50 Book Challenge 2019 Part One

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2019, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

Who's in for this year?

gingercat02 I love my ereader. As a commuter its so much easier than a physical book and I have a whole library in my handbag.

Hello everyone,
I managed about 80 books in 2018 but still have plenty left to bring over to 2019 to read including:
This Thing of Darkness
The Descent of Man
Bookworm
Mrs Bird
Becoming
The Essex Serpent
...among others recommended on these threads!

1. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin.

Got it on Kindle sale and remembered someone reviewing it on here in 2018. Four young siblings see a fortune teller who predicts the date of their deaths. The book is written in four parts and follows each sibling as they grow up/in adulthood. Really good. Simon's part reminded me of two excellent books I read last year: The Heart's Invisible Furies (John Boyne) and Klara's part, The Magician's Assistant (Ann Patchett).

1. Just before I died - SK Tremayne. Picked it up on Amazon yesterday as I was looking for a horror/ghost type story and it was cheap. Not particularly blown away. Loved the descriptions of Dartmoor and piqued my interest enough to Google photos but the story itself I couldn't really get into.

Next up is The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I normally enjoy her books, have higher hopes for this one.

Pecky I will keep an eye out for what you think of The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Have it on my Kindle barely touched as I tried to read it on a plane after a few wines and gave up.

I've just finished #1 of 2019

1: Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter.

This was quite an easy easy read, and a step outside my usual genre, it's the story of Flo and Renee, two teenage girls living on Guernsey in the mid 1990s. They despite being in different friendship groups, they are drawn together due to their mutual dysfunctional families and bereavement that the girls girls in the school seem to have no clue about.
It's a gritty YA book, lots of talk about periods, sex (and misinformation about sex), eating disorders, exam stress and general teenage angst.
It's a good read, I rattled through it quite quickly and was invested enough in Renee and Flo to need to finish it. It was a solid ending though, not sure I will bother with the sequel.

I've just decided on Gone With the Wind as my first book of the year. Never read it and feel I should!

I may be some time...

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

An updated modern day version of Jane Austen’s novel, with the Edinburgh Festival substituting for Bath.

Overall I felt a bit meh about it. I preferred Austen’s version.
And Cat’s flights of fancy verged on the ridiculous - I struggle to believe that any modern 17 yr old, even an unworldly home schooled one, would seriously consider that the Tilney’s might be vampires, especially based on such flimsy evidence as them liking rare steak and disliking strenuous walks in the blazing August sun

@FortunaMajor yes, it's the Emily Wilson translation that I was reading. I hadn't realised that Claire Danes is doing the reading, that sounds interesting! My library doesn't have it so I will use my Audible trial on it I think.

Can I join please? Just finished Not dead yet by Peter James and feeling pretty proud I've hit the ground running this year.

I have finished my first 2019 book Of Mice and Men. It was part of a monthly challenge where January is ‘Re-read something you read at school’ it was ok.

I’m almost finished with Notes on a nervous planet by Matt Haig - really enjoyable.

Lastly, I am reading a Year each evening of Michael Palin’s diaries which I have had for ages and was put off by the 3 massive books. Enjoying that too.

I’m in! Almost finished my first read: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite which I’m enjoying, it’s very darkly funny.

Finished Ethan Frome enjoyed it more than I thought I would as I was judging it on its (very boring) cover.

Next up is My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent meant to be pretty harrowing I think.

Sorry you're not feeling the love for Mythos @FortunaMajor. I finished 2018 with Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker, an excellent retelling of the tale of Briseis and Achilles. I'm looking forward to seeing how Stephen Fry's interpretation in Heroes compares.

Finished my first book of the year last night. Hannah Green and her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence by Michael Marshall Smith

1. the ragged trousered philanthropists

I think everyone on this thread has probably read it and loved it.

I hated it

The Pearl by John Steinbeck next

Could I join? Nearly finished my first book. How To Stop Tine by Matt Haig. Interesting book following the life of a man who ages very slowly. It wouldn’t be in my top 5 but I am enjoying it.

I've never read The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - it's one of those books I feel I ought to read but somehow have never got around to bothering.

Re Swallows and Amazons I read that one having seen the 1970s film. Then tried another book in the series and didn't get on with it at all - too many technical descriptions of sailing at the very start put me off I think. Tried reading them to DD and she loved them - as well as Swallows and Amazons she's enjoyed Pigeon Post and Swallowdale and Winter Holiday. They all have sections with technical descriptions of one kind or another which can be a bit off putting I think but when you're reading them to a child you can help summarise these parts.

