50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Eight

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the eighth (and probably final) 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 and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.The lurkers among you are also very welcome to come out of the woodwork and share with us what you've read!

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, the sixth one here and the seventh one here.

How have you got on this year?

South that link is hilarious! I will have to read it now! Love a book which divides. Also quite taken with the Dodie Smith too!

South thank you for linking to Vanessa Feltz's fabulous review of the really not very fabulous Beyond Black. She's convinced me to add A Tale of Two Families onto my to-read list as well.

93 - Tombland – CJ Sansom

The new Shardlake, for anybody who has been living under a stone or for other reasons hasn’t discovered this series yet. The Shardlake books are ones that both Cote and I rate highly, which says a lot about them!

This one sees Matthew, Nicolas and the luscious Jack Barak re-united in Norwich, as a rebellion against the enclosure system is brewing. Sansom is a meticulous researcher, and his world building is based on careful consideration of source documents which he then uses to make informed judgements about settings, characters and events. In this, I think he’s so much more reliable than somebody like, for example, Philippa Gregory, who I think takes historical fact more lightly. This is both an advantage and disadvantage in Sansom – it makes him a reliable and detailed observer, but it also sometimes means he wants to get everything he’s ever read in there.

Overall, any Shardlake is better than no Shardlake, and I knew virtually nothing about the events described, so I enjoyed learning about them. I also really enjoyed the “History lesson stuff” at the end of the book. The novel itself I found a bit slow – the murder under investigation gets a bit lost in all of the details about the rebellion, and I didn’t really feel invested in the victim/s. I also thought it lacked subtlety at times – there’s a few occasions where women are not just victims but sexually degraded that seemed unnecessary at best, and there are quite a lot of boys with bare arses that get a bit repetitive.

Not his best, but I still enjoyed immersing myself in the world of Matthew and Jack for a few days.

I don’t think he Booker judge’s “Mount Snowdon” comment was particularly helpful - not the best sell! He made it sound like hard work when actually it flows really well and is really humorous which is so refreshing for a serious, award winning book.

45. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

I was very familiar with the author’s poetry but not with her novels so was happy to discover this. This is a difficult one to review as I get the feeling it would be more enjoyable if you very little idea what was coming in terms of plot, however the book’s unique and odd story is what it has going for it. I’ll try anyway. Laura Willowes is a spinster Aunt who is taken very much for granted by her extended family, offering childcare and general household support. She in turn is dependent on them - the society of the time, from the turn of the 20th century to just beyond the Great War, allows women of her generation very little control or agency over their own lives, and so Laura is trapped by her circumstances, which though genial, afford her no real opportunity to become her own person, and follow her own path in life. The first half of the book examines Laura’s familial and social situation in detail, and if you like the sort of book that deals in the relatively uneventful domestic life of a past time, then this will very much appeal to you. However it is when the book hits the half way mark that things take a rather different and slightly sinister turn and this sets it apart from others of its kind. Laura, at the age of 47, decides to seize the day and takes her small means and use them to escape to a lone, meaningful life in the country away from the pull of family obligation. Here the book grows darker and it becomes a more figurative exploration of how a middle-aged woman is to empower herself when she feels marriage, children and religion hold nothing for her. As a critique of those constraints on women it is a very interesting book, and the subject matter just right for this time of year.

I understand the point of view that telling people the Milkman is hard going could be off putting but... I did find it hard going!
Maybe I am a 'bear of little brain' but it took me a long time to get through. I agree there is a flow but I only found this when I had a chunk of time to devote to it. I found my 'Milkman' mojo waiting for DS to have an MRI!
When I didn't have a chunk of time I lost the flow again.
I genuinely don't mind an experimental style but I can see why someone who only reads for short periods each day might be less than patience with this one.

128. Tombland- C J Sansom Literally just finished and have been checking in periodically today to see if Remus' review was up.
I have to say I think we are in agreement. It was nice to be back amongst old friends - although I felt that Barak was getting tame in his old age.
The research is thorough and impeccable, but the telling of the tale seems over long. Like Remus I got bogged down in the rebellion. Shardlake is definitely at his best when he is on he trail of a murderer and the beginning and end of the novel were more certainly more pacy.
There are some repetitive images, bare bums being one, nits another and as Remus said the sometimes unnecessary sexual violence of women.
I did enjoy this, but it isn't the best of the series by any stretch.

