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?

The great Doric column row made me chuckle too!

18. The Secret History by Donna Tartt Dead Poets Society meets Lord of the Flies.

Very late to the party on this one, but I really enjoyed it. Well written and interesting ideas. I think there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Too much unsaid about Julian.

The hilarious and quirky Cold Comfort Farm is on Kindle daily deals today.
Fortuna I have tried and failed with The Secret History about 3 times. It still sits on my Kindle. I am going to have to read it as it comes up on every 'must read / favourite ever' book list or thread I come across.
Just finished The Binding by Bridget Collins, review later.

Splother TSH is one of my favourite reads but I'd say if you've tried three times and it hasn't grabbed you then forget it. Too many other wonderful books out there.

Just placemarking under new ID after latest MN shambles.
I was BookMeOnTheSudExpress.

(I am carnal and write masses inside my books, I highlight bits and write in margins, and always put my name and when I read it on the inside cover. They become a part of me I suppose, or do I become a part of them? Hmm. Reminds me of our wonderful Theory of Literature teacher at university who first made us think about the fact that we all read a different book because of what we bring to it as we read.
I buy the old versions of books I remember having as a child.

I love both Cold Comfort Farm and The Secret History. The latter is one of my sick bed comfort re-reads, so gets dusted off most winters.

7. The Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite by Laura Freeman. Memoir of Freeman's experiences of developing anorexia nervosa as a teen, and how reading helped her recovery. At first, reading seems a tool to distract from the voices and neuroses she experiences. As her health recovers, reading about much-savoured fictional meals especially in Dickens, and later, discovering the best of food writing helps her rekindle a healthier relationship with food and with herself.

I enjoyed this. Freeman wisely shies away from presenting this as any sort of self-help manual, but instead offers great reflection on the power of good writing. I've not read plenty of the books referenced, but this certainly made me want to do so.

I love that idea Havent, it wouldn't work for me anymore as most of my reads are on Kindle but I love picking up a charity shop book that has notes or an inscription reminds me that every loved book has its own history.

7. When will there be Good News? by Kate Atkinson.

Book 3 of Jackson Brodie. Deja vu when I started reading this, odd that I had previously read this but not the second book in the series. All in all enjoyable stuff, I do like how the author interweaves all the seemingly disparate stories till they all come together at the end. It’s all very well done.

8. The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker.

Non-fiction epic by Steven Pinker, professor of psychology and author of several books. Prompted by a question considering optimism and the future, he has written an in-depth discussion and investigation of the history and psychology of human violence and behaviour. He shows how violence has reduced (not disappeared) worldwide using historical evidence and modern statistics and uses certain recurring themes to structure his argument and book in a cohesive order.

My background is not in history or psychology so I found lots to contemplate. There is no one factor that has brought us to where we are today, an age of Long Peace, comfortable living with more equality than the past, an age of globalisation, where the flow of ideas leads to innovation (a computer in your hand) with technological and moral progress (a whole chapter for the rights revolution of the mid 20th century). He champions books as a force for integration and progress.

There is discussion of today’s hot violence issues - nuclear arms, terrorism, civil wars, mass killing of ethnic groups - stoked by doom and gloom journalists and 24-hour media along with the human temperament in blaming the present and idolising the past.

Do I feel full of optimism now that he has convinced me that violence is reducing? Not really, reading all about torture, genocide, wars, psychopaths and the psychology of why violence happens is fascinating (humans are quite fascinated by violence hence crime novels, horror movies, violent video games) but not particularly up-lifting. I do, however, feel thankful for all the moral and ethical progress that has been made and hope it continues worldwide. Do we live in a utopia? Can we be sure there will be no Armageddon/World War 3? No, but we can continue to strive to make things better for all humans who live on this planet and what better way than by learning from the past and investigating/using reason to think about the WHY of events. A difficult read, no doubt, but definitely worth my time.

Placemarking after ID change. I was ChocFreak.

toomuchsplother Despite enjoying it, I can also see how The Secret History could be a very marmite book. I also believe in a time and a place for some books. I picked up The Goldfinch by the same author last year, read a few pages and decided I didn't have the patience for it at the time. Also feeling the same about The Luminaries at the moment. I figure I can always return to them in a few years.

