50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

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

How're you getting on so far?

I'd actually been wondering about you too Cote. Sounds like you've been busy!
I've had lots going on so have been reading the thread, not posting. Once this weekend is over things will calm down.

I did read Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and also The Human Universe by Professor Brian Cox. The Cox was fine, exactly what you'd expect from the Cox-meister. Serious physics and the laws of the universe explained in as clear a way as possible for science duffers such as myself.

I enjoyed the Kerman very much - it's the book the TV series was based on. It was a really interesting memoir and the up-shot is, she was relatively lucky in her prison compared to places she could have been sent, but it was certainly eye-opening as I know very little about being in prison and the day to day reality of life inside. If you like reading memoirs then this is a good one.

I'm just coming to the end of Brooklyn too. The style is so very much 'telling' rather than 'showing', particularly with emotions, and it's filled with lots of banal little details which ought to be agonisingly dull , but I'm finding it oddly absorbing. Having said that, I think I've read a Colm Toibin novel before, (not that long ago either) and remember literally nothing about it except that there was a house, and a man with some uilleann pipes and, uhmm... nope, other than that, I've got nothing. I suspect this'll be very nearly as forgettable.

59.) Miss Burma, Charmaine Craig An easier read than I was expecting there are scenes of torture, but the style is quite emotionally detached -- and the first book of the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist that I've read. Lagging behind a little, I'm afraid, although I plan to read them all. It's the story of a marriage set against events in Burma over the course of the Second World War and subsequent insurgencies. Perhaps, like Brooklyn, this will prove ultimately forgettable, although my grasp on the history of Burma is marginally less shaky. I do wish the author had included an afterword and given a little historical background to the story though.

@Corvus yes, very much telling rather than showing, but also a weird mishmash in the amount of weight given to things - ‘Eilish was very sad and she cried a lot after tragic thing happened, now let’s not mention that again and spend 3 pages talking about a cardigan.

She didn’t really seem to care one way or the other what happened to her either, just did whatever was told/suggested, even major life decisions because e.g. Tony said ‘let’s do this’ and she was like ‘ok’. I get that maybe it’s supposed to show she was or felt powerless, she certainly didn’t seem to have much choice about going to Brooklyn in the first place for example, and perhaps wasn’t much used to having her wants/wishes considered, but SPOILER I SUPPOSE ............... she seems to marry Tony for no apparent reason, just because he said it was what he wanted. Or rather to further the plot so that once back in Ireland she couldn’t just make a simple decision one way or the other.

I found Brooklyn appallingly dull. Didn't finish it.

Cote - have just got the sample of Carrion Comfort. Both Dan Simmons books that I've read so far have been too long and have fallen to pieces by the end though. Is this a pattern?

Brooklyn zzzzzzzz. Did finish it though.

41. The Dark Angel - Elly Griffiths I’m only really reading for the latest in the Ruth/Nelson/Michelle saga - the detective element seems to be very secondary to that.

I’ve finally allowed myself to start Shardlake 4. Hurray!

Have just finished Brooklyn.

SPOILERS below, which I guess is now number 60.

she seems to marry Tony for no apparent reason, just because he said it was what he wanted. Or rather to further the plot so that once back in Ireland she couldn’t just make a simple decision one way or the other.

See, I took it that she really did love Tony (that sex scene though... ), and the marriage was a way of giving her an anchor in Brooklyn, because she knew once she was in Ireland she'd find it extremely hard to come back and leave her mother alone. But that last section was very odd... at one point I thought it was veering off into Pride and Prejudice, (with Jim as Mr Darcy: he wasn't rude at the dance before she left Ireland -- he was just shy) so I struggled to take the final part seriously. I think she was supposed to be numb, but the way the ending was handled was just... Less 'emotional epiphany' and more, 'oh yeah? Well, I'll show you'.

I did love Frank though, and I think Tony's family dynamic was captured pretty well, and certain bits, like the baseball scene, were evocative. But Eilis herself was pretty unpleasant -- poor Dolores.

I found it very readable, but I think it will prove extremely forgettable, and I'm just baffled that this was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Would it have been, I wonder, had it been written by a woman?

