50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second 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, it's not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

15. The Tattoist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This has been reviewed a couple of times so I won’t go into detail. I will say this for me was a real page turner (hence why I am so tired today as I had to finish it!). I was a bit disappointed by the last few chapters as I felt there was more to tell and it felt a bit rushed. I liked reading the author’s story of meeting Lale though in later years and what happened to some of the key figures. A recommendation just wish it was a bit more detailed towards the end.

19 The Rumour - Lesley Kara this was in the "Top 10 Bestsellers" at the library - can't think why. Yet another so-called "psycho-thriller" squarely aimed at a mum with young child demographic or even Mumsnet audience. The writer was apparently an alumnus of the Faber writing school but it barely reached women's magazine short story level for me. The plot centres around whether a long-ago child killer has been re-located to the seaside home town of the narrator. Again I get the feeling this has been written in the hope it will be taken up as a tv series or film. The best thing for me was the cover showing different types of women's footwear. but that's just me.
Erin Kelly - I agree she is a good light thriller writer/holiday read.

YesILikeItToo Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite books but I really didn’t like the Spike Milligan version!

Happy birthday whippet

1. A History of the World in 21 Women - Jenni Murray (Audible)

Interesting short summaries of the lives of 21 women from Pharoah Hapshepsut to the present day, with a slant towards the twentieth century and women Murray has herself interviewed. Lacking in-depth analysis, it was still an inspiring listen (all the women overcame the disadvantages of sex/class/race in some way), helped by Murray's undeniable skill as a presenter. Will be listening to her History of Britain in 21 Women soon.

BOOK 7 READ-TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf. Set in the early years of the 20th century. Fudamentally about a large family of 8 children and their parents in their holiday house and their struggles through the years of thier emotional relationship with each other, particularly with their father and mother. I enjoyed it once i didn,t try to understand every sentence! Let some parts go over my head !Painful relationships explored. Wonderful observations
BOOK 8 READ ALEXANDER,S BRIDGE by Willa Cather
Beautiful book about Bartley Alexander. chief engineer and famous bridge builder His life unwinds and finally there is the tragic demise of a newly constructed bridge and indeed of Alexander.Do read it!
BOOK 9 is going to be THE TOBACCONIST by Robert Seethaler

Work is crazily busy at the moment. I'm reading Reading Allowed at the moment, it's good.

2: In One Person by John Irving
I used to be such a fan of John Irving but this was really quite dull, although I do love the fact that there is always wrestling and always a bear of some description.

3:Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Totally loved this book which was wonderfully narrated. Such an interesting story. I'm going to see which of her others I haven't read.

3. Just William. (The first of Richmal Crompton's 49 William books as referenced in Bookworm, which is what sent me on this trip down memory lane.) It was lovely to revisit William, the Outlaws, Jumble and lashings of liquorice water, and there were many wry smiles and a few laugh out loud occasions. I don't think this was one of the dozen or so William books I read in my youth as none of the stories were familiar. From an adult perspective his misdemeanours seemed far more extreme than I remember. In one story he invites 30+ neighbourhood children to an elicit party whilst his family are out and they proceed to break into the house lock up one of the hired helps and pelt the other with food on her return from an afternoon off, in the intervening hours they run riot and completely wreck the joint, not quite the lovable rogue I remember. This and the second book More William are available on Kindle for 95p and 84p respectively under the 'Classics To Go' banner, they have a bizarre Little Lord Fauntleroy virtual cover that would suggest the publisher has never actually read the content!

Whilst dipping in and out of Just William for light relief I have also been grappling with a fairly new translation of Les Miserables, (a clunky translation of which has been at 47% on my Kindle for a decade or more) encouraged to pick it up again by the fantastic TV adaptation, and listening to All The Things I Never Told You on Audible.

Wilderness, I agree The Poisonwood Bible is a great book. I couldn't get on with the only other one of hers I've read though, Flight Behaviour, although a lot of other people love it I know. I've got The Bean Trees on my TBR list.

1. The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez light, easy read following the lives of 5 very different women who work in or frequent the titular coffee shop. Not really my usual sort of thing, though I liked learning more about Afghanistan, this could have been really insightful if it had gone into more depth into the issues facing the country. It was a pleasant enough read but predictable and frothy....it even had a “Yummy Treats for Your Bookclub” recipe section at the end!

I’m now trying to read all the books I’ve been lent over recent months so I can return them and create more space for books

Oops, 39 Richard books that should say.

Oh God! William books

12. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian.

Don’t know about this one. Feel like a bit of a dick criticising a much loved children’s classic, I’m hardly the intended audience after all. My first time coming to this story of the abused evacuee Will who finds healing and love in the shape of a gruff country type Mr Tom. I knew it would be a tear jerker, at some points I did get a bit misty eyed but urgh, I just felt a bit emotionally manipulated by the whole thing. It was so lurchy in tone; sad things, happy things, sad, happy, sad, happy. Bloody hell the Very Very Sad Thing was so utterly awful I thought I’d strayed into a chapter of A Little Life. Couldn’t believe she’d put it in a children’s book and then 20 odd pages later for them all to be having a jolly lovely time at the seaside with scones and cider. The opening chapters are very good, where Will’s abuse is revealed through his behaviour, and how the slow quiet work of patient love and kindness can heal. Felt the second half of the book just retrod the same again, but with more in your face misery.

