50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 and the second one here.

What are you reading?

I've given in and got a month in the country too, I'll start it today.

19. Normal People by Sally Rooney Audiobook narrated by Aoife McMahon

It’s about two clever young people from Dublin who have a complicated relationship

Happy to admit that I picked this up because:
a) I wanted to see what all the fuss about Rooney was about.
b) I thought it would be long listed for the Women’s Prize.
c) It was free from my library's audiobook app.
d) It wasn’t very long.

And to summarise:
a) I still can’t. Nowt wrong with her writing but I've read style of writing this done before and done better. I think it might be a zeitgeist thing.
b) It was.
c) yay libraries
d) Thankfully. Not a very jolly listen.

20. The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore Audiobook narrated by Gabrielle Glaister

Another quick audiobook listen from the library.

Isabel a 1952 housewife who is cold for most of the time gets possessed by the previous owner of a RAF greatcoat who is dead. She goes on walks outside in Yorkshire or lies down in bed feeling cold and sometimes goes to the butchers and has unsatisfactory fiscal interactions with the proprietor. I only finished it last night and even now I'm struggling to remember what happened it was so boring.

21. Evening in the Palace of Reason by James Gaines

Oh thank goodness. A book I actually enjoyed. Many, many thanks to Cote for the recommendation. This was fantastic.

The book starts with the one time only meeting of JS Bach with Frederick the Great. Frederick was king of Prussia and Bach was the unfashionable fuddy duddy composer (and father of Frederick's then court musician Carl Philipp Bach).
At this meeting Frederick challenged ‘Old Bach’ to a musical riddle. He asked him to compose a three part fugue (I now know what a fugue is) on a short musical figure, which to my untrained ear sounds like a rather unpleasant jumble of discordant notes. To the trained ear it was actually designed (possibly by Carl) to make the riddle unsolvable, and to humiliate the old man. Bach, because he was a total freaking musical genius immediately solved it. Frederick because he was a pompous little dick then challenged Bach to make the theme into a six part fugue. At this point poor Bach had to concede defeat, it was a ridiculous demand, but the final result which he went away and worked in is A Musical Offering, a piece of music which I have been enjoying listening to since starting the book.

Following this meeting the book then resets at the start of these men's lives and we get a dual biography of JS and Frederick. Bach embodies the old world of counterpoint composition, Lutheran religious adherence and the politics of the old baroque. Frederick, a bisexual lapsed Calvinist was a child of the enlightenment and as such wanted to push away old outdated culture to replace with reason, science and the new aesthetic galant style.

An absolutely fascinating read. The Bach chapters are even better if you can listen to the music that Gaines is describing. I have an extremely limited knowledge of music but the author explains what Bach is doing in an easy to understand and frequently amusing fashion. Lots of very pleasurable lightbulb moments.

An opportunity for me to thank all the contributors to this thread. Sometimes books get recommended on here, books that are trendy or flashy or on a prize list, books that you’d probably never hear of otherwise, but nevertheless are wonderful and life changing. I've always loved Bach's music but never understood why. I do now and I also have his A Musical Offering in my life, which I didn’t have before.

I didn't realise the Women's Prize List had been announced. I have read 4 so far; Circe, Milkman, Silence of the girls, Ghost Wall.
I usually try to read as many as I can. Gnashing my teeth a Normal People being on there. Have avoided it as I loathed Conversations with Friends.

'A Musical Offering' is indeed sublime, and thank you for that great review, Scribbly . I think listening to a bit of Bach every day (er, not the entire Musical Offering, thankfully there are plenty of lovely short options) would improve life generally

Anyway, a couple more from me, which I started reading accidentally at the same time but which are kind-of-linked:

16: A Girl in Winter - Philip Larkin

Book club choice (not mine). Larkin had thoughts of being a novelist at this early stage - 1947 - but the writing is so poetic that his future destiny is clear. Katherine Lind, a 'foreigner' (exact nationality deliberately never specified, but my money's on German) lives in England and works in a provincial library, as the country shivers in the grip of a frozen winter. She is alone, without family or friends, but has contacted the Fennels, with whom she spent a summer several years earlier when the son, Robin - her pen-pal - invited her to stay. She fell in love with him as a 16-year-old and the middle section of this 3-part novel is a flashback to that heightened time. In the final part comes a tense and bleak encounter between Katherine and Robin, both now older and changed by life and events.

This is a curious book, beautifully written but affectless - intentionally, I suppose, as Larkin wanted it to be a study in loneliness and isolation. He wasn't very happy with it, and in later life virtually disowned it.