I can't decide if I am carnal or courtly. I wouldn't go out of my way to damage one, but also believe they were meant to be used and don't sit with white gloves on. I am horrified at the state of some from the library - coffee ring stains on covers, ripped pages, writing etc. The library also hand out free bookmarks so no need to fold over most of the damn page, never mind just a small corner. I remember buying a second hand text book from ebay and was horrified to find the previous owner had used a yellow highlighter and biro all over it (even though the notes were really useful). Pencil perfectly acceptable.

Rather than writing in the books themselves, I've taken to a quick photo on the phone and marked that up instead if there's a quote I like or something I want to discuss.

I have in the past few months warmed to using an e-reader, but I still prefer a real book in my hands, although preferably a paperback, giant brick sized hardbacks are a pain to read despite looking beautiful on a shelf.

Forgot what I came in for!

19. Lamentation by CJ Sansom Shardlake 6. Audiobook for exclusive use while dog walking, but cheated for the last few chapters and listened to them when I got home. Usual Shardlake fare. I'm reluctant to listen to the next one because so many have been disappointed. I'll have to decide if I can bear to leave the series where it is.

Placemarking, after a name change (was ArtemesiaDrancunculus, now a different herb ☺). Still reading The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, which I'm really enjoying, but is taking an age to get through.

I am definitely carnal though DH is courtly which means I hate borrowing his books. He still rants about my DF writing a phone number in his copy of The Godfather (at least 25 years ago).

Fortuna I think the problem for me was that the main characters in TSH was such a pompous arse. I don't mind an unlikeable character or narrator but the story has to grab me, and it hasn't. I will try again as i hate the feeling I am missing out on something, but this will be the last time.
I too feel I am somewhere in the middle of Carnal or Courtly, but I am increasingly a sucker for a beautiful book which is what has drawn me to my most recent read 18. The binding by Bridget Collins
This is a historical fantasy, set in England in what feels like the Victorian era. Castleford is named as the central town. There is an interesting lack of religion in the book; Christmas is a festival called The Turning, whilst there is a Spring festival called the Wakening.
The basic premise of the book is that all books are created by Binders. Binders are people who have the gift to take unwanted, traumatic memories and bind them into books, leaving a person with no memory of the incident. Only a willing participant can be bound. This book is then supposed to be kept in a vault until that person dies. However the system is open to abuse. In the novel people are trading in others memories, rich powerful men keep books in their library, masters abuse their servants and then persuade them to bound so the cycle can begin again. Poor and destitute will sell their memories for money, leaving themselves shells of their former selves. Burning of the books will return the memories to their owners.
The story's central character is Emmett who is called to be a binder after a period of mysterious illness. His parents, who are farmers, have always kept him away from books and are suspicious of magic. There are continual references to The Crusade which happened in the recentish past. This is never fully explained but seems to have been a kind of watch hunt.
The idea of the book is really clever and I was excited by the potential. However, although the story was mildly enjoyable and kept me reading there was so much more the author could have done with this. The author has apparently written a number of children's books and some plays. I think both are apparent in her writing style. There is a lot of dialogue, which is not in itself a bad thing. The writing feels quite Youth Adult in tone. There is an overuse of metaphor and description, we are told too much about what the characters think and feel when a more skilled writer would infer. Often the style feels clunky. In the middle of the book I felt that the author had only made this into adult fiction so she could add in sex and the darker side of sexual desire.
So overall, a really clever idea but moderately executed.

'Young Adult ' not 'Youth Adul't!!

toomuchplother, that is disappointing.
I have The Binding on a list of books I really do want to read, pending further investigation. I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t well done - I love something properly fantastical and immersive but not if it’s done in a clunky way, which so many are.

15: Scrublands – Chris Hammer

Recommended in the Grauniad, it’s an Australian crime novel on the lines of The Dry. Not without merit, but it wasn’t terribly well written and it twisted and turned like a twisty turny thing to the extent that it was a bit silly. A couple of interesting characters and some good landscape description. I’d read another of his, but wouldn’t go out of my way to look for it.

