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?

Chessie I'm not a walker either, but I enjoyed Never mind the Quantocks much more than I expected. I absolutely love Stuart Maconie, so I read all his books regardless of subject matter! (Off topic: did you catch the new 6Music show this morning?).

FranKatz, M Train is much more meditative than Just Kids which I agree was a lovely book.

exexpat, I have. 52 pages in and had to go to Wikipedia to make sense of the chapter titles and chronology. There’s an odd sort of appeal which I hope will increase rather than diminish as I go on, and yes - a separate support thread would be good as I carry on. I’m reading other things in parallel so it’s going to be a slow burn.

Frankatz no I didn’t, I don’t really listen to the radio. I’ve read a couple of Maconie’s books and have some more on my to read pile!

Chessie my favourite Maconie book was probably Pies and Prejudice. The new one, Long Walk from Jarrow is also very interesting, but they are all excellent. He writes beautifully.

I really enjoyed The People’s Songs by Stuart Maconie which took a record from each year as well as looking at the social history. I am a fan of his books too.

1. Dark Angel -Ellie Griffiths More about Ruth and Nelson’s relationship really than the mysterious skeleton which takes them to Italy. Not a lot of detecting went on but I do love the characters in these books so I still enjoyed it immensely. Can’t wait for the next one.

I have Pies and Prejudice, The People’s Songs, Hope and Glory, and Cider with Roadies on my to read pile. The Jarrow book is on my wish list! I’ve previously read Adventures on the High Teas and The Pie At Night and enjoyed those!

Never mind the Quantocks is one I've never read, for some reason books that are copies of columns just don't appeal. I have The people's songs, Adventures on the high teas and hope and glory but haven't read hope and glory yet.

I was hoping to have a kindle reading night tonight but have managed to burn my finger and have a blister on the end of my page turning finger - what a calamity. Take my advice don't put a metal colander on on the hob next to the pan you are boiling the pasta in.

Bonbon just been listening to the podcast of Open Book on Radio4 which had a great interview with Barbara Kingsolver about Unsheltered. Worth a listen. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Brizzle for your poor finger

brizzledrizzle ouch! Hope your finger is better soon

1. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James.

A novel about slavery in Jamaica in the early 19th century. Some parts of it are very difficult to read, but it is over all very compelling. It is narrated in the same Jamaican dialect spoken by the slaves in this book and this means you are completely immersed in their world and the characters are all so complex and flawed and believable.

Stuart Maconie is one of my absolute favourite writers. Bloody love the man.

Stuart maconie is great, so funny. Thanks for the commiserations re the finger, it's fine now.

1. The Teacher by Katerina Diamond - a good read if a little far fetched. I think it is the author's first book and I would definitely try another. It is a little graphic in parts.

1. Closer to Home by Heleyne Hammersley - introduces DI Kate Fletcher who returns to her home town in Yorkshire following her divorce and promotion. It is a good read and will probably lead to a series.

1. Hide and Seek by P S Brown - a good story, with a predictable ending.

1. Next Door by Blake Pierce - it was a good read, but I struggled with the idea that a trainee FBI recruit would be able to investigate a crime which her sister is accused of. This was a freebie on my Kindle so cannot complain too much.

Homegoing is on Kindle daily deals today. Worth a read.

1. Avenger by Frederick Forsyth

I loved this. Vietnam war veteran becomes a lawyer and moonlights as a mercenary who finds & brings international criminals to justice. As outlandish as the plot may be, the author builds the characters up from the ground with detailed personal histories that show where they are coming from and why they act like they do - in this book, nobody is "good" or "bad". We understand and sympathise with even the CIA man who is trying to prevent our protagonist from bringing to justice the Serbian war criminal to justice.

There is also a lot of history and political analysis in this book about the Vietnam situation, tunnels in the jungle, close combat in said tunnels, as well as later developments in the international scene such as Russia's invasion of Afghanistan, Osama Bin Ladin, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc.

I recommend this political thriller to everyone here. It's well worth a read.

1. Mr Spaceship by Philip K Dick

I have read most of P K Dick's books and quite enjoy his style, so snapped this one up in the Kindle sale. It is a novella about an alien civilisation humans can't be at because because their ships and detection systems are conscious/alive. So they put a man's brain into a space ship to match the alien technology. But this new entity has other plans.

4. The Power by Naomi Alderman
Amazing book; brilliantly written and very thought provoking. All about what the world might look like if women had a physical advantage over men. Clue: it ain't pretty! Thought provoking because for every horrific atrocity described as being committed against the men, such a thing is already being committed against women in the real world we live in.

8. Chronicle of Youth - Vera Brittain This is the war diary that Brittain referenced in her outstanding Testament of Youth. It spans 1913 - 1917 and was only published after her death, despite Brittain endeavouring to share it during her lifetime. She felt that the diary better showed how attitudes changed as the war progressed and I have to say I agree.
The diary has been edited and even with that in mind it is patchy. Brittain writes regularly through 1913 - 1915, but the death of her Fiancé Roland Leighton at the very end of 1915 and her decision to throw herself into nursing makes the writing less regular and sparse.
The entries at the beginning are concerned with dances, bridge and getting herself prepared for Oxford. War breaks out and there is an air of excitement and patriotism, with her brother and his Friends all vying for Commissions that will see them on the Front line. Even more that Testament this book showed me the shocking youth of the young men who were not only fighting but leading men. Roland, her brother Edward and 2 close friends Geoffrey and Victor had only left school in the weeks before the war began. I have a DS this age...it makes me shudder.
In Roland, Vera had found an equal. A rare man of his age who valued her for her intelligence and was looking forward to studying alongside her at Oxford . He describes himself as a Feminist and never shys away from discussing the true horrors of the war with her. They write incessantly and have their own code so he get some of details of place and offensive action past the censor.
There is no doubt that the diary is a raw product. Not all the entries flow beautifully, but her intellect and passionate loves for Roland shine through. After his death she obsesses about the detail of his end and he is referred to as He - emphasis on the capital letter. He almost becomes a deity.
The diary ends before the death of her brother, Geoffrey and Victor.
There is so much more I could write about this and urge people to consider giving this or Testament of Youth a go.
I have just ordered letters of a lost generation, which are the letters between the four friends.

I've just finished my third book, and have popped the review below.

1. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
2. The Power of Now - Echkart Tolle 3) Islam and the Future of Tolerance - Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz - This is a really interesting conversation between Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz. I listened to the book on Audible, and I'm glad I did as I think it's the perfect way to hear what both authors wanted to say - it is a discussion after all.

The points raised by both parties are incredibly interesting, and I can see why the book was so divisive. As an atheist I am typically very comfortable discussing the importance of secular society, and voicing my opinion on the fallacy of religious dogma, particularly things like forcing your daughter to marry her rapist, as seen in the Bible. These discussions are very open when talking about most religions, however there is a definite discomfort when voicing the bad (and downright unethical) elements of Islam - including extremest Islam - due to the narrative of such criticism being steeped in bigotry. This narrative has made me question my reasons for disliking many of the ideas based in Islam in a way that I have never questioned myself when it comes to, for example, Christianity.

I was drawn to this book in particular as Maajid knows what he's talking about. He's a former member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir before being incarcerated and learning about human rights, and now spends his life working (and founding) Quilliam which seeks out and challenges Islamist extremest (yes, that's a very basic summary). Who is better to teach me about Islam and its place in secular society? Maajid was really interesting. His background is shocking, but I can see how he was drawn into that life. I also feel that he, and people like him, are going to be the start of an increasing number of secular Islamic people, and hopefully secular Islamic countries.

I think that the conversation was one which was needed, yet it's one which makes the far-left uncomfortable, and extremists angry. I like uncomfortable intellectual conversations though, so I give this 5/5.

1. The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

I've had my eye on that for a while but wasn't sure about it so thanks for the recommendation; I've added it to my wish list.

2. Closer to Home by Heleyne Hammersley

At first I thought you'd maybe got the author wrong (sorry!) because I read Closer to Home by Cara Hunter which introduces DI Fawley and is the first book in what might become a series. Closer to home by Cara Hunter is well worth a read, I'll be reading the Closer to home by Heleyne Hammersley as it also looks like it'll be a good read.

Just seen that the Hammersley Closer to home is 99p today so have bought it.

5. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

This has kind of morphed into a year where I'm going to try to read more non-UK and US writing, by accident really. I saw this on a Kindle deal (obviously) and as I've visited Japan and once worked in a supermarket, it appealed to me. It's a novella, a sort of fable about a woman who doesn't fit in in society, and doesn't feel emotional responses. She finds a job in a convenience store which works perfectly for her as she has a 'manual' to live life by and a reason to keep healthy. But constant pressure from her family, friends and co-workers leads her to try to be normal. It's a premise that I imagine may be particularly relevant in Japan but it works here too. The book itself is short and very sharply executed and I enjoyed the details about the convenience store life, as well as the protagonist's ultimate conclusion.

Thanks for the heads up Toomuchsplother, Homegoing bought and added to my increasing TBR pile.

1) The Last Tudor by Phillipa Gregory
I enjoyed this, historical fiction of the Phillipa Gregory variety is my literary guilty pleasure. This is the last of her novels about the women of the Plantagenet and Tudor era, and I doubt I will read her new series, which I think is about a monk and a religious order, and doesn't really appeal.
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2) Everything is Lies by Helen Callaghan*
This was a really fast read, and it was enjoyable enough and exciting, but also pretty silly in my opinion!
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3) The Muse by Jessie Burton*
I'm still reading this one, but so far it's good, I like Jessie Burton's style and it's reeling me in.

Next I'm tempted to read Testament of Youth again after all the mentions, or possibly reread I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. A tough choice!

toomuch I know what you mean - I watched Peter Jackson’s film for the centenary and it really struck me afresh how young they were. The stories of the parents who tried to get their 16 year olds back after they’d lied to get in, devastating. They were were just kids.