50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

How're you getting on so far?

Thanks southeast for the new thread! Here's my list:

1. The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths
2. Things I Don't Want to Know - Deborah Levy
3. The History of Wolves - Emily Fridlund
4. Black Hole Blues and Other Songs From Outer Space - Janna Levin
5. Smile - Roddy Doyle
6. Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted - Andrew Wilson
7. The Story of a Marriage - Andrew Seer Green
8. The Child That Books Built - Francis Spufford
9. My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh

10. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Philip Pullman 11. The Magicians - Lev Grossman 12. Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore 13. My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite 14. The Cyber Effect - Mary Aiken 15. A Life of My Own - Claire Tomalin 16. Our House - Louise Candlish 17. Whatever You Love - Louise Doughty

All my stand outs so far this year seem to be non-fiction - unusual for me.

Thanks, South.

I've finished another but still haven't quite sussed my new computer out yet!

Thanks for the new thread

List so far:

1. The Secret Barrister
2. The Rumour - Lesley Kara
3. The President is Missing - Bill Clinton and James Patterson
4. Juror No.3 - James Patterson and Nancy Allen
5. Part-time Working Mummy: A Patchwork Life - Rachaele Hambleton
6. The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris
7. An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
8. The Flower Girls - Alice Clark-Patts
9. Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

10. The Secretary - Renee Knight 11. Dirty Like Me - Jaine Diamond 12. Dirty Like Brody - Jaine Diamond 13. Close to Home - Cara Hunter

26 Ladies’ Bane – Patricia Wentworth

I liked this, although it was the usual formulaic stuff and obvious from very early one who had dun it and why it was dunned!

My list

1. From source to sea, Tom chesshyre
2. So disdained , Nevil Shute
3. Cruise ship sos, Ben macfarlane
4. Rosa parks, hourly history
5. Stephen hawking, hourly history
6. 101 bets you will always win, Richard wiseman. Returned for a 99p refund! shock
7. This is going to hurt, Adam Kay
8. Old man and the sea, Ernest Hemingway
9. The best friend, Shalini Borland

10. Triple crime, felix Francis 11. Beneath the surface, Heidi Perks 12. Crossing the bridge of autism, Stephanie Maddux 13. 365 surprising rock star quotes 14. I'd rather be reading, Anne Bogel 15. The wheel of justice, Stephen Livingston 16. The Librarian, Sally Vickers 17. Tickling the English, Dara O'Briain 18. Reading allowed, Chris Paling 19. Cottage by the sea, Debbie Macomber 20. Unbelievable - the bizarre world of coincidences, Jenny Crompton 21. Hello World, Hannah Fry 22. The Birthday, Carol Wyer 23. Kept: an American house husband in India, Gregory Buford 24. I use my thumbs as a yard stick, Andy Frazier 25. Upsticks, Tim Thomas 26. Wars of the Roses, Hourly History 27. Prince George, Brian Hoey 28. The Lighter Side, Andy Thompson 29. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Rough Guide 30. Post-modernism - a graphic guide 31. Gigantic world of gags 2 32. The Dark Side, Andy Thompson 33. The Perfect child, Lucinda Berry 34. Read all about it, Paul Cuddihy 35. The Secret Mother, Shalini Boland 36. After the crash, Michel Bucci 37. The Donor, Helen Fitzgerald 38. I know nothing, Andrew Sachs 39. The next big thing, Rhodri Marsden 40. The wife's shadow, Cath Weeks 41. In France we eat sofas 42. How to do your research project 43. Only daughter, Sarah Denzil 44. The little book of poems transporting you to a time long passed

Thank you southeastdweller

2019 so far

1. The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Gray

2. The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

1. The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters

4. A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin

1. The Fallen by David Baldacci
2. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

7. The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell

1. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve

9 Autumn, All the Cats Return by Phillipe Georget 10. The Killings at Badgers Drift by Caroline Graham 11 Thin Air by Michelle Paver 12 Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo 13 Thin Air by Ann Cleeves 14 Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves 15 Agatha Raisin and the Witches Tree by M C Beaton 16 The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr 17 The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting

Currently reading What's Eating Gilbert Grape which is another of the books published by Mr B's Book Emporium's publishing wing, and what a glorious book.

And I have made it to thread 4 which I haven't managed before

Thank you for the new thread Southeast

Bringing the list over. Highlights in bold, stinkers in italics. On fire this year as I have banished the TV and am listening to a lot more audiobooks in my dead time. I'm usually at this point in October panicking that I won't make the 50.

