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?

6. Liverpool Daisy by Helen Forrester
This came up as a recommendation as I have Forrester’s autobiography collection, which have been some of my favourite books since I discovered them at 13. I haven’t read any of her fictional work though so thought I’d give this a go.
It centres around Daisy in Liverpool during the depression. Daisy is an Irish Catholic who is incredibly poor. Her elderly mother has just died, her children are either dead, in prison or have moved out and her husband is away for very long stretches on the boats.
When Daisy’s mum passes away she loses the income of her pension and needs money to help her sister in law and close friend who is very ill. A chance encounter introduces her to the world of prostitution and she begins to earn money in a secret life away from her prying neighbours and family.
I am not sure if I enjoyed this or not. I didn’t really like the character Daisy and parts of it were quite unbelievable. It also ended rather abruptly as if there was more to come (there may be, I haven’t checked if there was a sequel).
Forrester writes well though and it isn’t a challenging read. Not sure I will be reaching for another of her fiction novels though.

2. The Eyre Affair - I promised myself that I'd read some books from my bookshelf before buying anymore and I was given this book ages ago. I really enjoyed it. It was a fun and silly read with some clever ideas and very funny moments. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

(1) Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup
(2) The Magdalen by Marita Conlon McKenna
(3) The Biscuit Girls by Hunter Davies

3rd of the year finished. The Biscuit Girls is a bit like a history of Carrs. It was quite interesting and a fairly easy read.

2. The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan This was a book group pick (mine). As we're meeting next on Burn's Night, I thought I'd pick a Scottish book (also live in Scotland). The Panopticon is narrated by Anais who has been in care since birth (apart from a 4 year period of adoption). After allegedly putting a police officer in a coma, she is transferred to The Panopticon which is an experimental unit. She should be on the 4th secure floor, but it isn't yet open. This is the story of Anais and her fellow inmates. I really enjoyed it, it has a lot of black humour although very sad and a depressing look at like in care. I work with young people and although the lives of Anais and her friends may seem far fetched, I can think of examples of young people who are just like Anais and her friends. The dialogue is also in Scots but I don't think it would be difficult for non-Scots to understand.

I've just finished two hourly history books about Stephen Hawking and Rosa Parks and started and finished This is going to hurt overnight as I couldn't sleep (again) - I alternated between feeling sad and stifling a laugh so as not to wake anybody else up.

Forgot to say, I'm about to start Hemingway's the old man and the sea.

*1. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman

1. New Boy - Tracy Chevalier

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Rowling, Thorne & Tiffany*

DD read this as soon as it was published, but it just didn't "speak" to me, so has been languishing at the back of a bookcase, gathering dust. Have got the lurgy and just fancied an easy read and this fitted the bill. Very easy read being a script. I found Albus to be an annoying and unsympathetic character (much like his pompous namesake) - he was written in a "trying too hard to be different/rebellious" way in order to draw parallels with young Harry. Thought Delphi was an interesting character and would have liked more of her story. Everyone else was much of a muchness. But sad really, but it just felt like a bit of a money spinner to me, to keep the Potter faithful on side and spending their money.

Finished 2. This Is Going To Hurt - Adam Kay*

TLDR: EVERYBODY READ THIS.

Very curious to know thoughts of others who have more experience of obs and gynae wards (I haven’t had kids nor any major gyn problems). I remember reading criticism on here around the time the book came out that it was insensitive and made light of the trauma of a number of the situations the author relays especially concerning c-sections gone awry.

I didn’t think it did seem insensitive. The author comes across as pretty arrogant and a bit preachy for the first few pages, and some of the praise of the NHS (love for which apparently ‘runs deeper than any religion’ ) is a bit overblown. But it is a really compelling read with fascinating stories that does show the pressure doctors are on - not just in terms of hours, which Kay makes much of, but also in terms of terrifying responsibility. It’s really funny but also pretty dark in places.

Onto a third book...hmmm...

1. The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
2. Tombland - CJ Sansom - I was really looking forward to this, as have loved all of the Shardlake books. Whilst it was enjoyable, I think it's probably the longest in the series so far and probably the toughest going. It seemed to get quite bogged down by the historical events, and was much less swashbuckling than I remembered the others to be.

