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. Call the midwife - Jennifer Worth. An easy, but uncomfortable read. I’ve seen some episodes of the TV programme but the book conveys the hardships of the time and place far better. A chapter on an older lady who had spent many years in a workhouse was a particularly difficult read. Enjoyed it but probably won’t read the rest of the series.

I’ve just made a shameful discovery. I’ve just moved all my TBR books on my Kindle into a separate folder for ease of finding. There are over 400 books . Plus there are physical books I have waiting TBR as well. I can’t face counting those as well .

brizzledrizzle I bought Crazy Rich asians on that basis too.

I hope the book of Crazy Rich Asians is better than the film I got about 45mins in on a recent flight and gave up, it really put me off trying the book.

1. Bookworm by Lucy Mangan. I have resisted this to date because I'm a decade older than Mangan and have never heard of, much less read, some of the books that were discussed in connection with this memoir on the 50 Bookers thread (Sweet Valley High for example) I've never read a Judy Blume book either or had any interest in the whole Pony genre of girls books. (And if my experience in a primary school is anything to go by the pony books are exclusively read by girls. My heart sinks whenever I have to hear a reader of one of these trite texts, although I know they have a special place in many girls hearts and any reading is better than no reading!)

However Bookworm has had largely positive reviews so when it appeared as a 99p Kindle deal I snapped it up thinking I could skip over the chapters that weren't of interest. As it transpires there was very little that wasn't of interest. I've not read Mangan's journalistic output so her wit and family schtick was charming and fresh for me. The volume and range of books she covers took in not only many of the books I read as a child (Anne of Green Gables and the Richmal Compton William books to name two favourites) but also those I read to my own children (Hungry Catterpillar, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Where The Wild Things Are, Richard Scarry's Busy Town etc) and those I have come across in my working life (Goodnight Mister Tom, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit amongst others.) I also found myself looking up images of long forgotten books she touched on which brought memories flooding back, Janet and John school reading books (which led me on to Dick, Dora, Nip and Fluff books which may have been before Mangan's time and my research confirmed that these were possibly the most boring reading books ever devised!) Classic Ladybird covers, Milly Molly Mandy to name but a few, and was sufficiently interested in her discussion of the history of children's picture books to look up the illustrators she mentioned such as Caldecott and Greenaway. All in all I thought it was an interesting, funny and entertaining read. One author I would have loved to have seen covered was Edward Eager who wrote Half Magic and Magic By The Lake amongst other children's books, but maybe he was too obscure, did any of the bookworms on this thread read his books as a child?

I’ve never heard of Edward Eager Desdemona

desdemona I haven’t seen the film but the book is pure fluffy fluff - albeit reasonably well written fluff - so if you are not in the mood specifically for that then you may well hate it.

mrsdonofrio I restrict my tbr on the Kindle to around ten and leave the others in the cloud so I don’t get intimidated. I was pleasantly surprised last time I went to refresh I’ve actually worked through a lot of them that way.

Thanks for the support for my memoir everyone - I just need to get the Maureen and chlorine elements in place then I can contemplate a first draft.

whippet I do fancy martial arts but have a restricted range of leg movement so kicking might be out. Boxing is a thought.

ChessieFL, thanks for your response, I looked Edward Eager up, he was a number one selling children's author in the US but I don't think he was very well known over here. Not sure why my DM bought Half Magic for me but I absolutely adored it, and to a lesser extent the sequels.
Satsuki I think the book of CRA must be better than the film!

Although CRA scores very highly (91%) on Rotten Tomatoes so maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it!

cote I wrote that review you hated. 🙂
I would also like to know what you consider ‘Women’s Lit’ to be.
Is it the kind of books you think I might like with female characters in?
So is it Ali Smith, or Jeanette Winterson or Margaret Atwood or Donna Tartt or aren’t their books beautifully crafted enough?

I loved the Edward Eager books DesdemonasHandkerchief. I read them from our local library so don't have copies from my childhood, but I bought several for dd when she was the age for them, so got to re-read them and enjoyed it greatly :) :)

The Thyme (Time?) Garden was my particular favourite - I'm not sure which direction the enthusiasm went, but I loved growing herbs & unusual vegetables (I remember bulb fennel was one - it was the 1970s ) as a child and have ended up following that as a career. So Edward Eager sent - or at least encouraged - my direction in life. (Sadly I have yet to have any magic experiences amongst my plants...)

