it (liked The Observations more tbh - I LOVED The Observations), I dont think it's one of those books that's going to get better if it doesn't grab you from the start.

Past the half way mark and that is already more than I read last year so thank you, thread buddies! Shame book #50 wasn’t a knock out, just a perfectly ok read.

50 Happiness for Humans by PZ Reizin
Fluffy romcom with an AI twist. It started well but got slightly tedious, although I liked the idea and it was a relief to read something genuinely light and entertaining for a change.

51 Who by Geoff Smart
Work related book about how to hire good people. The method is effective and I’ve used it for a while so this was more about filling in some details.

I've read about 150 pages, Corvus, which feels quite an investment, so wondering if I should keep slogging on for a while.