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?

Ladywithlapdog I read The Binding last month but I wasn't that impressed. I think my review is up thread somewhere. I loved the idea but thought she could have done a lot more with it. Pleased you enjoyed it though.

Lapdywith my review below, it was on the previous thread. Interested to hear what you enjoyed about it.

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 Young 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.

My reading has slowed right down at the moment, I am currently reading The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting which I am enjoying but it's not a skim read book

I really enjoyed The Sixteen Trees of the Somme, fivegomad, it was one of my highlights of last year.
My last read was a poetry anthology for book club: Family Values by Wendy Cope, which was a very accessible collection and enjoyable overall. Some poems were moving and melancholy, others funny and very well observed, although on the whole they didn’t “grab” me in the way that some writing does, if that makes sense!

@palegreen I couldn’t put it down during the POW scenes. Never been so gripped, but the ending just felt like it tailed off

1. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
2. Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O’Porter
3. The Glass menagerie by Tennessee Williams
4. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
5. Endurance by Alfred Lancing
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
7. Animal Farm by George Orwell
8. Hagseed by Margaret Attwood
9. Tin Man by Sarah Winman

10. Heartstone by CJ Sansom 11. The Light Between Oceans by M.J. Stedman 12. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata 13. Llywbrau Cul by Mared Lewis (In Welsh) 14: Weird Thing People say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell 15: Educated by Tara Westover 16: Lamentation (Shardlake #6) by C.J Sansom 17: Jane Seymour - The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

18: Twelve Babies on a Bike by Dot May Dunn

As the title suggests, the true story of a student midwife, who has to deliver twelve babies in the course of her placement in the community in order to qualify.
I loved the Jennifer Worth Call the Midwife books and was hoping for something similar, but I was disappointed. It was written in a very detached way, which could be argued that it was meant to be in the style of the notes of the cases she was writing up, but for me it meant that I simply didn't didn't engage with her or the families she was working with.
Inbetween the cases, there were some accounts of her social life at college, but they were so incongruous with the rest of the book, they just sounded wrong.
It was quite short, so I did finish but I wouldn't bother with the others that she has written.

@SatsukiKusakabe yes, she's a photographer and makes documentaries but also writes incredibly well. Her childhood was very disrupted. It's an interesting read.

I don't think I've had a DNF for a couple of years but I might have hit the wall with Postcards from the Edge. Am pretty sure I enjoyed the film when I watched it a gazillion years ago but this is torture. I hate the way it's written and I couldn't give a monkey's whether Suzanne beats her addiction or not but Kindle tells me that I'm 43% of the way through the book so part of me wonders whether I should continue.
I very rarely give up on a book but am definitely feeling the 'too many books, too little time' vibe here. What do you think?

21. Burning Bright by Helen Dunmore (published 1994)

16-year-old Nadine is taken by her older Finnish lover Kai to live in the run-down house he has just bought with his 'business' associate Tony. It soon becomes clear what sort of business requires them to lure in attractive young women. On the top floor lives elderly sitting tenant Enid, who shares with Nadine her own memories of long-ago illicit love and dangerous jealousy.

I enjoyed reading this, the language was (as always with Dunmore) poetic, precise and beautiful, and it had more of a 'page-turner' quality than many of her other novels. However, I wasn't quite sure that the stories of Enid and Nadine really fitted together thematically. Also,
the tone of the novel was naturally very dark most of the way through, and I found the ending did not fit with this mood (trying not to give spoilers), although Nadine's continuing compulsive attractive towards father figures was unsettling.

InMyOwnParticularIdiom Thank you for the Helen Dnumore rec. I'm going to look out for it.

nowanearlyNicemum I used to keep going no matter what, but now if I have something else I would rather move on to then I let it go. If it keeps niggling at you, you can always go back to it after a short break.

Desdemona - SNAP! I have deliberately not read your review before posting mine.

11. A Month in the Country by JL Carr
Tom Birkin, a southerner, is commissioned to uncover and restore a medieval mural thought to be lurking under lime wash in the church in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby in 1920. Penniless, he stays in the church itself and slowly becomes acquainted with, and grows fond of, the villagers and the village way of life over a warm summer month.

