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?

10: Barrow's Boys - Fergus Fleming

Managed to push myself to the finish line on this, and what a great read it was. John Barrow was the Second Secretary to the Admiralty for more or less the first 40 years of the 19thc, an enormously influential position that gave him the power to order trips of exploration to far-flung regions of the globe.

It seems incredible now to think that huge areas of terrain were then still unmapped by Europeans and remained a total mystery. Barrow's obsession with the North-West Passage, the source of the Niger and the fabled city of Timbuctoo gave rise to a series of explorations which, as Fleming points out, would only be rivalled in scale and scope by the US and Russian space programmes of the 1950s and 60s. The fact that they were carried out with what we'd now see as utterly inadequate resources is mind-boggling - even more so that some of the explorers made repeated trips to these inaccessible and dangerous territories, and lived to tell the tale.

Of course, others didn't, and there are many stories of awful privation, sickness and death....most notoriously the doomed Franklin expedition which vanished without trace in the 1840s (though its remains were found by future search parties). Fleming tells all these stories with marvellous panache, zest and often humour, but the book predates the most recent Franklin discoveries, for which you probably need to go to Michael Palin's Erebus (which I peeked into yesterday in Waterstones and which retells a fair bit of the same stories, inevitably).

All in all, though, an absolutely ripping yarn and one I recommend heartily.

BakewellTart thanks for your comments. I did enjoyed the film Bird Box but was a bit disappointed that the ending didn't provide more answers. But as you say it is more about the characters' relationships with each other and how people react in extreme circumstances. The film switches between the present and 5 years ago when the disaster first happens and when Mallorie is rowing down river with two childre, which I think is the same storyline as the book. Will put it on my wish list, as a few reviewers on Amazon who have seen the film and read the book, prefer the book. I guess, reading the book you would get a better feeling of how claustrophobic it must be to wear a blindfold whenever you go outside. Also I usually enjoy the book more than the film as you get a much better insight into the characters' feelings and thoughts.

4. The Last - by Hanna Jameson

Loved this. I'm a sucker for a good dystopian novel - one of my favourite books of all time being Station Eleven. Anyone any other suggestions for similar? I've read all Claire North.

So The Last is billed as an end of the world detective story - but the detective bit is thinner then the rest- the dystopia/apolyptic bit always gets my mind whirring and this, I felt, was well done.

Onto
5. Star of the North by DB John. Set in North Korea. Hopeful it's fast paced and insightful.

Than and apocalyptic. Atrocious typos, apols

1. Transcription – Kate Atkinson
2. The Horse Dancer – Jojo Moyes
3. Bookwork: A Memoir of Childhood Ready – Lucy Mangan (so many shared memories with her - loved it)
4. Their Lost Daughters – Joy Ellis (decent page-turning thriller)
5. All the Little Children – Jo Furniss (disappointing ending)
6. The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah (reviewed below)

7. This Could Change Everything – Jill Mansell
My much loved dog died unexpectedly after he collapsed on a walk and I needed a mindless feel-good read. Having never read Jill Mansell before, she looked like she'd be up for the job. I did get a bit bored towards the end because it is all so predictable but it was a bit of light escapism so for that it was perfect. I was also still feeling a bit traumatised at the end of The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah which is historical fiction based on a true story so was a bit devastatingly surprised when she deviated from the true story in a crucial area at the end (won't give spoiler in case). I did love this story though and read it after it was recommended for people who loved All the Light We Cannot See which is still one of my all-time favourite reads. For me, it didn't stand up alongside it as a work of literature but it was a fascinating story and I googled a lot afterwards to find out more about the actual stories it's based such as how Andrée de Jongh, a member of the French Resistance person set up the Comet Line escape route across the Pyrenees for downed airmen in the second world war. It also covers other major events such as the Vel' d'Hiv roundup. She paints a vivid picture of life living in occupied France for the women left behind and her characters and their relationships are complex and relatable making it all the more heartbreaking to read.

I've now started Becoming by Michelle Obama which I'm really enjoying so far...

merryMuppet sorry to hear about your dog.

Agree with your thoughts on The Nightingale. If you enjoyed that then you might like The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Simon Mawer (alternative title Trapeze). I haven't read the sequel Tightrope yet, but I would like to. SOE operative airdropped into France. It's better than Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks, which is again on similar lines.

9. How to Make Great Radio- David Lloyd This relates to one of my hobbies. It was well written and informative, but there was not nearly enough about music radio.

Here’s my January list. I really should update as I read as I have read 17 books in January. A mixture of genres but mainly sci-fi/fantasy.

1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
2. Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett
3. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
4. Mockingjay. - Suzanne Collins
5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K Dick
6. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
8. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
9. The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
10. Sunlight on the Mersey - Lyn Andrews
11. Animal Farm - George Orwell
12. The Thief of Time -Terry Pratchett
13. The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer
14. The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett
15. Red Rising - Pierce Brown
16. Drums of Autumn. - Diana Gabaldon
17. Madness: A Bipolar Life - Marya Hornbacher

I have had plenty of reading time as I had a chest infection and haven’t had the energy for much else. I have read a mixture of library books, books owned, library ebooks, kindle and audio books.

merryMuppet so sorry to hear about your dog
All the Light We Cannot See is also one of my highest rated books. Loved it.