Onto number 3. The Woman who walked into doors

weebarra I loved The Panopticon and the dark humour in some horrible situations but did walk away feeling a bit gut punched that it is reality for some kids.

Hello, I'm back! Finished last year on 157 reads, of which just over half were non-fiction, two-thirds were by women, and over 80% were from the library. The library is the only thing saving me from penury. Like others, my resolution this year is to tackle more of my TBR shelf - at least one per month seems reasonable. My absolute favourite read of last year was To Throw Away Unopened, by Viv Albertine.

First three reads of the year:

1. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve, by Stephen Greenblatt Cultural history - how the origin story originated (interesting account of the Hebrews' psychological rebellion against the Babylonians) and how it was interpreted over the centuries, from St Augustine and Milton and down to Darwin and, er, Mark Twain. I like this author - his writing is pretty accessible but makes me feel gratifyingly intellectual.

2)King of the World, by Celia Fremlin. I love mid-twentieth century women's writing, and downloaded a lot of her books in December. They're described as domestic noir, and often feature women running away from bad marriages and ending up in cheap boarding houses where they unexpectedly find themselves making new lives. She does not rate men highly. I enjoy her characters more than her plotting. This isn't one of her best.

3. Tombland, by CJ Sansom I generally feel that the Shardlake books go on too long and outstay their welcome. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this one, but it did engage me and I cared enough about the characters to want to know what would happen next.

Hello, one week into the new year but I'd still like to join in please.

I've not read as much as I would have liked over the last few years and would love to read more and spend much less time online.

So far this year I've read:

1. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris - a harrowing and compelling read.
2. Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland - very enjoyable.

I've made a good start but I'm sure life will get in the way at some point to slow me down.

Biblio I like Celia fremlin too and downloaded a couple over Xmas. They are too easy to whip through and lose a day to, however. Also Nina Bawden and Anne Fine are usually a good read.

But it is a really compelling read with fascinating stories that does show the pressure doctors are on - not just in terms of hours, which Kay makes much of, but also in terms of terrifying responsibility. It’s really funny but also pretty dark in places.

This is pretty much my view as well. I've had ob-gyn experiences plus worked in the NHS for years and none of it surprised me at all.

I'm in please. Just finished Normal People by Sally Rooney. Found it a bit of a slow burner to be honest with you, I got Michelle Obama's book for Christmas so will start on that later today.
Aiming for as many books as a family of 3 boys ranging from 4 months to 14 years will allow.

Finally finished my first book of the year:

1. Career of Evil Robert Galbraith

Someone sends Robin and Strike a severed leg. Can they work out who? I'm thoroughly enjoying this series, like everything JKR writes, the characters are warm and human and it's very readable. Didn't like it as much as The Silkworm though. While I could believe that Strike went to Oxford, I found it hard to believe that he'd sat in the corner of a filthy squat quietly doing his homework every night. The descriptions of his adolescence sound like a middle-class childhood with a picturesque background, and I really don't think Rowling has the first idea what that sort of life is really like. I was also disappointed by Robin's backstory, which felt a bit obvious, and I was sad to learn that she doesn't have friends of her own. There are far too many novels about people with no friends/family (presumably because they're easier to write) and one of the things I enjoy about this series is all of the characters' connections. I feel like Robin is so likeable, and she's the sort of girl who'd have joined a gym or a Meetup group or something at least.

I remember reading that BBC list when I was a teenager - it was compiled from a public vote, I believe, which explains the oddness.

This is a great article about the joys of finally reading some of your tbr shelf, for those who want a bit of inspiration:

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/dec/31/better-read-than-dead-how-geoff-dyer-got-to-know-bookshelves-better?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR3jkQmENVUWDe6KnbH9LIHJmeJZnKD_fYOoR1VCNxVJyprV-BUvydjhtHI

That should be 1. not 3., obviously.

Love that piece about finally reading books, thanks for posting Cheerful. Over the last couple of years we have culled loads of books, many after reading them for the first time. Some were books I was given in high school (over thirty years ago!) so I understand how he feels about vindication, however delayed!

I enjoyed that article, Cheerful.

True, Pencil. I feel I need to space out the Celia Fremlins as they can get a bit samey though.

Meant to say I tried Sally Rooney's Conversation with Friends in December, but didn't find it interesting and abandoned it unfinished. Lucy Mangan's Bookworm was a bit of a disappointment, as I've read lots of her journalism and she's been making the same jokes about her family for years, but also because I don't feel that she gave me any new insights into the books she discussed. I felt she was relying too much on the reader feeling a warm glow of recognition at the titles she listed. As far as books about books go, I preferred Laura Freeman's The Reading Cure.

I'm struggling to keep up with the thread, but I've just finished The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle. I'll pop my reviews in this post for this and Norse Mythology. I'm just copying and pasting my Goodreads reviews, so if you have me on there, try not to "out" me (not that I'm hugely bothered.)

Norse Mythology: I'm a huge Gaiman fan, and have wanted to read this book since it was published (mainly because Thor and Loki are two of my favourite Marvel characters, and I wanted to know more about the history behind their stories).

This book didn't disappoint. The stories were lively and fun, and provided a well-rounded history of the Norse gods. As my only knowledge of Norse mythology came from Marvel and American Gods (so not particularly accurate), it surprised me to discover that Loki was Odin's blood brother rather than his adopted son, and it made the dynamic between Thor, Odin and Loki more interesting.

The only reason I couldn't give five stars was due to some errors in the text which should have been picked up in the editing process (for example, in the story of The Mead of Poets, Fjalar and Galar are written as Dark Elves on page 109 when they are first introduced, and are denoted as Dwarves for the remainder of the story). Story-wise, however, it's great and I'd highly recommend it.

The Power of Now: This book was okay, but not great. I listened to it on Audible, and the first thing I need to mention is that Eckhart Tolle speaks very slowly. I got used to this, but as I'm a quick reader I initially found it frustrating and needed to learn acceptance to get through it - it's possible this was deliberate as that is the main focus of Eckhart's teachings.

The good: the overarching message is one that a lot of people need to hear. Acceptance, being mentally present, and not dwelling on the past or future are important lessons to learn for a healthy mind, and roughly two thirds of the book explains this well.

The not so good: the interview style questions didn't work well in the audio book (which is surprising as you'd think it'd be better in this format than reading them). I think it's because the two people asking the questions seemed unnecessarily dull, and sounded like they were asking really stupid questions. I doubt they'd have seemed that way if you read the book in the traditional manner though, so that's why I haven't popped this down as a "bad" element.

The bad: Eckhart misses the mark in a number of his points, and (in my opinion) shouldn't have made them in the first place; the main section which riled me up was that of menstruation. Eckhart maintains that menstruation is "the collective female pain-body" and that women need to "catch it before it takes [them] over". He informs the reader that women know for certain when their period is going to come, and that it can become a "joyful and fulfilling expression of [their] womanhood".

Throughout this I basically wanted to tell him to f-off. I'm all for learning to accept that periods are pretty shit, and am almost okay with hearing that from a man, but for a man to tell us that they can be joyful? He needs to jog-on.

Ooh, do people put their whole lists down each time, and just bold the ones that they've just read?

Managed three books already but only because I've been away for the New Year break.

1. Made in Scotland by Billy Connolly . A Christmas present. I enjoyed this, good fun, but had watched a tribute show over Christmas which more or less told the same stories and jokes.

1. The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony . As recommended on here. Thoroughly enjoyed it - fascinating read.

1. I'll keep you safe by Peter May I'd been saving this one for my holiday because I've loved previous Peter May books. Not so much this one. Plot seemed too contrived and more than a bit unbelievable. It all seemed such a rush at the end.

Now reading My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante and I've added Bookworm to my Want to Read list.

Thanks for sharing that article, Cheerful. Reminds me I should keep going through my bookshelves as they do occasionally throw up an unread gem, stop buying books I know I should read rather than books I want to read, and also remember the “this book doesn’t need me to read it”. I feel that way about a lot of books that I then usually end up buying. One reason I am resisting Normal People after being totally underwhelmed by Conversations with Friends. Normal People will be just fine without me reading it!

3. Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi

This is a YA book I think but I really enjoyed it. The setting is what I liked most about - focussing on a culture I know little about. Magic has disappeared from the land which is now ruled by a ruthless king. He orders all Maji killed and their offspring become hated citizens. One girl is on a quest to bring the magic back.
There’s nothing earth-shatteringly new in it but the world-building is solid and it romps along at a good pace.