This was lovely- short and elegant. Semi-autobiographical, and accordingly feels really authentic. Birkin, as an outsider, describes the local accent and traditions beautifully, finding them quaint, charming, and sometimes confusing. There is reflection on how the experiences of WW1 run deep and heal slowly, and their sadness is echoed in Birkin’s missed opportunity for love and happiness as he looks back on his time in Oxgodby.

Place marking.

Am reading and liking the first of The Eliot Chronicles which I think has been mentioned several times on these threads in the past.

22. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.

I think Rooney's novels have been a bit marmite on here (if I recall correctly). This is her first novel and focuses on two friends who are at university in Dublin. They meet an older married couple and become involved with their lives.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I didn't hate it and I wasn't tempted to abandon it half way through, but neither did I particularly enjoy it, nor did I give two hoots about the characters. Exactly how I felt about The Girls by Emma Clines'.

nowanearly I think life's too short to continue reading books you're not enjoying. I hated the book of Postcards from the Edge and only finished it so I could compare it to the (wonderful) film.

Finished #24 Dark Fire which I really enjoyed. Shardlake is such a well written character and you feel you are stepping into Medieval London. I will be reading the next in the series.

I’ve moved onto #25 Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful which was recommended on a blog which I follow. (This could not be more different). There are 6 stories interwoven with each other exploring the ethics of science and body modification. Taking today as a jumping off point and extrapolating to what might happen in the future. I’m about half way through and so far all the stories have had engaging characters and been thought provoking. I certainly think that there should be more discussion about what we should do on the cutting edge of medicine in the real world.

@nowanearlyNicemum I very rarely fail to finish a book but sometimes life is too short and there are so many good books out there it’s OK to call it quits. I have read Postcards from the Edge a few years ago. I didn’t really engage with it which was surprising as I like Carrie Fisher and thought I’d enjoy her long fiction. It’s put me off reading any of her other books.

A hit with both of us then Turnofthescrew, the book is better than the film, they manage to make Tom, a very handsome (Colin Firth), but not very charismatic character, with little of the charm that comes across in his dealings with others - particularly his conversations with Alice.
I wondered if Alice ended up with her unprepossessing husband because men were thin on the ground post WW1 and she settled for what she could get, so heartbreaking that a chance for real happiness was lost for both of them, I hope that bit wasn't autobiographical.

Desdemona that's a shame about the film - Tom is such a warm, charming presence in the book. I was desperately sad that he and Alice couldn't be a bit braver. I might have a little look at the film anyway though - I am very fond of that part of the world and I'd probably enjoy it for the locations alone.

Thanks for the reassurance on the Postcards from the Edge front. I really remember enjoying the film and have been reading the book, thinking this CAN'T be it!!
It's the first time I've read anything by Carrie Fisher and also have her 'Wishful Drinking' lined up on my Kindle TBR.

I think I'll put postcards on the back burner and maybe come back to it.

Back to Normal People by Sally Rooney. First couple of pages I found it difficult to adjust to her style but I'm a little way in now and quite enjoying it so far. :)

26. The History of Mary Prince

Another slave autobiography from my uni days. The actual account is only about 33 pages long but the book is full of notes and other accounts. It’s quite interesting but there are so many footnotes and explainations that it distracted me slightly.

13) Raqqa Diaries: Escape from Islamic State
So powerful. Very short, only took an hour or so to read and I’d really recommend it.

16. I am, I am, I am by Maggie O’Farrell. O’Farrell’s memoir about 17 brushes with death she’s had in her life time. Fascinating stuff. She really has had a lot of unusual experiences and I felt this was really vivid (number 1 was by far the most haunting so will be interesting to see how long the rest of the book stays with me).

She’s had some truly rubbish experiences with health care professionals and her experience with elective C sections should shared far and wide to empower more mothers.

A little strangely I just googled to see if there was a sequel as I feel certain more crazy stuff will happen to her.