2 The Aspern Papers by Henry James
A biographer/literary critic has discovered that the woman who inspired a long dead poet to some of his best verses is not herself dead as previously thought but living in Venice. Enticed by the idea that she must have papers relating to the poet he plots a way to get to meet her and get hold of the papers. This is a very slight book at only just over 100 pages and James manages to create the world of Venice and this very elderly woman through the eyes of the self justifying critic narrator. Very well written and very enjoyable.

1. I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

This was ok. Mel and Abi we’re friends at university, but then Mel got pregnant and had to drop out, so they haven’t seen each other for 17 years. After receiving an email from Abi, Mel invites her to stay with disastrous consequences.

Parks writes well, but unfortunately it was obvious right from the start what was going to happen. I lost interest in the middle - given that I knew what the ending would be I just wanted to get there so felt there was far too much padding in the middle. I also found most of the characters unlikeable and some of their actions unbelievable. However, Parks does write well. Not sure I would rush out and track down any more of hers, but would probably read one if I found it lying around.

Am now starting To The Letterby Simon Garfield, non fiction about the (lost?) art of letter writing.

Ooh thanks for the new thread Southeast :)

Definitely in for this year, now that a Uni essay is out of the way. 2nd of January, what kind of deadline is that?

Fell off this thread very early last year but finished with 65 books read, a lot were archaeology books for Uni though so not as many novels as I would have liked.

First book this year is Bad News by Edward St Aubyn - the series was recommended to me by someone at work who was talking about the TV adaptation, I loved the first book ( Never Mind ), hopefully this one is just as good!

2. Help the Witch by Tom Cox A collection of often ghostly, quirky modern folk tales. A mixed bag, with some ideas being too slight, but when they work, they work. The nature writing is beautiful throughout, particularly on the title piece, and a couple of the stories are defiantly comic.

2. Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare I'm going to see the play at the RSC and wanted to read it first. I actually really enjoyed reading this and didn't know the story. It's not often performed - it's slightly King Lear like, in that Timon rejects Athenian society and goes and lives in a cave - but not detailed or complex as Lear. I've resolved to read a Shakespeare play once a month this year as I've only actually read a handful and reading this was strangely fun.

I've just started On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin, which I am loving.

Thanks southeast for the heads up that the original S&A is on iPlayer. That’s this afternoon’s film sorted then.

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J K Rowling, Illustrated by Chris Riddell.

I’ve not read these stories before and they’re nice enough. The hairy heart one I thought was the best; properly grisly fairy tale stuff. Could have done with at least six more though I reckon, slim pickings on that front JK.
However it’s my first five star book of the year because the illustrations by Chris Riddell are gorgeous. So much detail in glorious bright colours on some pages, simple black and white line drawings on others. A double fold out picture in ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune’ was a real surprise and joy when I got to it.
Bought this for dd as she wants to be an illustrator and this provided us with lots of gorgeous art work to look at and discuss together.

Finished my first of the year yesterday.

1. Tied Up In Tinsel - Ngaio Marsh

My first Ngaio Marsh, had this around for a few years picked up second hand and always meant to read at Christmas, finally got round to starting it this New Year’s Day. Features the detective Roderick Alleyn, although not till fairly late in the book. I enjoyed it, old fashioned country house murder mystery - written/set in the 70s I think although, short of a couple of references, reads much more like a 30s piece.

Book number 1 done and dusted

1.Snap by Belinda Bauer
Jack Bright and his sisters Joy and Merry were left in a car at the side of the road whilst their mother looked for help after their car broke down. She never came back. She was murdered.

A few years later Jack is the man of the family, his father long gone, it's up to him to take care of his sisters and provide for them by any means. Something he finds during one of his activities leads him to believe he knows who murdered his mother.

Great book, great suspense and pace but the ending was a bit meh for me so I've given it 3.5/4 stars!

Next book will be one of my boxing day haul possibly Help Me by Marianne Power basically her experience of following self help books, or maybe I'll go for The Queen of Bloody Everything by Joanna Nadin I also have a few others but these two are what I'm leaning towards next, anyone read them?

I have quite a big TBR list and 3 others I bought on boxing day! I'm also reading a series by Val McDermid too but wanted to read my boxing day books first haha!

Hi there, a tentative joiner here.
I may mostly lurk as I'm totally new to this (but not to Mumsnet) but I desperately need an incentive to get back into reading- I could read for hours as a child but for a long time I've let life and tv get in the way. I'm too tired to do more than a couple of pages in bed at night, so I'be been reading The Power by Naomi Alderman for what seems like years!

Determined to make more reading time.

lastqueen - "the ragged trousered philanthropists. I think everyone on this thread has probably read it and loved it. I hated it "

I've never heard of this book. What was it about, why do you think everyone loved it, and why did you hate it? We love to read fellow MNers' reviews