1. The Odyssey - Homer (trans. - Emily Wilson)
2. Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading - Lucy Mangan
3. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
4. Eleanor of Aquitaine: by the Wrath of God, Queen of England - Alison Weir
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock - Joan Lindsay
6. Too Much Happiness - Alice Munro
7. The Last Hours - Minette Walters
8. Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
9. The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware

10. A Killer of Pilgrims - Susanna Gregory 11. Beloved - Toni Morrison 12. Lullaby - Leila Slimani 13. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 14. A Dog’s Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron 15. Commonwealth - Ann Patchett 16. Frenchman’s Creek - Daphne du Maurier 17. Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne 18. The Secret History - Donna Tartt 19. Lamentation - CJ Sansom 20. Mystery in the Minster - Susanna Gregory 21. Witches Abroad – Terry Pratchett 22. Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel 23.The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie 24. Planet of the Apes 25. Circe – Madeline Miller 26. Atonement – Ian McEwan 27. Partners in Crime – Agatha Christie 28. The Good People – Hannah Kent 29. The Salt Path – Raynor Winn 30. Murder by the Book – Susanna Gregory 31. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 32. Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys 33. Reaper Man – Terry Pratchett 34. Reader I Married Him – Tracy Chevalier 35. From Doon with Death (Insp Wexford #1) – Ruth Rendell 36. Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness 37. The Last Detective (Peter Diamond #1) - Peter Lovesey 38. The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane 39. The Book of Life – Deborah Harkness 40. The Lost Abbott – Susanna Gregory

Carrying over for the last thread. I loved Wolf Hall, but found myself flicking back as it wasn't always clear which character she was talking about as she bounced around from person to person and it wasn't made obvious. Assuming this is a writing trait, as I found the first part of A Place of Greater Safety hard to follow in audio. As it was the childhood part for each of the 3 it was difficult to keep track of which small boy was which. Now they are adults and the Revolution has started I am hoping my limited historical knowledge will kick in and help, plus the narrator is lisping for one of them, so I only have 2 left to try to differentiate.

I tend to listen to short non-complicated books on audio and save the longer or more detailed ones for text. I think this is one I should have saved for book format. If I'm none the wiser in the next few hours of it then I will revert to text and start again.

My list will have to wait until I’m home and on the computer rather than phone but in the meantime:

56. Sunburn by Laura Lippman

Overhyped and not really what I expected - I kept waiting for a twist and there wasn’t one. Don’t think I would bother reading something by her again.

57. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Agree with southeast’s review at the end of the previous thread. At least it was short.

Thanks southeast for the new thread.

Currently listening to Death In Ten Minutes (bio of Kitty Marion) on audible - author is annoyingly heavy handed with her own opinions rather than letting the story speak for itself, but I'll probably stick with it as I'm interested to know more about KM.

Thanks for the new thread southeast. Here's my list:

1. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
2. Animal - Sara Pascoe
3. The Bull from the Sea - Mary Renault
4. Women and Power - Mary Beard
5. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue - John McWhorter
6. The Winter Isles - Antonia Senior
7. Dynasties: the Rise and Fall of Animal Families - Stephen Moss
8. A History of the World In 21 Women - Jenni Murray
9. The Monogram Murders - Sophie Hannah
10. This is Going to Hurt - Adam Kay
11. Adventures of a Young Naturalist - David Attenborough
12. In Your Defence - Sarah Langford
13. Did You See Melody? - Sophie Hannah
14. A History of Britain in 21 Women - Jenni Murray
15. All That Remains: a Life in Death - Sue Black
16. Bridget Jones’s Baby - Helen Fielding
17. A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett
18. The Ark Before Noah - Irving Finkel
19. Dear Mrs Bird - A.J. Pearce
20. The Outcasts of Time - Ian Mortimer
21. Burning Bright - Helen Dunmore
22. Unnatural Causes - Richard Shepherd
23. The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker

Now reading I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong (very slowly but will plod on) and Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Attempting The Timetravellers' Guide to Medieval England again on Audible but since this is the third time of trying and I'm not inspired, I suspect it will be abandoned once I get another credit!

Thank you for these threads I enjoy them a lot.