Which sort-of leads to a complete contrast:

17: An Unsuitable Attachment - Barbara Pym

Larkin was a great champion of, and friend to, Barbara Pym, and helped to get her career back underway after her years in the wilderness following the abrupt rejection of this book by her publishers (at which point she was an established author, so it really was a shocking event for her). Larkin wrote the preface to the edition I read, and made the fair point that it isn't one of her best. Its humour is a bit over-broad; there are too many characters and the storyline (revolving around librarian Ianthe Broome, vicar's wife Sophia Ainger, her perennially-single sister Penelope and various vicars, curates and other walk-ons) is a bit meandering. But, as always, Pym is a joy, even when below par, and there are plenty of lines to treasure. Plus a magnificent cat.

I’ve had a look at the list and have read Circe Ghost Wall and Normal People , and want to read Milkman and My Sister The Serial Killer. Not fussed about any of the others this time round.

The Walter Scott Prize long list (historical fiction) looks much more interesting.

I agree Terpsichore. I aspire to be one of those people who find time everyday to meditate on The Goldberg Variations, but a little chunk of Bach everyday sounds like a great idea

scribbly, that’s an inspiring review of a book I’d never have come across in the normal scheme of things. I’ve put it on the list - I have to finish a couple of the monsters I am currently grappling with but will really look forward to it, in conjunction with (as you advise) a Spotify playlist!

Scribbly there are actually a few on the Women's prize list I want to read this year. Ordinary people looks interesting and also My sister the serial Killer.
*
Thanks for the heads up on the Walter Scott.
Have read Washington Black, which I felt never quite hit the mark, A long way from home, again ok but not outstanding, Tombland, long and not the best Shardlake but still enjoyable. Also read The Long Take* which was outstanding.

One of my highlights of last year - Swan Song - is on the Women’s Prize list. I’d highly recommend it - clever, sophisticated and really moving.

pepe I really struggled to get into Swan Song event hough I thought I’d love it and then it had to go back to the library, but I did think I might give it another go.

Terpsichore I read A Girl in Winter many years ago and remember loving it - time for a reread I think. His other novel Jill also made an impression, but I remember it being rather bleak.

I was obsessed by Larkin's novels for a while aged about 19. I stupidly gave them to the charity shop a couple of years ago, and still regret it.

I’ve just bought a current paperback of The left hand of darkness by Ursula Le Guin. It has not one, nor two, but three introductions. How may shall I read before starting? They are by David Mitchell, China Mielville and the author herself.

YesILikeItToo if it were me I'd be inclined to launch straight in and come back to the introductions later on - perhaps just keeping in mind that it was written fifty years ago this year.

Yes I always read introductions last as I find they can dull my appetite for the book. Love David Mitchell though.

There is a very good Backlisted on A Girl in Winter and Larkin.

Skirmish yes! I was delighted to find that before I started reading the book.

I'm slightly worried though that I seem to be some sort of computer-generated prototypical Backlisted reader - what with A Month in the Country , Darkness Falls From the Air , Hemlock and After, The Tortoise and the Hare and Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls all being favourites of mine

29. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (Non-fiction) Raynor and husband Moth have nothing left to lose so they set off to walk the 630 miles of the South West coastal path in a journey that lets them both escape and find themselves.

I really admire Raynor's ability to keep a sense of humour and look on the bright side of things. This could have made for a really miserable book, but was lighthearted in the face of adversity. I also liked that she wove in interesting details of the areas and nature they passed through and spoke about homelessness in a wider context. Inspiring stuff and some lovely writing. I did have to google to find out how they are getting on now and was pleased to find out still ok.

30. Murder by the Book (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles #19) by Susanna Gregory (Audiobook) Cambridge University C15th - A communal library is proposed with mixed approval and slowly everyone who supported it is found dead. Matt and Brother Michael on the case.

I find these confusing enough to follow in print so the audio version was a huge mistake. I spent a lot of time going back to listen again. It spoiled my enjoyment so it will be book versions in future.

1. At Bertram’s Hotel Miss Marple visits a luxurious hotel in London and quickly suspects that all is not what it appears on the surface

10. Sparkling Cyanide A beautiful heiress drops dead after drinking champagne at her own birthday party.

Christie doing what she does best, lots of pen portraits- the confused canon, the country lady up for a visit to town, the scandalous bolter, the society lady, the wicked waster of a son etc, clues you didn’t spot, the mystery solved As if by magic.

