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?

warning - don't read A little life unless you are made of strong stuff - it is the most unrelentingly grim, harrowing book you will ever pick up. I had to dispose of it.

5. Star of the North - DB John

Set in North Korea ten years ago, a rollercoaster thriller involving the CIA. Can imagine it as a film.

I'm now reading the novel "The Year of Saying Yes" by Hannah Doyle, and it's amazing. It's rather deep for chic lit and really makes you think.

11. Elsie Dinsmore and Elsie at Roselands by Martha Finley. Counting these as one as have to confess I skimmed some of the relentlessly religious passages, and anyway, they literally carry straight on one from the other. This highly moral children’s series is from about the same time period as What Katy Did but it definitely more difficult to read today. I’ve been aware of it for years as it’s referenced in a Chalet School Book- Jo reads a bunch of the “Else” books when sick and I think even she found them overwhelmingly “pi” iirc! Anyway I was bored and had Project Gutenberg to hand- not sure it added to my understanding of the history of children’s fiction.

12. Dark Pines by Will Dean. I thought this was recommended on this thread but I can’t find the reference now- apologies to whoever it was! It caught my eye as set in Sweden (where I’m currently working), and I like a detective story. Overall it was quite good, more original than Snap but more clunkily written- more than enough references to toyotas, hearing aids, wine gums and food in general (and unusually for me I did guess whodunnit). It’s a first novel so might give the next one a go and see if he finds his stride- I’m out if it’s any more gory though, this was at my personal enjoyment limit in that respect!

Thanks for the warning pencilmuseum - glad I have started on Testament of Youth instead. Will reconsider A Little Life or at least save for when I am feeling strong!

piggy, I absolutely love A Suitable Boy. It sat on my shelf for years as I was daunted by its length but when I finally got round to it I was so glad I did. Just go with it - plenty happens along the way and the length is part of its charm, I think.

23 Harriet by Jilly Cooper

Inspired by the episode about Imogen on Backlisted, I thought I'd give this a go. It was a rather sweet story of a woman who gets pregnant, drops out of Oxford and ends up as the nanny to a dashingly good looking writer's two children. I enjoyed it, even if it was totally predictable and somewhat (ahem) of its time in its sensibilities (definitely not one I will be passing to an impressionable daughter any time soon - women clean and cook and are largely there to be decorative and look good in bed). It had all the hallmarks of Jilly Cooper's very identifiable style - no one speaks the way people speak in a Jilly Cooper novel - but without the downright lunacy of the longer novels.

24 Under the Glacier by Haldor Laxness

I picked this up on a whim in a second hand bookshop a while ago after a trip to Iceland. I think I wanted Independent People, they didn't have it so I got this instead. It wasn't at all what I was expecting - an emissary of the Bishop of Iceland is sent to a remote corner of the island to investigate stories that the parish priest is no longer burying people, and that various other odd things have happened. It's quite a tale, with all sorts of eccentric and unexpected events. I read a review saying "if you haven't lived in Iceland for years and haven't read all the Icelandic sagas then don't bother" but I think that is not true - once I realised what I was reading (or at least, worked out what I was not reading - it is very far from being a traditional novel in any sense) and went with it, I found I really enjoyed it. It's certainly very unlike anything I've read before and although I have no idea what was going on, I don't think I needed to (or indeed was meant to).

My sister and I have got a plan to read 12 works of fiction published since 1945 in translation this year (niche, but she likes oddly framed challenges). This was the second after The Three Body Problem, and we are planning on The Door by Magda Szabo next. Probably some Orhan Pamuk at some point. Any suggestions after that gratefully received - possibly something in Korean or Arabic?

pepe,I'm more than 300 pages in now so doing quite well. It's half term so plenty of reading time!

28. The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes

Jessica is the daughter of Julian Fellowes, who wrote Downton Abbey. This had an intriguing premise - a murder set amongst the world of the Mitford family, and Nancy gets involved in solving it. However, the premise is about the only intriguing thing about it. Most of the Mitfords are children so don’t really feature, and Nancy’s part in it isn’t as big as the blurb implies. Unfortunately, it’s also quite dull. The first quarter was ok, but then nothing much at all happened for the next half, and everything happens in a rush at the end. I discovered in an author’s note at the end that the murder is based on a real murder, and the murderer in the book existed in real life but appeared not to have anything to do with it (the real murder was never solved). I thought it rather unfair to use a real person in this way. Apparently there’s a second in the series but I won’t be seeking it out.

Hello! Can I join in please? So far this year I've read:

1. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith/ JK Rowling. Fourth Cormoron Strike book, really enjoy these.
2. Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon. YA book, the main character has Down's Syndrome which was really interesting. Darker than I expected in places but very touching, I liked it a lot.
3. Finn Family Moomintroll. I read this with my son at bedtimes. Just lovely
4. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Another young adult book, written in free verse. Not that enamoured of it but I can't quite work out why.
5. The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill. Described as a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid, I was excited about this one but actually felt it was quite disappointing. The characters were very one-dimensional, every male was appalling and it felt like she tried to stuff in every woke issue going, without any subtlety or depth really.
6. How to be Topp (Molesworth). Brilliant
7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Loved it.
8. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. Short and sweet (and very odd!)
9. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. My favourite book of the year so far. Clever, dark, left me wanting more.

That's it so far! I'm about halfway through The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde), I keep coming back to this one and not finishing it but it's worth sticking with I think.