Great minds, Splother!

I think I was only aware of two lots of nits - there were definitely more bare bottoms than itchy little critters.

Agree re Jack. Too much silent moping and not enough of him calling people arseholes and getting sloshed.

toomuch I felt though it was no more “different” stylistically than Lincoln was in its way the previous year and I seem to remember more enthusiasm towards that book’s challenges from the judges than “I read philosophy journals so ok by comparison” which made Milkman sound self consciously, even pretentiously, difficult which isn’t the same as it requiring a bit of concentration, or you just not getting on with the style, if you see what I mean? I could be wrong about that but I saw lots of articles this year spinning off those comments inferring it must be borderline unreadable and what a poor choice of winner it was if it has to be endured and not enjoyed and it felt unfair to what she had actually written. And I did really enjoy it but think it’s a question of taste rather than brain size Happily it seems to be selling well regardless, or perhaps because, of the early negativity.

Satsuki I will have to disagree about Lincoln. I know some people found it hard but once I viewed it as a play script I picked the style up really quickly. Plus it was broken up by the 'historical' source chapters. The problem with Milkman was the incredibly long sentences and paragraphs. It reminded me of The lesser bohemians but here the style settled as the characters emotional turmoil even out. With Milkman it was on going and at times felt relentless.
That said it was humorous, and evocative. And although I didn't find it an easy read I am glad I read it. It is probably a book I will return to when if ever I have a chunk of time to devote to it.

Remus so right about Jack!

I didn’t find Lincoln hardgoing but I know quite a few did, my point was the judges who chose it didn’t make it sound unduly challenging in their remarks, when stylistically it was a bit unusual too, it didn’t seem to get quite the negative press Milkman did.

The Milkman is £3.19 on Kindle at the mo. I'm resisting as not sure it's my cup of tea and I daresay I will stumble across it at some point in the future in a charity shop.

Just started Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I love this writer.

Satsuki I take your point. It has certainly got people talking .

Try milkman on Audible. Very easy to listen to.

83. Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton

Written by Crichton in 1974 and published posthumously eight years after Crichton's death in 2017. There is probably a very good reason for Crichton not releasing it in his lifetime; it reads like a draft.

Fictionalised account of William Johnson, a Yale student who for a bet heads west during the summer vacation with the (real life) professor of paleontology Othniel Charles Marsh. Adventures with cowboys, Indians, dinosaur bones, bacon and beans, gun fights and the (also real life) rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope ensue.

This could have been a truly fabulous book. The bare bones, excuse the pun, of a classic Crichton are all here; science, relentless adventure and slick, snippy dialogue. I was waiting for a teaser of Jurrasic Park-yet-to-come, which disappointingly never came. There is little fleshing out of the characters to a point where you don’t really care that much if Johnson lives or dies. The writing is so thin in places that it reads like a school creative writing project, Johnson did this, then Johnson did that...
I can’t believe that Crichton had he had been alive would have sanctioned its publication.

I am however now fascinated now by the characters of Marsh and Cope and the ‘bone wars’ that did occur occur between the pair during that time and will seek out some non-fiction books describing their expeditions to the perilous west and the race to discover and name the dinosaurs they found there.

Good review of Lolly Willowes, Satsuki. I liked it, but it's a bit of an oddity. There's a great quote from the author, reacting against readers seeing it a gentle, whimsical story: "I felt as though I had tried to make a sword, only to be told what a pretty pattern there was on the blade.” I read it here

Currently reading RisingTideFallingStart by Philip Hoare. It's one of the books where the author rambles around telling you about things he's interested in, so it's part memoir, part essay, part discussion of history/literature/biography. It reminds me a bit of W G Sebald, only a more watery version, as so far it's mainly about the ocean, Cape Cod, whales, dolphins, the author's love of swimming, The Tempest, Moby Dick, all of which has segued, I don't know how or why, into David Bowie's film career. I'm only a third of the way through, so I'm sure there will be unexpected new directions. It's not a page-turner, but he writes evocatively so I'm willing to go where he leads for a while.