1. This is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
2. Normal People : Sally Rooney
3. Wundersmith, The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
4. The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
5. The unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Grey
6. Eve of Man Giovanna and Tom Fletcher
7. On Palestine Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappé
8. My Name Is Lucy Barton Elizabeth Strout
9. I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes

10. This will only hurt a little busy phillips 11. Our House Louise Candlish 12. if Beale Street Could Talk James Baldwin. 13. A Place For Us Fatima Fahreem Mirza 14. Big Bones by Laura Dockrill. 15 in a dark dark wood by Ruth Ware 16. I am, I am, I am by Maggie O’Farrell. 17. Grief is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter (reread) 18. The Love of a Bad Man by Laura Elizabeth Woollett

Currently reading A Discovery of Witches - 10% in and nothing has happened yet. I like my epic fantasies a bit more plot driven when they are 600+ pages - hoping it improves and she does something other than run and row.

Thanks for the new thread southeast

My list so far:

1. Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
2. Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence
3. The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher
4. The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly
5. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
6. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
7. An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor
8. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
9. The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

10. The Atlantis World by A.G. Riddle 11. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett 12. Wool by Hugh Howey 13. Sticks and Stones by Jo Jakeman 14. When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen 15. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge 16. The Anomaly by Michael Rutger 17. The Breakdown by B. A. Paris 18. Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders 19. The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware 20. Our House by Louise Candlish 21. Symbiont by Mira Grant 22. The Child by Fiona Barton 23. Perfect People by Peter James 24. The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly 25. Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent

Checking in, thanks for new thread

1. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
2. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
3. Normal People by Sally Rooney
4. Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
5. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

6. Old Baggage by Lissa Evans

1. Brittle Star by Davina Langdale

8. The Fortnight in September by RC Sheriff

1. The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

10. Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson 11. A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell

Slow slow month for me, still chugging through but distracted by the news and sit coms to escape from the news. Need to buck up for April.

Thanks SouthEast

14. The World I Fell Out Of - Melanie Reid

Melanie Reid is aTimes Journalist and former fitness fanatic who fell from her horse breaking her spine, leaving her tetraplegic. I’d followed her regular spinal Column in the newspaper for years so I already knew the story but here she holds little back , going into detail about her horrifying, shattering experIence.Her sheer determination , courage, guts are so inspiring. Her ability to see the funny side, to see what could be worse and her positivity just amazed me.

My book of the year so far. Sheer courage.

Thanks for the new thread. Impressed at some lists there are some members who are almost at 50 books and we're only a quarter of the way through the year!

My list, highlights in bold, no stinkers so far:

1 Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book 1
2 Jane Austin at Home
3 The House of Unexpected Sisters
4 Provenance
5 Romes Sacred Flame
6 The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp
7 All Things Wise and Wonderful: The Classic Memoirs of a Yorkshire Country Vet
8 The Moscow Sleepers
9 Summerland
10 Dissolution
11 Bird Box
12 The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury
13 Elantris
14 Six Wakes
15 Crazy Rich Asians
16 Dominion
17 The Hanging Tree
18 1984
19 24 Hours in Ancient Rome: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There
20 Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries
21 Shadow of Night
22 A Nest of Vipers
23 Watcher in the Woods
24 Dark Fire
25 Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful
26 The Marble Collector
27 Hardcore Twenty-Four
28 The Blade Itself

Enjoyed #27 standard Stephanie Plum fare but with Zombies and who doesn't love a good Zombie?

Moved onto #28 The Blade Itself high fantasy. There are three main characters. Inquisitor Glokta who is a crippled war vet turned torturer. Officer, gentleman and aspiring fencer Captain Jezal dan Luthar who is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Finally Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past. I've not got very far into it yet but loved the start which has Logen plumeting into a ravine. There seems to be enough that is different from familiar fantast tropes to make it interesting.

Thanks for sharing your recommendation @BestIsWest I used to read her column in The Times, but then stopped reading papers! I'll definitely look out for this one.

Just finished:
7 The Swimming Pool - Louise Candlish

It was alright but hardly the gripping thriller the spiel promised. After Girl on a Train, which I finished in a few days, I found this a bit dull and trudged through it.

Now to decide what to read next. I'm travelling with work next week so maybe something a bit more light hearted.

