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?

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

19: The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

This was probably my top read of this year so far. I listened to it on Audible, and the narrator was good, with an authentic Irish accent.
It is the story of Cyril Avery, the son of an unmarried sixteen year old girl from rural Ireland, at the close of WWII. She is cast out from her local parish and makes her way to Dublin. She finds a place to stay and a job, and when Cyril is born, she has him adopted.
The book jumps forward in seven year increments, which at times I found a bit irksome as we were missing some major events in Cyril's life and hearing about them after the fact, but by midway through the book I could see the technique was working.
After he is born, we next meet Cyril when he is seven years old and living with his adopted parents.

It follows Cyril's life, from seven years old to present day, through his realisation that he is gay (which was still illegal in Ireland), his obsession with his school friend, his farce of a wedding day, his life in Amsterdam, New York and eventually back in Ireland.
Although it is fictional, the scope is massive and has the backdrop of real events in the second half of the 20th Century - the tyranny of the Catholic Church, the oppression of the gay community in Ireland, the AIDS epidemic, the 9-11 attacks and the legalisation of gay marriage in Ireland.

I have read some reviews criticising some timelines, and the constant co-incidences that occur in the stories, but these really didn't bother me too much.
I found myself immersed in Cyril's story from the beginning, loved Catherine and Alice as well, and is one of those books that I really didn't want to end.

43. The Sudden Departure of the Frasers - Louise Candlish - over-written, over-long chicklit. I waded through 400 pages to get the denouement which was an obvious twist unfortunately. Not the worst writing I have ever read and a few quirky lines but no great shakes.
44. The Forrests by Emily Perkins - this was larded with so much praise on the cover (from reputable publications and people) that I could barely believe I was reading the same book. Family saga in a loose stream of consciousness writing style which quickly grated for me & I found myself unable to empathise with any of the characters.

51. The Beautiful And Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald

This has been hanging round on my TBR pile for years and I finally got round to it. I really enjoyed it. The story isn’t that original - it tells the tale of a marriage falling apart amidst too much high living in 1910s New York - but the writing and the way they’re portrayed is just beautiful.

52. The Familiars by Stacey Halls

A novel based around the real people involved in the Pendle witch trials in 1612. The writing style didn’t really set the historical scene for me and the main character was a bit annoying, but it was an OK read.

53. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims

Full of every possible middle class parenting cliche, but it is funny and I enjoyed it!

34.) The Coffin Path, by Katherine Clements - A supernatural gothic tale set on the 17th century Yorkshire moors. A wee bit over-written, but I found it engrossing, although I don't think the supernatural plot-threads are handled as well as they could been, and there are a lot of threads left dangling.

I spotted this quote on an Amazon review that made me laugh: 'If you want to know how difficult sheep farming was in the 1600s then this is the book for you'. It's... accurate. It's a heavily sheep-themed book. But I quite liked that; the lives of the characters revolve around sheep-farming, and the visceral descriptions root it in reality, and give the book a strong sense of place. But yeah, sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

The sense of time, on the other hand, is not so well depicted. It's supposed to be set in the 1600s, but aside from a few references to the Civil War and to witchcraft, I could never really shake the feeling that it felt like a 19th century setting. There's very little use of dialect, which possibly is a deliberate choice and might be a good thing, but it doesn't help with the feeling that it's more modern than it's meant to be. But it also could be simply that lives didn't change that much over the course of the centuries in isolated farming communities. It also doesn't help that I read Nelly Dean so recently, either, and let's face it: write a gothic novel about an isolated farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors and the spectre of Wuthering Heights is going to be haunting you from the outset.

I wish the supernatural elements had been better handled, but I enjoyed it a lot and I'd certainly seek out more by this author.

It reminded me a bit of The Silent Companions. There's a creepy painted wooden fire screen which sounds a lot like the wooden cut-outs in TSC, although it doesn't play as large a role. I think those who enjoyed The Silent Companions might enjoy this. It has a similar sort of feel, although I enjoyed this quite a bit more.

Finished #25 Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful today. If you like SciFi worth a read. Inspite of the subject and some dark moments I thought it was actually a positive book. Certainly makes a change from the usual run of distopias which are everywhere at the moment.

Not sure what I'll move onto next...

the Beautiful and the damned is one of my most underlined/highlighted/scribbled in books. Loathsome characters, as most of FSF's are, but there's a meaningful passage on every page.

I'm due for a reread of him I think.

16. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.

Third book in the Jackson Brodie series. I love how she weaves the story together. A good read and looking forward to the fourth one out this year.

17. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

I tried to read this book last year but could not get into it. So this year bought the Audible narration and fortuitously found the book in a charity shop around the same time and read/listened in tandem. Lots to think about: human nature, grief and death, the state of America and its people at that time, reliability of observers. All packaged in a very unusual way. The oddness of the story is a bit disconcerting and the story jumps about a bit but I thought the narration was excellent (it does require some concentration) and all in all, a very interesting read/listen.

