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?

whippetwoman very jealous of your signed copy. I’m going to ask for the physical version of The Lost Words for my birthday.
I listened to part of it again last night. It’s worth it just for the recording of a nightingale singing his heart out between adder and bluebell.

Said it before but will say again - I hated Beyond Black.

Sounds lovely scribbly. I’ve been wanting to pick up a paper copy of The Lost Words for a while, tempted with my free audible credit now.

remus you were also not keen on Wilf Hall though iirc? I quite liked it so we’ll see where I land.

wolf! Poor old wilf

11. The Beauty of the Wolf : Wray Delaney (she of Almond and the Parrto smut fame ...)

Oh dear, not the greatest follow up. Bit of a stinker with some redeeming moments. It still had smut, but not much humour and the characters just aren't very likeable or involving. It also has multiple narrative voices and pointless changes of tense. It's a kind of reworking of Beauty and The Beast with plenty of fairy tale stuff. But Angela Carter it ain't.

Sadly disappointed.

Parrot, not Parrto! This typo animal trend is catching!

I think I'd enjoy Wilf Hall - it sounds like a wonderfully old fashioned children's story, in which a mall, filthy but lovable street urchin named Wilf Hall ends up as lord of the manor.

Oh Piggy, that's such a shame. I'd been looking forward to it, but might not bother now.

I linked this last year but here again for 2019 newbies is the fabulously entertaining review by Vanessa Feltz of Beyond Black.

54. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

I am an Atkinson fan (am really looking forward to the new Jackson Brodie) but I wasn’t particularly excited about this one because the subject of spies didn’t interest me. However, I loved it! Atkinson’s writing drew me in as always, and I got really caught up with the story. One of my highlights so far this year.

exexpat, I’ve been waiting for the Infinite Jest review. Thank you! I’m about 2/3 through and what you’ve written pretty much sums up my feelings so far. It’s certainly all about the journey for me - I’ve not got a good grasp of all the detail, threads and chronology so am just going with the flow and enjoying the ride at the moment.
I know what you mean about needing courage for the “big books”. War and Peace was one I’d swerved for years - when I finally got round to it, I loved it. But it was a commitment and I think would - like
many of these epics - need a second read (at least!) to do it justice.

scribbly THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

37. The Lost Words - Robert Macfarlane (audiobook) Poetry interwoven with birdsong. Calms the mind and soothes the soul.

This was Macfarlane's response to Oxford dropping certain nature words from a recent junior dictionary edition as they are no longer relevant to modern children. It was enchanting in the audio version and I know it will get repeated listens.

38. The Last Detective (Peter Diamond #1) - Peter Lovesey (audiobook) Starts as a fairly typical police procedural with a grumpy old school detective but mixes things up by telling each part from the perspective of different characters involved in the case. More skillfully done than the Rendell/Wexford I have just listened to.

I’m so happy you liked it Fortuna. It really really is good for the soul

For those on the thread who like bird song can I recommend Lev Parikian’s Twitter Birdsong Project. He’s been introducing a different British bird’s song every day for the past few weeks. The link is a compilation of of his tweets.

I just got offered a free audible trial, how does it work please?

I'm reading the wife's shadow at the moment, I started it last night and can't put it down so I'm off the to finish it tonight,

How does audible work or the trial Brizzle?

Scribbly I have downloaded The Lost words. Haven't had a chance to get to it yet but will report back.

Think I might have kicked off the Beyond Black debate last year when I bought it at Barter Books. Still unread but all this chat is making me move it up the pile. Currently into Abide with me By Elizabeth Strout which I am really enjoying. I then have The familiars to read for my other book club.

34. The Hidden - Mary Chamberlain Book club read. Set in the Channel Lslands during World War Two. It weaves together the story of three outsiders; a local farmer, a German refugee working as a midwife and a Irish priest with a past. This is much more serious in tone than the Guernsey Literary Potato Pie thingy(!). The research is clearly well done and the story flows well from past and present but somehow it never really grabbed me.
35. The Queen and I - Sue Townsend
This was just light hearted and hilarious. A quick light read and just what I needed. Basic premise is that on election night 1992 the Queen has a nightmare in which a republican government is elected and the core royal family are shipped out to a council estate. Prince Charles quite likes it and gets himself arrested, whilst sporting a pony tail. Wills and Harry go feral, Prince Phillip sinks into depression, Anne hooks up with a local Del Boy (whilst plumbing in her own washer), Margaret is rude to everyone and the Queen copes admirably ! Written in 1992 before the death of Queen mother, Margaret and Diana it does make jarring comparisons between those living in excess wealth and those in extreme poverty. Like Adrian Mole it exposes some of the more ridiculous benefits rules and regulations.
A great read. I though I had read it before but mixed it up with Alan Bennett's book about the Queen discovering the library!

Chessie, you are right, Started Early is the fourth (and not the third) in the Jackson Brodie series! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Scribbly, I regret not buying Lost Words now. I bought the book for my DSs and love it but thought the audio wouldn’t add much. I’ll have to look out for it in the future. I love the link to the bird song project - thank you. 😊

Sorry, audible.

If anyone is an Ian Rankin fan, his latest book, In a House of Lies is a 99p kindle daily deal today.

Just place marking as my reading has slowed down a bit.

My TBR pile is in the hundreds now, almost exclusively due to the recommendations from this thread.

I know I hardly post at all compared to a lot of you, but I'm always in the background and hugely appreciative that my reading repertoire has opened up so much thanks to you all.

It may have been mentioned before (sorry, I'm so out of the loop), but if you follow Robert Macfarlane on Twitter, he does a word of the day, which is well worth signing up for.

Word of the day: “dægeseage” – Old English name for the daisy, meaning literally “day’s eye”, in recognition of this little flower’s habit of closing up its petals at dusk & opening them at dawn; the compound eye of day as it sleeps, then wakes. (That's today's)

I really came back to note 19: Seduction: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood - Karina Longworth

Karina L writes and presents a great podcast about Golden Age Hollywood called You Must Remember This (highly recommended; although it's on hiatus at the moment there are many episodes available). This book is fascinating if you're interested in film history and is full of nuggets you wouldn't get elsewhere - she really knows her stuff. It's also very funny at times. Howard Hughes was a notorious eccentric and eventual recluse but interacted (in his own, um, eccentric way) with many Hollywood movers and shakers, so plenty of big names (Hepburn, Monroe, Jane Russell, Cary Grant) are referenced here. My jaw dropped at the point where Hughes was living in a hotel suite and the hotel needed it back so they requested that he vacate it. He didn't want to, and asked how much it would cost for him to buy the hotel (!). They plucked a figure of $13m out of the air and his reply was 'Sold'......!

Well thank you Scribbly, that was a little haven. Just listened to 36.The Lost Words Benjamin Zephaniah reading Raven was my favourite too but I did love Kingfisher, Adder, Starling and Otter too. Will definitely pick up the book .

Brizzle - with audible, basically you give them £7.99 a month (for a one book membership) and in exchange you get one credit that you can spend on any audio book you like from their (pretty extensive).

The book belongs to you - effectively you are just committing to buy one book a month at a set price. I often use my credits to buy new books I want to read that are still in hardback / expensive on kindle.

You can listen on an MP3 player, app from your phone, from the computer, whatever suits.

Thank you exexpat - I'm just starting out on my Infinite Jest journey, and I really enjoyed your review.

Just marking place. Haven’t been keeping up with the threads lately.