Spooky audible is a good suggestion. I can see it would be a good listen, as I said my review I got into the swing when I read passages out loud.
But .. the devil in me wants to then ask, does that make it a good audiobook, but not necessarily an accessible written book?
I think on balance the ManBooker does tend to go for books with different styles. Sometimes they work for lots of people, sometimes they don't. I suppose the judges are entitled to their opinion just like everyone else.

71. A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin

Given how successful this series is (both in book and TV form) I’m guessing most people will have an idea of what this is about already, so I’m not going to talk about the plot.

Just going to say that I enjoyed reading this and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.

45. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
A memoir told through a number of incidents in which O'Farrell is confronted with her own mortality, whether by illness, accident or threat from others. It's poetically written, often dramatic, even in its telling of some rather everyday experiences, and left me with an urge to me a bit more carpe diem.

46. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Lees are a mixed white/US Chinese family living in the suburban US in the 70s. The novel focuses on a significant tragedy in the family, but moves back and forth in time to look at more mundane, minor tragedies experienced by family members before this, the impact of racism and bigotry, and ultimately how Philip Larkin was right in This Be the Verse. Bleak throughout, the relatively plain writing is a good foil for the focus on the psychological experiences of the parents and children. I liked this one enough to read the author's second novel.

Here is my list :

1. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
2. Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders
3. Fingers in the Sparkle jar - Chris Packham
4. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
5. The little book of self-care - Mel Noakes
6. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
7. This is going to hurt - Adam Kay
8. The watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
9. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier

10. Frankenstein- Mary Shelley 11. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell 12. Winter - Ali Smith 13. I am, I am,I am - Maggie O’Farrell 14. The tent, the bucket & me - Emma Kennedy 15. What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty 16. The Night Watch - Sarah Waters 17. A history of Britain in 21 Women - Jenni Murray 18. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern 19. Bookworm: A memoir of childhood reading- Lucy Mangan 20. The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton 21. I am Malala - Malala Yousafzai 22. Being Mortal, Medicine & what matters in the end - Atul Gawande 23. The little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 24. Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett 25. The Immortalists - Chloe Benjamin 26. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman 27. Big little lies - Liane Moriarty 28. Hag-Seed - Margaret Atwood 29. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 30. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 31. And then there none - Agatha Christie 32. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness - Arundhati Roy 33. Norse Mythology- Neil Gaiman 34. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller 35. The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood 36. Circe - Madeline Miller 37. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck 38. Reasons to stay Alive - Matt Haig 39. The Cry - Helen Fitzgerald 40. Autumn - Ali Smith 41. Checking Out - Nick Spaulding 42. Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell - Susanna Clarke

Thanks biblio that’s a good article. Yes it was all quite odd and interesting and, I thought it moved from the pleasant mundane to something quite sinister and weird which I wasn’t expecting. I read it on Kindle but the cover was the charming cartoony chick lit type that really belied the story, so people are still not acknowledging the sword!

toomuch I was left feeling I’d enjoy the audiobook, however I did find the written book perfectly accessible (to me) as well so I don’t know if I’d think that was the case from my own point of view.

This!

*32. The Reason You're Alive - Matthew Quick
*
The story of a Vietnam veteran who is recovering from brain surgery and his relationship with his son. I loved this. It was very funny but I also found it quite thought provoking. Our narrator is a gun-toting Republican who doesn't care for political correctness. It has really made me think about how, just because someone has different opinions from me, it doesn't make them wrong, or stupid.

*33. Eve of Man - Tom and Giovanna Fletcher
*
Set in a not-too-distant, post-apocalyptic future, the human race is slowly dying out as no female children have been born for 50 years. This is the story of Eve, the first, and only girl to have been born.
The premise is great. The writing is very YA and I would go so far as to say, in some places, not very good. I found it quite reminiscent of Hunger Games. I did stick with it, despite the unnecessary amount of one-word sentences and I did find it quite enjoyable. It's intended as the first in a trilogy so I'll keep an eye out for the next one.

It's a tricky one to illustrate, to be fair, Satsuki. Maybe a sylvan scene complete with satyr.

Yes it is - look at this older edition, something completely different