ShakeItOff it’s actually the 5th Brodie that’s due out this year. The 4th is Started Early, Took My Dog And is already out!

Ignore me, didn’t read your post properly - I saw ‘third Brodie’ and jumped in without properly reading the name of what you had read!!

Anyone else read these? I have My Sister is a Serial Killer, House of Beauty and Liar on my pile.

www.redonline.co.uk/reviews/book-reviews/a26699190/women-writers-worldwide/?fbclid=IwAR0oUg7jdPpPmfuTliIGPPG_HuyD3u1Qc0370C_DZHTbONyZ1LyNTOxQB90

11. The diary of a bookseller by Shaun Bythell

The day to day runnings of a second hand bookshop in Scotland.
I loved this. Fascinating and I really enjoyed the people in it. I hope he writes a sequel.

12. Himself by Jess Kidd A man returns to rural Ireland to find out what happened to his mother and why he was put in an orphanage. A mystery with magical realism. Another great read with fabulous turns of phrase. I did get a bit confused with the huge cast and was grateful for the kindle xray feature. Have another of hers out from the library and I'm looking forward to it.

Haven't got around to updating for a little while.

15 Akenfield by Ronald Blythe
This is a study from the 1960s of a rural community in Suffolk. Blythe interviewed people who lived in and around Akenfield (name was changed to provide anonymity). It was a fascinating read - ordinary people talking about their lives. There is a bit of judgement on the author's part but not much, he mostly just lets the subjects speak, so you can really hear their voices. Implication was very much that rural Suffolk people were closed in and not much interested in life outside of their immediate area. Some of the interviewees agree with this, but others show a different side. A reminder that life for some people had been very very hard. A very interesting read.

16 Craven House by Patrick Hamilton
The lives of a group of people who live as 'paying guests' at Craven House in a London suburb around the time of World War One. There are some very funny parts, particularly a declaration of love made on a tube train. It does have flaws - something that Hamilton acknowledged in the later edition but given that he was only 21 when he wrote it, it is very accomplished.

17 A Fool's Alphabet by Sebastian Faulks
This is a story told alphabetically through short interludes in different places. So A is for Anzio, etc. Some very good writing but I found the structure - which flits from different times as well as different places - a bit frustrating at times as I had to keep going back to check where I was. I don't think that the main character's life had much to say anyway. It has made me think I should get around to reading more of his work.

18 Britt Marie was here by Fredrik Backman
Britt Marie has left her husband and is looking for a job. She likes everything to be very clean and tidy. She ends up a small community called Borg where things are falling apart. This one is a bit of a fantasy as somehow things change in a very short period of time just by her being there. I enjoyed reading it but wasn't convinced by it. I think he has explored some of the themes better in his later books. So it was OK but nothing special.

I fell behind, then fell off the thread. I have just finished

15. Dubliners - James Joyce. I can't write much because this is a text I've read for uni. I must admit I found many of the stories boring, though the ones I enjoyed I very much enjoyed, which is why it gets 3/5.

25. The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane. Audiobook narrated by Guy Garvey, Edith Bowman, Benjamin Zephaniah and Cerys Matthews.

This is today’s Audible deal of the day and I urge everyone on this thread who has an Audible account to buy it.
It’s 47 minutes long of wonder. I’ve just finished listening to it on on my dog walk and I feel very moved at how truly lovely it was and how joyful I felt immersing myself in the experience.

Short poems about words from the natural world that are disappearing from our children’s vocabulary. Macfarlane calls each of his poems a spell to bring each creature or plant back into being. Bramble, Otter, Acorn, Wren all captured in perfect tiny word-crafted flashes.
Benjamin Zephaniah Reading Raven was my favourite. Oh his voice with those words!

Between each of the poems there is bird song and soundtracks taken from the natural world.
The audiobook is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated PDF where you can discover what creatures you are listening to, and where each soundtrack was recorded.

Find somewhere quiet, or go outside and sit or walk and let this audiobook do its magic for three quarters of an hour. You’ll feel better for it.

Scribbly That sounds amazing.

35. From Doon with Death (Insp Wexford #1) – Ruth Rendell (Audiobook) A seemingly twee housewife goes missing and is found dead in the woods. The investigation digs up all sorts of intrigue in her past.

I used to love these on TV. While quite old it didn't feel massively dated and was a nice straightforward listen without too much going on. I like easy things to follow while out with the dog. I'll definitely be happy to work my way through the rest of the series.

36. Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness Middle book of the Discovery of Witches trilogy. Essentially Twilight for grownups.

These feel quick to get through despite being 700 pages long and I enjoy them more than I feel I should. Straight on to the next one!