Glad to have read it but won’t be recommending it to the dds to read.

Desdemona

I love Goodnight Mr Tom but it is heartbreaking. Have been due a re-read for at least fifteen years, but not sure I'm strong enough!

Year 7 English Lit - Oliver Twist, The Hobbit, Goodnight Mr Tom. It's as if she were trying to put us off reading.

I haven't updated in ages, but here's my recent reads:-

1. The Bolds in Trouble by Julian Clary. The next in the series he's writing for children. I love these books. Of all the celebrities writing for children, he's definitely winning

Mr Tom is one of my all time favourites but I think I was at least in my 2nd year of Secondary School when I first encountered it.
14. How to build a girl - Caitlin Moran - finished this at the weekend but haven't reviewed it because I honestly don't know whether I liked it or not. This is my first encounter with Caitlin Moran. There was lots I admired; the humour, the setting early 90's - my 6th form and early university days - the music. I did struggle with way the young heroine felt her only way to recreate herself and move forward was to become sexually promiscuous and generally unpleasant. Jury is still out ...

5. The Diary of A Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
Listened to this on Audible. Much reviewed on here. At first I thought it was okay, with occasional funny anecdotes, but the overall tone grew on me and I found myself looking forward to returning to it each time I put it down.
No idea what's next. Work is silly busy and getting right in the way of both reading and life!

Finished my book 5; The Last Lie by Alex Lake. It was very good, I've enjoyed every book she's written.

I was 10 when I first read Goodnight Mr Tom and still love it now! I don’t remember being too traumatised by it although it’s obviously sad in places.

18. In Miniature: How Small Things Illuminate The World by Simon Garfield

Covers model villages, miniature railways, dolls’ houses, mini murder scenes, sculptures in the eye of a needle and so on. This was good, although there weren’t many pictures and those were black and white so I would have liked more, and colour, pictures.

19. Take Me In by Sabine Durrant

Tess and Marcus go on holiday and take their eyes off their toddler, who is rescued by Dave. Back home, they start seeing Dave everywhere they go. This was a good premise, but none of the characters are likeable and the ending leaves far too many loose ends unresolved.

20. The World Of Vanity Fair by Emma Marriott

This is about the making of the recent TV series but also includes some background to the book. Not particularly in depth though as it’s more of a coffee table book with lots of glossy pictures.

6. the secret diary of mario ballotelli - Bruno Vincent Borrowed this from a colleague waiting for my Abe books order to arrive. Spoof dairy of mario ballotelli from his controversial days at Manchester City. Totally daft and of not much literary note but enjoyable enough as a very light read.

Next up is Coversations Withe Friends

@CluelessMama Thanks for the recommendation about the bookseller book. It's 241 on Audible at the moment, so I'll download it with something else.

It's the kind of book I like listening to in audio form, I prefer saving fiction for real books.

Chessie - I like the sound of In Miniature.

1. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve, Stephen Greenblatt
2. King of the World, Celia Fremlin
3. Tombland, CJ Sansom
4. Bad Feminist, Roxanne Gay
5. The Long Shadow, Celia Fremlin
6. Jog On, Bella Mackie
7. The Bookshop at 10 Curzon Street, ed. John Saumarez-Smith
8. Viking Britain, Thomas Williams
9. Reading Allowed, Chris Paling

10. I'd Rather Be Reading, Anne Bogel 11. My Life with Bob, Pamela Paul

These last two books were mentioned on here (thanks brizzle and Pepe). I wanted something light for a long train journey, and these fit the bill. They're both by American women writing about their relationship with books. The first was a series of short essays that read like blog posts (I think they started as podcasts) and the second was more a memoir - what I did and what I was reading while doing it. The first book I read in this genre was Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, which set the bar extremely high - neither lived up to her standard. I also prefer Samantha Ellis's How to Be a Heroine.

12. Wasted Calories and Ruined Nights, Jay Raynor
    Still train reading (two long journeys over two days). A collection of his negative restaurant reviews. Fine for what it is.

13. The Other Side of Silence, Philip Kerr
    French Riveria, 1950s, murder, spies, double-crossing, hero with a tragic past etc. I've got some of the earlier books in the series from the library, going back to Germany in the 1930s, so I'm intrigued enough to read further.

Currently on 14. Love Story with Murders, Harry Bingham. This is a Welsh-set crime series which I gobbled down in 2017 - it's one of the earlier books in the series, which I missed originally. Heroine with background of mental illness (plus mysterious childhood) and difficulty fitting in socially. I like this series, although someone on a previous thread gave it a go and was not impressed, so caveat lector.