8. We Were the Mulvaneys – Joyce Carol Oates

My first ever Joyce Carol Oates book. Not sure why I haven’t tried any of hers before, as she’s exactly the kind of writer I usually enjoy. I loved this and would definitely read more of her work.

The Mulvaneys are introduced as the embodiment of the American Dream. Mr Mulvaney is a successful businessman, Mrs Mulvaney is the perfect homemaker and they live with their four beautiful and successful children on an idyllic farm complete with ponies, goats, cats and dogs. However, when 16 year old cheerleader Marianne Mulvaney is raped at her school prom, the family begins to crumble as they struggle to maintain their perfect façade and refuse to face what has happened to their daughter.

This was a long book, written in a very dense and at times idiosyncratic style which is probably not to everyone’s taste. For example, there are pages of descriptions of the “antiques” Corinne Mulvaney collects which were wholly unnecessary; I felt that Oates managed to get away with it because she writes so elegantly and I didn’t mind at all.

It took me about 100 pages to get into this book, but once in I found it difficult to put down. She developed each of the characters painstakingly and as a result they felt totally believable.
All in all a really thought provoking book about families and relationships, beautifully written.

Next up, have just started the ubiquitous Milkman which actually links up quite nicely with We Were the Mulvaneys as it’s set in the same time period (1970's) and the protagonist in Milkman is about the same age as Marianne Mulvaney. So far so good, I’m quite liking the unusual narrative style but will report back when I’ve finished it.

10. The Revenant- Michael Punke I read this after having loved the film- the book is actually even better, as it has more back story and fewer implausible moments. It is a well-written, fictionalised version of the story of fur trader Hugh Glass who, after being attacked by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his colleagues, fights for survival and revenge.

11. Every Song Ever- Ben Ratliff The subtitle is 'Twenty ways to listen to music now', but I didn't really find that it enhanced my enjoyment of music. I have a music degree and am fairly music mad, but this book seemed rather pretentious and obscure.

I have a few other books on the go now- probably the next one I'll finish will be Why Mummy Swears by Gill Sims.

Finished #13 Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Really, really enjoyed this book. It’s high fantasy so avoid if this is not for you. It’s also Brandon Sanderson so expect a highly worked out world with a magic that is internally consistent, I like this. The hero’s unusually don’t have a tortured past but are well adjusted folks thrown into a horrible situation. On the whole a lot of fun.

Biggest problem is what next…? Certainly needs to be something different.

I have now started A Suitable Boy. Seth does apologise whimsically for spraining his readers' wrists in his epigraph. I had no idea it was so long! I am 177 pages in and enjoying it but I may be some time. Send oxygen and supplies. Only about 1400 pages to go.

I have been behind and never updated in this new thread. So here's where I'm at so far:

1. All The Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Anders
2. This is going to hurt - Adam Kay
3. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman
4. Monsters - Emerald Fennell
5. Shroud for a nightingale - P.D. James

Current read is The Familiars by Stacey Halls which I am absolutely loving! I'll have finished it by tomorrow. It's everything I want in a novel, so if anyone whose read it has any other recommendations, I would appreciate it! One of my other favourite books it reminds me of is Daughter of the forest by Juliet Marillier.

Also just noticed that all of the novels I've chosen so far have been by female authors and me tbr pile is very female centric too! I hadn't actually realised this until now.

12. In Your Defence - Sarah Langford

Barrister Sarah Langford tells the stories of criminal and family law cases she has worked on, giving an inside view on the mechanisms of the justice system. It was interesting enough (the family cases were nerve wracking to read as you longed for the "right" person to retain custody), but took me a long time to get through.

I nearly picked up The Binding from the library but flicked through and the following phrase leapt out at me "try to chase me when I am not wearing stays" and after that I felt I couldn't face it. Definitely YA appeal.

I did, however, enjoy The Secret History when it came out & might re-read it. I couldn't understand why Cold Comfort Farm was so highly thought of but didn't mind watching a tv adaption years ago because Rufus Sewell was in it. Nearly finished Y for yesterday & will report back soon.