It was Fortuna. My heart has felt lighter all day for the experience of listening to it. I’ve just found it that it’s World Poetry Day today, so that makes it even more perfect.

Scribbly I've just got it, but will save it for our woodland walk tomorrow.

Cedar03 I read Akenfield many years ago, and remember really enjoying it. Have you read any of George Ewart Evans' books? I love Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay and The Crooked Scythe.

22 Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman, read by the author on Audible

Possibly an overly apposite read right now, this explores the problems with the electoral process leading to a very un-representative group of MPs for our representative democracy, and also then the further problems within Parliament with laws failing to receive effective scrutiny.

Little in the first part of the book will come as any surprise to anyone who's watched The Thick of It or Yes Minister, and I wasn't particularly convinced by her suggestions for improving the range of candidates. I felt her examination of the failings of the legislative process was more interesting, and her ideas for reform useful if limited in scope.

Overall a pretty damning picture of our Parliament, with little optimism about the future. I've always been a big supporter of devolution - whatever the flaws (and there are plenty) of the Welsh government and it's politicians, at least it feels as if they are more in touch with ordinary people - probably inevitably so given the small size of the country. This definitely encourages me in that view.

24: The Bird in the Tree – Elizabeth Goudge

The first of The Eliot Chronicles. I really liked this, even though it was quiet Goddish and had a lot of quiet reflection and descriptions of God’s beautiful landscape etc, which can irritate me.

This was all done very sweetly though, and it was tempered with some really wonderful scenes with small children, a flood (but of course) and a bit of exciting shipwreck action/mystery too.

Thanks to whoever has kept recommending these – will definitely read more.

Scribbly - the hardback book of those poems is gorgeous too - I haven't got it but my friend showed it to me. My personal favourite is the newt poem, which reminds me of my wonderful (but vertically challenged) Dad.

16. Our House by Louise Candlish. Fi Lawson returns to her house after a weekend away to find that a couple have bought it without her knowledge and are moving in. What's going on? A cross between chick lit and thriller, this rattled along at a good pace. I didn't predict the twist either!

I'm now listening to Infinite Jest on Audible. It will take me ages as I only listen for a few hours a week. Loving it so far!

My updates:

48. The Friend- Sigrid Nunez

An author friend of the protagonist dies and she inherits his Great Dane, who goes to live with her in her Brooklyn apartment. That is pretty much the extent of the action and the book is a collection of her memories of her friend and random literary, cultural and social references. I enjoyed some of the references eg Houdini and Disgrace by Coetzee (which I've now been inspired to re-read) but I got a bit bored in parts. It won a ton of prizes and praise but it left me a bit cold.

49. The History of Love- Nicole Kraus

One of those that has been on my bookshelves for years and that I thought I had read but actually hadn't. Thought it was very sweet and well done

50. Reservoir 13- Jon McGregor

Totally not what I thought it was going to be. A 13 year old girl disappears in the Peak District and this book tells the story of the village and the people that live there over the next 13 years. It's really an ode to the countryside and the changing seasons. Very little happens!

51. An American Marriage- Tayari Jones

A man who has been married for just a year is staying in a hotel with his wife when he is falsely accused of raping a woman that he had helped earlier in the evening. He is sentenced to 12 years but is released after 5 and tries to rebuild his life and his marriage. The author has a very light touch I thought- it's not a book that is strongly reproachful of the justice system (though it should be) and the characters display very little self-pity. Was done well.

52. Ma'am Darling- Craig Brown

Bitchy memoir of Princess Margaret in 99 extracts. Some were quite amusing and it builds a picture of what she was like but it all felt unkind (and I'm not a fan)

53. Nutshell- Ian McEwan

Hamlet retold in modern North London, narrated by the unborn foetus of Trudy (Gertrude). Done by anyone else this would have been unbearable I think but its Ian McEwan at his creepiest best. Really conveys the sense of growing menace and the physical senses he describes are brilliant.

54. Three Things About Elsie- Joanna Cannon

Urgh hated this. Desperately needed a good edit.

Moved onto #26 The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern. Intelligent chick lit but her stories are not only girl meets boy. I enjoy her characters who are all human and flawed. This book revolves around two people. A man who has had a stroke and his daughter who discovers an unknown side to her dad. Set in Ireland as all her books seem to be. Only about a quarter of the way into it but I think it lives up to her previous books. I also see that there is a new book out soon called Postscript which is a sequel to PS I Love You which is the first book of hers that I read. That’s going on my wish list. Still no more book buying for me although down to 43 unread books in my pile…

@FortunaMajor I'm enjoying the All Souls Trilogy too.

Thanks for the recommendation Scribbly, sounds lovely :)

15. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah Read by Noah on Audible I enjoyed this, Noah has a chatty ‘just reminiscing’ style that belies the seriousness and horror of some of what he describes. His mother sounds like a fantastic character.