Now onto Caroline Criado Perez - Invisible Women

1. Normal People by Sally Rooney - well written, well observed. If I were younger I'd have loved it but it's about young people at uni which I'm a few years past. Very enjoyable though.

2. The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd - utterly fabulous short stories. I'm not usually a fan of the genre but loved every page of this.

3)The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Blythell - loving this gentle memoir of a man who bought a second hand book shop in rural Scotland.

4)The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. Very formulaic, I was a pisshead then I stopped type of book. I suppose might be helpful if you're in the same boat, but I'm not and found it boring and the writer unlikeable.

5. The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell . This was serialised in one of the papers and I loved the excerpts and bought it. It's a lovely gentle book to dip in and out of, and when I read it, it makes me want to be somewhere remote eg Norfolk, going for long solitary walks. Inspiring and beautifully written and illustrated.

6. The Salt Path by Ray Win. An assistant in Waterstones was recommending this to someone and I overheard and bought it too. Lovely (though shocking and sad) story of a couple who go through some serious shit and then pick themselves up and walk around the coastline of Devon/Cornwall and maybe a bit of Somerset and Dorset. Uplifting, inspiring and memorable.

7. Tangerine by Christine Mangan. Another Waterstones recommendation and I loved it. Gripping story of young women in Tangier - a real page turner and quite chilling. Great fun.

Currently reading:
8) All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison. LOVING this beautifully written tale of a country childhood in the 1930s. So evocative, I can't wait to get back to it.

Haven't updated my list for a while.

7.The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
Favourite easy re-read

1. Three Things about Elsie

Enjoyed this although I did spot the main 'twist' from the start.

1. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Not sure about this one. I tend to enjoy 'time hop' novels but found this one a bit of a drag at times and not quite as clever as it thought it was. Might have enjoyed it more if the characters seemed like more pleasant individuals too. As it was, I struggled to engage with their fate.

Another mention for Jill by Philip Larkin. Read it in my teens (a long time ago now) and it really stuck with me

13. Vox by Christina Dalcher A dystopian not-so-distant future set in the US where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day or get they an electric shock via a wristband.

A female eminent research doctor who was close to curing aphasia (inability to speak coherently due to brain damage) is reduced to being a housewife and mother until the president asks for a favour - find the cure for his injured brother and her wristband gets taken off during the project.

This was a great premise and did go some way in exploring the effects on families and relationships of the new regime, but it strayed too much into a spy thriller type novel (don't want to reveal spoilers but there was a chimpanzee attack) and forgot about the central idea. the characters were all cardboard cut out cliches and the ending was ridiculously quick and tidy after all the build up and drama.

I enjoyed it but could have been so much more!

Hello, please can I join?

So far this year I have read, not in order:

1. Exposure by Helen Dunmore
2. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
3. All the things I never told you, Celest Ng
4. Conversations with Friends Sally Rooney
5. Also mid-reading To Hell and Back by Ian Kershaw.

I read slowly so need some motivation to keep me going, and have some catching up to do!

(If children’s books count I have also read several Malory Towers, most of the first Harry Potter, and Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets approx 48 times...)

Hi Jennifer. Yes, lots of people count children's books, though some don't. Do you have any high (or low) lights from your list?

Thanks southeast!

My favourite was Commonwealth. I loved it from start to finish. The only thing I didn’t enjoy so much was the jumping in time to the present day as I was so absorbed in the stories from the past that it felt slightly annoying. But I can see why the author did it, to show the effects that decisions made in the past had on two families’ whole lives. I would really recommend. I hadn’t read any Ann Patchett before this.

I found Exposure difficult to get into at first but probably as I am always so knackered. It’s about spies set in 1960 but focuses on a family with small children. Overall I really enjoyed it, and once I was into it I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. I love that Helen Dunmore books are all so different. Last year I read The Greatcoat which someone has mentioned and I cried at the end of this, just thought it was so well done from start to finish.

The Celeste Ng book has a brilliant start, and has complex characters and a plot which draws you in immediately. Also lots of time shifts. I haven’t read her more famous book. I actually haven’t finished this one so will update once I have.

Same for the Sally Rooney book. I haven’t quite fancied Normal People yet but this story was about older people - and I am older! I found it very easy to get into. I found her writing style absorbing but straightforward so very readable. I found it odd that she didn’t use speech marks though. For my tired brain it was a bit confusing at times!

I often find it hard to get into books so the above have felt a like good start to 2019.