~~

I have decided to have a crack at writing some Harry Potter fanfiction, so, while I was planning to read The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock next, instead a reread of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is next up.

I found the film of Brooklyn so dull I never want to read the book!

But I came to add that the film of “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They” is really good, but South beat me to it!

Dottie, I am ridiculously excited to think there is a book of all the Mark and Harriet stories- I loved finding them in the collections (All But A Few is one of the most well worn books from my childhood)- am so glad you mentioned it. I wonder how many I have read- it is so odd to think that as a child it was practically impossible to find out much more than the titles of books and whether the library stocked them!

55. The Word is Murder by Antony Horiwitz. I only knew Horowitz as the Alex Rider author (have read the first one), and didn’t realise he had done so much for TV. At first I thought I would enjoy the narrative style of this (it is first person “as if real”, like Watson writing the Holmes stories, or Hastings writing Poirot (which makes sense as Horowitz has written a Holmes book too)), but after a chapter or two I really enjoyed- a great beach read (well I was in a sunny garden!)

Just discovered this thread. Am I able to join halfway through the year?

I’m slowly working my way through the previous threads!

I set myself a goal on Goodreads of 30 books this year but I’m already on my 26th so 50 is seeming doable!

1. Just Kids - Patti Smith
2. The Group - Mary McCarthy
3. Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi
4. Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
5. The Stranger - Albert Camus
6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
7. Christadora - Tim Murphy
8. Exit West - Mohsin Hamid
9. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Thurston

10. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 11. Piecing Me Together - Renee Watson 12. On The Road - Jack Kerouac 13. The Hearts Invisible Furies - John Boyne 14. Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari 15. The Girl Before - JP Delaney 16. Educated - Tara Westover 17. In Conclusion Don’t Worry About It - Lauren Graham 18. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde 19. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky 20. The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende 21. Lord of the Flies - William Golding 22. Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee 23. Kindred - Octavia E Butler 24 Tin Man - Sarah Winman 25. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

Currently reading 26. Born a Crime - Trevor Noah, really enjoying it.

Hi Artisan and welcome . Anyone can join at any point in the year.

Welcome Artisan :) The Trevor Noah has been well received by most people posting here.

Thanks everyone as always for interesting reviews - I wish there were three of me so one could sit about reading all day while the other two did the necessary stuff like going to work :( I just want to read ALL of these books NOW. Thank you especially to Indigosalt for persuading me to give The North Water a go (I bought it as I know it's been very popular here but never quite fancied reading it from others' descriptions).

Emgee thank you for the assurance that the second Ferrante is better than the first - does that mean I have to read it to find out though? I'd decided to be done with her......

I didn't like Brooklyn either but I did really like The Northwater Lightship which I got in a mumsnet book swap last year. Worth seeking out if you want to give Toibin a second chance.

51. The Swimming Pool, Louise Candlish

Better than I thought it would be. The setting for this thriller is nothing original - a rather frumpy London woman (teacher, mum) is taken up by a glamorous new neighbour. Over the course of a long, hot summer holiday she is drawn into an exciting new life of days at the newly opened Lido and drunken evenings with her new friends. I was impressed that Candlish managed to set up her clues and red herrings - there are some good twists and turns to the plot and I was never quite sure where it was going. Not a huge amount happens apart from the Big Thing at the climax of the plot, but the claustrophobic atmosphere is well invoked.

Tanaqui I didn’t enjoy Brooklyn either, turned into one of those ‘duty’ reads, but went on to see the film, the reviews of both were so dripping with praise was convinced I missed some subtle meaning. But I think there are far better books by women about the experiences Toibin covers.

The Armitage family. I’m so glad someone remembers them too, I got most of my books from the library when I was young, so don't have many of hers now, although still have a complete Puffin collection of the Dido Twite books.So I literally pounced when I found this collection and, as haven’t got kids young enough to justify it, was very sheepish when I came to pay for it. But I really enjoyed rereading them and there were a few I didn’t remember/recognise. The Virago edition has illustrations that are new but have a suitably old-school style so not jarring. All but a few was an absolute favourite of mine too. And the ‘Serial Garden’ is still desperately poignant.

They Shoot Horses, don’t They? is an excellent film but now gets overlaid in my head with the Gilmore Girls version which is a bit disconcerting.

I’ve been on this thread less than an hour and someone has mentioned Gilmore Girls, you are my people

Hi artisan

Nice to see you cote and museum

I really liked Brooklyn, book and film, and related to it a lot. I actually thought the book conveyed a lot with very little to be honest, and wasn’t over descriptive at all from my perspective, letting events and actions speak for themselves. Just from another side. I enjoyed the film on a second viewing too and thought it had a lot of good performances.

Hi, Artisan.

My dp really liked Brooklyn. I stand by my opinion that he is clearly bonkers though.

Hearing you loud and clear remus

I really liked Brooklyn too and I enjoyed Nora Webster even more. I can see why others might think it's forgettable though. I just find that his way of writing stirs something in me. It reminds me of my mum and grandmother.

Toibin’s Testament of Mary was very good.

I'm in the ‘I liked Brooklyn’ camp. I like Toibin's writing style and thought both Testament of Mary (a good book club choice btw) and House of Names were both excellent.

Did anyone see today that ITV are doing an adaptation of Vanity Fair? It’s on my TBR western canon list (BookTube's Steve Donoghue's western canon starter kit list anyway). Downloaded one of the several audible versions. 31 hours! Holy cow. I’ve bought the kindle version too so I can whisper sync them but still, that’s going to be my reading and listening for half of July sorted then. Is it worth it?

Sorry, title in my post above should be The Blackwater Lightship

Confused with The North Water

Corvus, Miss Burma has turned out to be a forgettable novel for me. Only read it a few months ago and all I can remember is the horrible ethnic violence and the mother being a bad ass and walking a long way up mountains/through forests.

I think *The Blackwater Lightship’ might have been the other Toibin I read (as part of the very same MN book swap as Keith). Buggered if I can remember anything about it though.

And, yes, Scribbly, Vanity Fair absolutely is worth it. It’s delightful, although for some reason I can’t see it working well as an audiobook...

ScribblyGum just wanted to second Corvus Vanity Fair is an excellent read, witty and wonderfully constructed, but also manages to deal with complex ideas. I've read it more than once and will probably read it again at some point. It looks dauntingly long but rattles along and so feels shorter. There's actually a reasonable BBC adaptation, it's available to stream on Amazon, the one with Natasha Little. There's also a film with Reese Witherspoon, but I didn't try it, as seemed too short to do justice to the book.

40 Death in Ten Minutes by Fern Riddell – covers life of suffragette Kitty Marion, already reviewed by EllisIsland, I really enjoyed reading about Kitty Marion and I thought the book was worth the time just for her: much of the account of her life seems to come from an unpublished autobiography, which I would love to read. I was fascinated by the portrayal of women and music hall culture, Belle Bilton, Bessie Bellwood and others, too. But I did find Riddell’s general style and her arguments about strands of feminism a bit ‘heavy-handed’ and sometimes just irritating. I would have liked her to provide more evidence to back up some of her assertions, as well as to acknowledge that some of the areas of early feminist thought she promotes weren’t inevitably progressive – some of them led to the eugenics’ movement after all.

I quite liked the film of Brooklyn, but not enough to want to read the book.

Have finally got round to watching A Very English Scandal with DH, and we both thought it was excellent, so thanks to this thread, as we probably wouldn't have found it otherwise.

Becky Sharp is a brilliant portrayal of a psychopath, but God, Amelia is one of the wettest heroines in literature. I just wanted to give her head a shake and tell her to get a bit of back bone.

Remus - "just got the sample of Carrion Comfort. Both Dan Simmons books that I've read so far have been too long and have fallen to pieces by the end though. Is this a pattern?"

I don't think so. Hyperion was great to the end which was just half the story of course. It's sequel Rise Of Hyperion was very good, too. I thought the last 2 books in the series were not as good, so maybe that proves your theory somewhat

I thought Carrion Comfort ended well but I can't remember the ending now. I just remember that it was the last paper book I read - so disgusted I was of carrying around with me that 1000-page brick that I bought a Kindle!

Nice to see you too, whippet & Satsuki