Satsuki I've done a number of boxing based classes over the years and love it. At my current class dodgy knees and a back story about why you can't run any more are practically compulsory. Maybe once you've finished Into the Chlorine with Maureen you could start on Jab and Cross with Pauline and Ross.

1. Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England by Alison Weir

Billed as a biography of the medieval queen, it was more of a life and times. The author chose to use mainly primary and contemporary sources which didn't always see fit to record the actions of women so there wasn't always a lot to go off, other than shocking sums spent on clothes and a lot of gossip, most of it true. I listened to the audiobook for this and chose it for walking the dog, but found myself putting it on while I was pottering round.

Eleanor was rather unusual for the age in which she lived. She had a scandalous youth and was formidable in her apparent dotage. She was a Duchess of lands in her own right, the most eligible and richest woman on the continent and pretty too. She ended up as the wife of 2 kings and the mother of 3 (10 children total). She was often left to do the actual business of running the land while her husbands and sons were off kinging and battling, usually against each another. She wasn't above plotting against any of them if they were acting against her interests. She had been on crusade as a young woman in charge of her own troops and went to war with her grandson when she was 79. At 80 she became a nun, probably to have a rest. Sadly dying at 82 having influenced the history of Europe significantly. One of my favourite queens.

1. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

In 1900 Australia the young ladies of an elegant boarding school go for a picnic at Hanging Rock. Three of them do not return and are never seen again.

What an odd book. Written as a true story with police statements and newspaper articles throughout. It is a mystery that is never solved or wrapped up. The girls disappear early on and you are none the wiser by the end. I picked this up as a bit of a wildcard at the library and while I wouldn't rave about the plot or the characters the writing was very good. The author evokes the landscape and nature of Australia brilliantly. I was very aware of the seasons being in opposition to those here while describing a very British setting. It conveys the colonial culture and makes it feel very at odds with the setting. I enjoyed it for the writing, but was a bit frustrated at the mystery not really having any conclusion.

That’s interesting museumofham I will check it out. I did try and think of a boxing related book title but felt I was taking it too far, so thanks for stepping into the ring for me

Fortuna originally there was a final chapter of Picnic which explains everything but for some reason she was persuaded not to include it. I think you can find it if you google it, or it might be linked on the thread in telly addicts from when it was on TV last year.

Thank you Chessie. I'm all for an open ending but this did take the mick.

I restrict my tbr on the Kindle to around ten and leave the others in the cloud so I don’t get intimidated

I'm exactly the opposite - I have all the unread books on my kindle as it doesn't have 3g so I can't access books when I on holiday otherwise.

Mine doesn’t either brizzle only talking in day to day terms. I don’t find I need a choice of more than ten before I get home generally.

I'm still annoyed at missing out on Bookworm when it was 99p .

Thank you splother for the heads up that With the end in mind was a deal today - also been on my wish list for ages and I've snapped it up.

Fortuna Really interesting review of the Alison Weir . I have it on my Kindle. I agree that Eleanor was a remarkable woman.

4. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
Great book for fans of 80s film and gaming nostalgia. The world created was very immersive and the characters engaging. The mystery/quest element reminded me so much of games I most enjoyed playing. Sadly, I never got an Atari and had to settle for an Amstrad.

toomuch I've got the novelised version of Eleanor's life Captive Queen also by Alison Weir. Since getting it I've been told it's bloody awful and a bit 50 shades. I shall report back!

Chessie I found the info on the missing chapter. I'm glad it was left out! It's worse than not knowing

Fortuna I have read that one. Gave it three stars on Good reads apparently! Can actually remember very little about it. There is an Elizabeth Chadwick trilogy beginning with The Summer Queen which actually isn't bad.

Yes, it was weird wasn’t it Fortuna!

1. The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Already reviewed a few times on this thread. This is one I want to reread, to go back and see how all the clues link up. It does get confusing but I did enjoy it and I think it’s very cleverly done. I think it’s one that I’ll be thinking about for a while.

I'm in

Not sure I'll manage the 50 but will see!

Currently reading The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton