25 (ish) books in 2019

[Chickoletta]

Inspired by, but also slightly overawed by, the 50 book thread, this is a thread for those who love to log their reading but don't have the time or inclination for such a high target. The aim is to read 25 books but it really doesn't matter if you don't get close to that or far exceed it - the idea is to exchange recommendations and thoughts.

I loved this thread last year and was really inspired by some of the suggestions so have taken the liberty of starting this year's version.

I only managed 19 books last year due partly to being a slow reader (even though I'm an English graduate and teacher) and also it being a rather busy and stressful year. I'm definitely hoping to beat that score in 2019.

Please number your books and give titles in bold to make it easy to follow as well as sharing thoughts about them.

My favourite book of last year was The Heart's Invisible Furies', as recommended here.

Just finished my first book of the year:

1. 'Why Mummy Drinks' by Gill Sims (bought for me by my own mother for Christmas - no offence taken!!)
Light hearted and well-observed, this was very enjoyable. Some laugh out loud moments as well as many wry observations about family life. I think I would have enjoyed it more if her children didn't sound so totally insufferable!

Looking forward to sharing our reading this year.

I've read 3 books this month** and they were all corkers:

1. Nina is not OK - Shappi Korsandi. I loved this book. About a teenage alcoholic which shouldn't be funny but was, and so full of warmth and wit.

1. The Long Song - Andrea Levy. About a slave girl living in Jamaica during the abolition. The narrator's voice is wonderful, so much humour in such a gruesome setting.

1. The Promised Land - Daniel Harris. The story of Manchester United's unprecedented Treble-winning season in 1999. Finished this last night, on the 20th anniversary of the amazing European Cup final in Barcelona, which I was lucky enough to be at. Still gives me goosebumps thinking about it and this book brought back plenty of happy memories from that season

Finished Book 15 The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath. Everyone should read this book! It is such a compelling read and so very intimate I almost felt I was intruding on the narrator's thoughts. Maybe all the more compelling given how the author ended her life. I actually feel like I want to go back to the beginning and read it over again for any bits I may have missed.

Book 16 is Listen to the Child, Elizabeth Howard. Based on a true story about children in the 1870's being shipped from London to Canada in the hope of a better life. I'm only a third of the way through, but feel like I'll need to go in search of tissues soon.

10. Girl, Balancing by Helen Dunmore

A posthumous collection of short stories, all beautifully observed and a pleasure to read. There's an extract from her final novel, Birdcage Walk, at the end and that looks good too.

Not really looking forward to book 11 which was lent to me by a friend (who loved it). It's not really my thing but I'm going to give it a go. Will come back and post my thoughts when I have finished it.

I've been reading so many books in parallel that this dropped off my TIO list but I just finished Forget Me Not by Clare Allan, she writes really gripping page turners (but my favourite is still her first one). No 19.

Book 17 The Deal of a Lifetime- Fredrik Backman not sure I should count this as it's more a short story, but it's counted on my goodreads challenge so will leave it for now....

Book 18 is The War on Women - Sue Lloyd-Roberts not too far in yet.

I've also started Book 19 Now you See Her - Heidi Perks a psychological thriller as it came in on my library app.

Tink, I read now you see her. It's really good
I read it over a weekend

No 20, Secret Barrister.
I am only reading women authors this year but I don't know they are NOT a woman.
But a bit too much law/detail and not enough anecdote I felt.

11. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Lent to me by a friend (I would never have read it otherwise). I can see from another thread that some mumsnetters found this disappointing and I have to agree. The writing is just not good enough to carry the story. I'm glad to have finished it and am ready to move on to a book I'm much more looking forward to.

Gave up on The keeper of lost things. I read about 10 chapters and I just couldn't get into it.
I'm going to start Dear Mrs Bird, AJ Pearce

princessspotify I agree, now you see her was very good I read it in two sittings. The story definitely keeps you gripped and wanting to know more.

not posted for a while, but here's my latest:

10. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay - eye opening and eye watering account of being a Junior Doctor in gyneacology. I loved it and have even more respect for JDs now!

11. How to Have a Brilliant Life by Michael Heppell - thought this self-help style book might have some useful ideas on addressing life's more tricky areas but found the tone annoyingly smug.

going to crack on with a few novels now... in need of escapism

No 22 Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon - This was not great. I kept reading because I hoped it would improve as so many people have given good reviews. I didn't particularly like any of the characters or find them interesting.

I have a list of books I want to read so will have to make some reservations at the library as they're always on loan which is hopefully a good sign.

No 23 How Not To Be a Boy by Robert Webb starting this soon.

No 21 Various Pets, Alive and Dead by Marina Lewycka.
I do like her books, this one was a bit more gentle but had some really funny bits too.

After over 500 pages, I gave up on The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I didn't like the beginning, but the childhood/adolescence parts were compelling (and I love both NY and Vegas!). The adult narrator was unpleasant and the dense, flowery language off-putting. I will probably at some point watch the film that's coming out, to find out what happened at the end.
So the full #17 was Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence, a banging, and satisfying, climax of the three-book adventure of the warrior nun Nona Grey on a world lit by a dying sun. This book was worth the wait.

12. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

I loved this. It's a story about three sisters living on an island with their mother and father, "King" . They are isolated from the rest of the world and taught to fear the harm the outside world could inflict on them should they to be exposed to it. Everything changes when three strangers wash up on the beach.

It's a powerful and chilling book, deeply sinister in places. I know it has been compared to Margaret Atwood's writing and I can understand the comparison. I loved these sisters and their relationships which each other and I was really rooting for them the whole way through.

I've started no11, Eve of Man by Tom and Giovanna Fletcher. Not normally my sort of book but seems ok.

I'm still on No. 9 Perfume by Patrick Suskind and it's a right bloody slog. I've stuck with it because it's fairly short and I feel like I want to see why people think it's good but I'm baffled atm.

I need to get my tally up so am wondering if I can cheat and add the Narnia books I'm going through on Audible (fall asleep so not really properly listening)?

Finished 22, Becoming by Michelle Obama. Really liked it though the earlier parts were more interesting.

13. The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

I read Hot Milk by the same author last year and loved it. The Cost of Living is a memoir that I was attracted to, not just because I enjoyed Hot Milk, but also because it is about a woman carving out a new life for herself after divorcing at the age of 50 - a situation I can particularly empathise with at the moment in my own life.

So much in this wonderful book resonated with me. Deborah Levy is able articulate so many emotions that I had previously been unable to get clear in my own mind and at the same time it is a wryly funny and profoundly inspiring book. I loved it.

Hello! I'm going to go back and get caught up, as I usually lurk on the 50 books thread in awe at how much people can get through - also some good recommendations there! I'm aiming for 30 this year, and usually hit this but hit a small slump this year so fell a little behind. The year didn't start particularly strongly either. Catching up now though! Highlights in bold.

1. Lauren Graham - Talking as Fast as I Can
2. Nora Ephron - I Feel Bad About my Neck
3. Luke Jennings - Codename Villanelle
4. Kathy Reichs - Deja Dead
5. David Lagercrantz - The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye
6. Gretchen Rubin - The Happiness Project
7. Harry Thompson - This Thing of Darkness
8. Ali Smith - Spring
9. Tao Lin - Tai Pei

10. William Goldman - The Princess Bride 11. Anna Burns - Milkman 12. Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None 13. Lee Child - Killing Floor 14. Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Of the above, Eleanor Oliphant, Spring and This Thing of Darkness were definitely highlights. The only book I really didn't enjoy was the Kathy Reichs book, I found it extremely dull and just didn't care about the characters. I tried reading the second book in the series and it's one of the few books I've completely abandoned. Life's too short.

Currently on...

15. Elif Batuman - The Idiot I'm about halfway through and am unsure how I feel about it. I have the feeling it's one of those books that the second half will cement whether I really enjoy it or just find it a little empty.

I've just abandoned The Teacher by Katerina Diamond after a few chapters because I found the dialogue so bad.

Have started on Elinor Oliphant and only one chapter in but already enjoying it more.

8. The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary
Fancied something light and thought that this was a clever premise for a romance - 2 people share a flat but one works days and the other works nights so they never see each other. Some good sub-plots including Tiffy's realisation that her ex had been emotionally abusing her and also the retrial of Leon's brother who is in prison. The dialogue didn't ring true for me and I hated the way in which Leon's sections were written in note form with no pronouns etc. Ultimately, this was ok but a bit disappointing.

Finished no 23 Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, cannot praise it highly enough!

@karmatsunami85 did you like the Lauren Graham book? It's on my TBR list but it isn't in the library so I won't bother buying it if it's not any good!

@drspouse If you can get it second hand or in a kindle deal at some point it's worth a punt, but I would have been disappointed if I had paid full price. A quick read, very fast-paced, sort of jumps all over the place but enjoyable enough for fans of Lauren Graham/Gilmore Girls.

14. Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

I seem to be on a roll. Three great books in a row, all satisfyingly feminist reads.

Surfacing is the story of a woman who returns to her childhood home on a remote island in Quebec to search for her father who has gone missing. Her boyfriend and another couple accompany her. Whilst she is trying to get to the bottom of what has happened to her father she finds herself having to confront her past.

This was published in 1972 yet it felt very contemporary - with some exceptions. I have read several of Margaret Atwood's books but somehow had missed this one. I must read all the others that I have missed - she is such an engaging writer. This was a really engrossing read, right to the last page.