Thanks southeast

Just finished 16. The Cater Street Hangman Anne Perry
I wanted a new detective series to get into, some googling led me to Anne Perry and her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, ofwhich this is the first of very many apparently.
I raced through the first two thirds, guessing ‘whodunnit’ at about that point and generally loving everything and ignoring some of the clunkier bits, but then the clunkier bits got a bit too much to ignore. Mainly how the book keeps telling us how hypocritical, repressive and strict Victorian morality and the class system is,, how restricted and downtrodden the women are - meanwhile the women merrily discuss amongst themselves all the things that WE MUST NEVER SPEAK OF, say exactly what they think and speak more openly with their parents than I think even I did growing up in the 80s/90s and even confront the menfolk about their various misdeeds. The pacing is way off, the ending rushed, and the ‘romance’ between Charlotte and Thomas is utterly unconvincing (oh he’s such a vulgar, beneath me policeman, oh my family is so strict and I’m such a product of my class and time that it’s impertinent for him to even glance at me, gosh my father is so strict and I’m in love with my brother in law - a secret so shameful we’ve only had at least 4 family discussions about it in the last chapter - oh what’s that I’m now in love with the policeman and literally everyone is fine about it? Ok cool)

Sniping aside I enjoyed it enough that I’ll probably look out for others in the series, whilst also finding it pretty silly.

14. The World I Fell Out Of - Melanie Reid

I have followed her story since the accident. Is the book different to her columns or is it them published in book form?

The Swimming Pool was one found quite reasonable, I read it quite quickly. I agree that it wasn't a gripping thriller but I don't remember finding it dull. After reading masters degree texts most books are appreciated as light relief though.

1. How To Stop Time by Matt Haig
2. Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
3. Killing Eve by Luke Jennings
4. Power by Naomi Alderman
5. Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
6. The Haunting Hill by Shirley Jackson
7. The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood
8. The Corset by Laura Purcell
9. Heads You Wind by Jeffery Archer

10. House of Beauty by Melba Escobar

Thanks for the new thread, South.

My list so far:

1. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.
2. Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker.
3. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.

4. No.More.Plastic. What you can do to make a difference. By Martin Dorey.

1. Once upon a time in the East: A story of growing up by Xiaolu Guo.

6. Milkman by Anna Burns.

1. When will there be Good News? by Kate Atkinson.

8. The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker.

1. Fated by Benedict Jacka.

10. Silence by Shudaku Endo. 11. Sight by Jessie Greengrass. 12. The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood by John Lewis Stemple. 13. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. 14. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. 15. The Moon’s a Balloon by David Niven. 16. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. 17. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

And my latest reads:

18. Professor Andersen’s Night by Dag Solstad.

A DH present for my birthday last year and a translation from Norwegian. Professor Andersen witnesses a murder but does not report it to the police. A philosophical debate of morals ensues. Not perfect but quite interesting.

19. The Dark Day’s Club by Alison Goodman.
20. The Dark Day’s Pact by Alison Goodman.

YA fantasy. Buffy meets the 1800s. Good fun.

Thanks for the new thread.

My list so far:

1. Of mice and men by John Steinbeck
2. The sisters by Claire Douglas
3. Animal farm by George Orwell

4. The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes

1. A very British Christmas by Rhodri Marsden
2. Liverpool Daisy by Helen Forrester
3. The secrets of married women by Carol Mason
4. The secret garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

9. The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kids 10. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult 11. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by JK Rowling 12. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 13. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 14. The Children Act by Ian McEwan 15. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris 16. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan 17. The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman 18. The Hospital by Barbara O’Hare 19. The Birthday by Carol Wyer 20. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 21. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 22. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates 23. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo 24. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 25. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 26. The History of Mary Prince by Mary Prince 27. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

Currently reading 1984 which I am enjoying but not feeling compelled to pick up every spare moment.

@brizzlemint I just wasn't compelled to pick it up so it took longer read. I think it would have been better as a poolside read on holiday, a bit of pace with the reading would have helped.

Unfortunately life gets in the way, so I need a book to grab me!

Thanks, Southeast! My year has got off to a bit of a uninspired start reading wise thanks to me reading free books through Pigeonhole and trying to work through the books people have lent to me, but it’s looking up: The Italian Teacher was excellent and Im listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography which is fantastic!

1.My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

1. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
2. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
4. The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez
5. Confessions of a Barrister by Russell Winnock
6. Origin by Dan Brown
7. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
8. Science-ish: the Science behind the movies by Rick Edwards

10. The Death and Life of Red Henley by Philip Wilding 11. The Girl Next Door by Phoebe Morgan 12. And Then You’re Dead: The Worlds Most Interesting ways to Die by Cody Cassidy 13. Silhouette In Scarlet by Elisabeth Peters 14. Kayak the Kwanza by Oscar Scafidi 15. The True History of the Elephant Man by Michael Howell 16. I Found You by Lisa Jewell 17. Family Values by Wendy Cope 18. The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman

Oh I sound so ungrateful in my last post there .....I’m not, I love reading, and people passing books on they think I’ll like, just had a bit of a run of “meh” books for a bit!