Hello there. I haven't been here for years but don't have time for a real life reading group so may I join this virtual one?
So far this year I've read

1. Patrick Gale, Take Nothing With You
2. Sophie Kinsella, My Perfect Life
3. Bart Van Es, The Cut Out Girl
4. Julian Barnes, Levels of Life

which were all pretty amazing. I'm about to start
The Lost Properties of Love
which has a tampon and a fishfinger on the front of it and am considering Ella Risbridger's recipe book Midnight Chicken

1. The Bear and The Nightingale- Katherine Arden

Fantasy tale incorporating Russian fairy tale and folklore. This was ok, I didn’t love it but enjoyed parts of it.

19. The Birthday by Carol Wyer

I really enjoyed this. Not read any of Wyer’s before but I’ll definitely be doing so in the future. This is a crime thriller about a fiver year old girl who goes missing at a party. Three years later her body shows up and girls who also attended the party are being murdered.
This was well written with believable and likeable characters. It is the first in a serious about the detective who headed up the case and I’ve already downloaded the next one.

MYnameisMrsG I have been wondering about The Birthday as I like psychological thrillers but I'm not into gruesome thrillers with blood and guts. Can you tell me more about it please?

Sure @brizzlemint. It’s not particularly gory as it doesn’t go into detail about the murders. There are a lot of characters all linked somehow with this one birthday party a few years back when the first girl goes missing. Small town type thing where everyone knows everyone. The detective in charge was on a similar missing child case that went horribly wrong so she is desperate to solve this before any more girls are murdered or go missing. There is a parallel story of her marriage and home life but it isn’t very detailed as presumably the author is setting the character up for a few more books and just wanted to touch on a few things about her in this first one.
It’s not a genre I usually got for so I don’t have huge comparison but I didn’t guess the killer and felt that it was plausible when they were revealed.

timeforaGandT I can highly recommend Rules of Civility. An excellent read!

Thank you @MynameismrsG - off to buy it now.

Thanks EmGee - will see if I can persuade my Book Club to pick it as our next read

8. The Fortnight in September by RC Sheriff

This is from the Persephone collection, and another book that had a brief mention on Backlisted. This is an exquisitely written, perfect slice of life. It is a detailed description of a family seaside holiday which conjures the interior worlds of the characters so fully and uniquely, that a whole and universal understanding of life, in all its joys and sadnesses, seems to bloom out of its pages. Minor incidents and irritations, hopes and disappointments are all examined closely, and all these moments serve to build a picture of how people find pleasure in life, the complexities of finding and holding on to happiness in the everyday whirl, and the intricacies of our relationship to those we love, and to the others who simply pass through our lives. It is really a small masterpiece, and the sense of nostalgia it evoked for times past, and anticipation for times yet to come, is indelibly printed on me. It is a small scale look at something much larger; how each seemingly insignificant hour that passes adds something to strengthen a bond, or a resolve, or an obligation, and gives life its meaning. The author also has a fascinating story - he wrote the play of Journey’s End about his wartime experiences, then went on to write both this novel and another of a completely different nature - a kind of sci-fi dystopia called The Hopkin’s Manuscript which I’m trying to get hold of - then went to Hollywood and wrote the screenplays for The Dambusters, Goodbye Mr Chips and others.

Pepe, any translated works since 1945 or are there further rules?

I'd recommend The Fall of the Stone City, by Ismail Kadare, translated from the Albanian. I have "The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón* on my bookshelf, but haven't got round it yet.

I was flicking through the Kindle Valentine's sale - I didn't buy anything, but I noticed that *X and Why, by Tom Whipple" is included. I read this last year and enjoyed it. It's a popular science book about how sex affects our behaviour,and it's funny and eye-opening (reminds me of my favourite line from Adrian Mole "It makes the mind boggle, not to mention the testes").

I finished I'll be There for You, by Kelsey Miller. It's basically a job lot of clippings from past interviews with those involved (none of which were conducted by the author). She also asks a few random people whether they liked Friends or not. I marvel slightly about writers who refer to their strenuous exertions in their acknowledgements section, when their book seems to have been thrown together in a couple of weeks at best. Mildly diverting.

I also read Prisoner's Base, by Celia Fremlin. An older woman, her grown daughter and teenage daughter live together (adult daughter has a husband off-stage). Adult daughter adores helping waifs and strays. One day she invites someone home who isn't quite all he seems. Fear starts to mount about the possible outcome. This book completely skewers the monstrous narcissism and self-deception of Rescuers to the point where I found myself squirming. It hit home to the point where I'm not sure I actually enjoyed it, but I have a feeling that's going to stay with me.

I was going to suggest Zafon, too:but not really the sought after languages. He is a good read, though, if perhaps a little verbose. Not being very well read in Spanish texts, I don't know if this is typical of Spanish literature.

Pepe - the two Korean novels in translation I would suggest are Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin, and The Vegetarian by Han Kang. The first is an easier read than the second.

bibliomania, no additional explicit rules (that I have been made aware of), though obscure languages a plus, so will check out your recommendation. I like The Shadow of the Wind very much, but as my sister is a fluent Spanish speaker living in Madrid, she’d probably rule out Zafon and other Spanish authors. Oh, look, there is another rule after all!

Oh, also for Pepe: I am currently reading (in breaks from Infinite Jest) The Women Who Blow on Knots by Ece Temelkuran, who is a Turkish writer - if you already have Orhan Pamuk on the list you may not want another one from Turkey, though this is more of a feminist take on the pan-Arabic/Muslim world than just Turkish.

Pepe - not Korean or Arabic- but how about some Murakami?

20. Mystery in the Minster by Susanna Gregory

21. The Cambridge scholars set out for York and get tangled in a web of deceit and murder. Usual medieval mystery fare from Gregory. I'm no better at working out the murderer, but am getting good at guessing who will be killed.