Just finished:
10. A Single Breath Lucy Clarke
Just goes to show a) just because someone writes one goody does not mean all of their books are. This was dreadful. I skim read the last 20%. It is like some heavily telegraphed script for a 1980s mini series.
Her obsession with the word "salt" which I found interesting and endearing in You Let Me In, is now irritating me beyond belief.
I've sussed that she is going to set all her books by the sea, but Sheesh, everyone either has salty thickened hair, tastes of salt or smells of it.

I have bought far more Kindle offers this week than I should have, all the Ken Follets and a handful of historical novels.

Am veering off the 99p kindles for a while after my salt overdose. Next up is Take Me With You When You Go a memoir about an Irish girl living in Spain in the 1950s.

MerryMuppet about your dog.

Merrymuppet
*
16. The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller wow! This was amazing. Didn't want to put it down. Think it just has the edge on the Pat Barker but they are very different books. Must reread The Iliad I really want to start on Stephen Fry's Heroes which I got for Xmas but should carry on with Long way home - Peter Carey* , for book club. It's not really floating my book at the moment.

On a separate note I spent my rediscovered book tokens in Waterstones today. The Glass woman - Carolina Lea , set in Iceland and Bodies of Light - Sarah Moss.

And there is a complete bolding fail!! Flipping phone app!

Just had a quick look at The Girl Who Fell From The Sky FortunaMajor and it looks right up my street so am going to order it to read right now. Thank you for the recommendation and the flowers for my poor pooch.

And thank you MogTheSleepyCat for the flowers too. I was v impressed at your extensive LOTR reading (the Silmarillion twice no less!). I could do with a good fantasy read again I think as pure escapism. I loved all the LOTR and The Hobbit although I read them years ago now before all the films. Also loved The Host, The Power and all the Dark Materials and the first in the new Book of Dust series. Although I think I'd struggle with talk of daemons right now as would make me miss my hound more!

merrymuppet so sorry about your dog.

Another book set in Icelnad? Eager to hear how you find it splother !

I found another Next gift card in my handbag today. I have no idea where these are coming from. Good news: this one was in date!

Or Iceland, even....

Maybe someone should write a book set in Iceland, the cut price frozen food supermarket. That could work.

I liked The Nightingale too muppet, but agree that Doerr is better. You might like The Wish Child by NZ writer Catherine Chidgey. Also a war story and very well written and intriguing. I am currently reading her new, and frankly engrossingly odd, book.

Piggy yes there does seem to be a rush of them all of a sudden. I enjoyed Burial Rites and the blurb on this one ( see photo) seems to have that same 'feel'. Also I am a sucker for a beautiful book.
Correction - the Peter Carey is A Long way from home.

Nice find on the voucher front!

Oh, that's a lurvely cover!!

Book 5: Manhunt - Colin Sutton
Factual account of the murder investigation that led to the conviction of Levi Bellfield. I watched the ITV adaption of this, starring Martin Clines, recently. Interesting that the elements that the TV series emphasised were around conflicts between the DCI and his wife, whereas his wife was barely mentioned in this book.

1. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

Again another where I've seen the TV adaptation before reading the book. I enjoyed this. Strong characters and not too brutal/gruesome. I know the next book in the series is a bit more graphic though.

1. Half of a yellow sun – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Have been meaning to read this for ages and it didn't disappoint. I was totally absorbed by this heart-wrenching story set in 1960's Nigeria during the civil war. A harrowing history lesson told through the perspective of several captivating main characters. Totally recommend.

8. Any Human Heart - William Boyd - this was in my TBR list on my Kindle. I can’t remember whether I bought it because it was a Kindle offer or if it was recommended on last year’s thread. It is extracts from the diary of Logan Mountstuart, who was born in 1906, from throughout his life. So we read extracts from his diary as a schoolboy, student, young man etc all the way through to his death. The tone and priorities change as he ages and it deals with current affairs of the time such as wars and the abdication crisis. Logan lives a full and varied life and at some periods is much more likeable than others but that’s because his diary reveals him warts and all rather than presenting the best version of him. I enjoyed this and will be looking to see what else the author has written. I think there was a TV adaptation of this a few years ago - but I didn’t see it.

Although I am meant to be working my way through my TBR list I did weaken and buy some new books from the monthly deal. Quite tempted to re-read A Gentleman in Moscow next after reading the review by Welshwabbit

ChocFreak books are always best aren't they ? For me the claustrophobia is not being able to see the sky and stuck in a box as much as the blindfolds.

I'm about half way The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury. It's interesting but as a Queen fan there's little that I didn't know already and I'm finding the name dropping a bit tedious. Still will push on.

5. Part-time Working Mummy: A Patchwork Life - Rachaele Hambleton

I follow this account on Facebook and Instagram and got the book for Christmas as I wanted to find out more about her life and how she ended up with her blended family and helping domestic abuse victims. Despite not having the best of lives it seems she’s very good at being grateful for what she has and helping others get through the tough times. Bit different to most other facebook and instamums with perfect lives she tries to show the not so perfect parts. Was an enjoyable read and I will continue to follow her story.

And another book down today love a long weekend