17. Grief is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter This was a reread for me in preparation for the play at the Barbican in a few weeks. A father and two sons experience the death of their wife / mother through their own eyes and that of Ted Hughes’ Crow.

It’s pretty experimental and probably not to everyone’s taste but I loved it. It’s so poetic that this time I tried the audio book and it added something extra.

‘The terrible years of my life are stained crow’

I seem to have fallen off this thread this month and need to catch up on what everyone else has been reading.

I have read:

15. New Boy - Tracy Chevalier - this is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series and is a "retelling" of Othello. It's set in a 1970s US school with Osei (Othello) as the new and only black boy in the school. Whilst I thought the setting idea was good it fell down on the fact that all the key characters were children of 11 and therefore the sexualised elements felt wrong and unrealistic for children of those ages. It would have worked better in a secondary school setting. However, I enjoyed it more than my other experience of the Hogarth Shakespeare series (Dunbar by Edward St Aubyn) and the tension in the storytelling was good. It had a feel of young adult fiction and I can see my teens enjoying it.

16. The Acceptance World - Anthony Powell - Book 3 of A Dance to the Music of Time series. I am really getting into these now and engaging much more with the characters and the way their lives are enmeshed with one another. Nick, our narrator, finally gets a love life in this volume and we see more of his former schoolfriends who featured in the first book. It's definitely worth persevering beyond the first book if it does not grab you initially.

17. Our Man in Havana - Graham Greene - the only Greene I had read before this was The End of the Affair which I really enjoyed but was a serious read. I did not know / was not expecting that this would be a lighthearted / comical read. The story follows an unfortunate vacuum cleaner salesman based in Havana who is recruited by the British secret service to spy for them. He has no information to feed them but makes up stories in order to justify the money he is paid. Intelligence take the stories seriously and then the stories start to come true which leads to chaos in Havana. It was very entertaining (if completely unbelievable) and most enjoyable.

I am now reading Sharon Penman - Here Be Dragons

34. Love in a Dish and other pieces, by M F K Fisher
Elegant little essays about food, written by an American one in the mid-twentieth century.

35. How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain, by Ruth Goodman
She's interested in the texture of everyday life - how people swore, bowed, walked, made rude gestures and so on. I defy you not to get out of your chair and attempt some of the different bowing styles yourself. Would be invaluable as a resource if you're writing fiction set in that era and it's fairly interesting even if you're not.

36. Coming Clean, by Kimberley Rae Miller
Picked up as a 99p deal on Kindle, and worth the read. A memoir by an American woman about what it was like to grow up with hoarders for parents. We learn more about the impact on her than the reasons for her parents' behaviour, but that's fair enough. Well written and moving.

37. Eternal Boy: the life of Kenneth Grahame, by Matthew Dennison
The author of The Wind in the Willows had a sad life, and it's easy to understand his retreat into a dream of cosy bachelorhood and male friendship. His mother died aged 27, leaving 4 small children; his father couldn't cope and left; they were raised by unloving relatives; he had to work in an uncongenial job, had an unhappy marriage and an unhappy son who committed suicide. That makes it sound like a gloomy book, and it isn't - you see how the author took parts of real life and spun them into a golden dream.

38. About Time Too, by Penelope Mortimer
The second part of the author's autobiography (I haven't read the first). I found this utterly compelling, partly for the facts (six children by four father! Her brother was sent away to boarding school at the age of four and a half!) but also for the writing. While it may have looked like carefree Bohemianism on the outside, that wasn't what it felt like to her. You see her try to work out who she is and how she should live - lover, mother, writer, and the core self that she can't quite grasp. I previously read The Pumpkin Eater, and in places this felt like the real-life version. (It's like reading Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit followed by her memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? It's fascinating to see how the author took events and transmuted them into fiction).

Oh, and just to acknowledge the conversations above, I agree that the film of A Month in the Country doesn't quite capture the magic. And as for Postcards from the Edge, if you don't like the first half, I don't think you'll suddenly fall in love with the second half.

By an American one should have been "an American woman". Don't know what happened there.