Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Four

997 replies

southeastdweller · 27/03/2019 18:36

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?

OP posts:
DesdemonasHandkerchief · 10/04/2019 18:49

Great blog toomuch you pinpointed, in a far more articulate manner than I could ever hope to, the frustration of persevering with an unloved book whilst constantly thinking about the many more enjoyable books you could be reading (particularly true when your reading rate is as slow as mine) And the terrible truth of dying with so many wonderful books still unread!
I look forward to future posts.

Cakemonger · 10/04/2019 19:31

I don't really hold with all this random bursting into poetry

Haha Fortuna. I've been debating whether or not to get the Ali Smith but had a feeling it might not be for me. I don't always like self consciously 'literary' books or immediate responses in book form to current events.

BakewellTarts · 10/04/2019 19:54

Finished #31 Black Powder War light fantasy by Naomi Novak. Fun saga set in an alternative universe where dragons exist. The whole series follows the adventures of Temeraire and his crew in the Napoleonic wars. This slice has them coming back to England overrland from China by way of Istanbul and Prussia. Lots of adventure and fights enroute. Overall a lot a fun.

Onto #32 Agatha Raisin and The Dead Ringer cosy crime in the Cotswolds. Not sure who the body will be but so far so typical of the series.

FortunaMajor · 10/04/2019 19:56

Cakemonger Just don't. I'm now 150 pages in and it doesn't seem to be in response to anything. Nothing has bloody happened yet.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 10/04/2019 20:02

Lovely, Splother.. Well done, you!

Piggywaspushed · 10/04/2019 20:10

Great blog splother! I can tell it's you from the writing 'voice'!

noodlezoodle · 10/04/2019 20:31

Love the blog splother. We will have to agree to disagree about The Secret History Grin (although it's undeniable that all the characters are appalling in their various different ways).

noodlezoodle · 10/04/2019 20:33

Zebra, The Hate U Give was one of my highlights of last year's challenge, I thought it was excellent. I think the banned books list often reads like a 'best of' and it looks as though this year is no exception!

BestIsWest · 10/04/2019 20:55

Love the blog Splother. I am with you on The Secret History (though I did eventually finish it) and Rebecca

FranKatzenjammer · 10/04/2019 20:57

Splother, your blog is delightful: I look forward to following it.

EmGee · 10/04/2019 21:03

Really enjoyed your first blog post toomuchsplother and will definitely be following it! With 200+ books on your TBR pile I think you might have to hide in a cave for the next few months to make a dent in the pile!!!

toomuchsplother · 10/04/2019 21:07

I will say it again you are all lovely!! Plan to get a review of Vera Brittain stuff up tomorrow and then DH and I are off to Berlin for 3 days without DC.

Off to look at the banned books, maybe to inflate the TBR pile

FortunaMajor · 10/04/2019 21:10
  1. Autumn by Ali Smith If modern art were a book...
toomuchsplother · 10/04/2019 21:38

Fortuna GrinGrin

Terpsichore · 11/04/2019 00:36

23: Man at the Helm - Nina Stibbe

In 1970s Leicestershire, 9-year-old Lizzie Vogel narrates the story of her dysfunctional family life as she, her older sister, and brother Little Jack (plus Debbie the Labrador) struggle to cope in the aftermath of her parents' separation. As their mother takes refuge in pills, drink and unsuitable boyfriends, Lizzie and her sister draw up a secret list of possible candidates for the role of Man at the Helm: someone who could make their mother happy and finally bring the family together. But putting their plans into practice isn't as easy as they hoped...

A very funny novel from the author of Love, Nina - based on her own childhood - but written with great sensitivity. The sad and painful parts of this tale (and there are plenty) are dealt with so lightly in Lizzie's seemingly artless narrative that the fun keeps gambolling merrily along while the reader's always kept aware of just how miserable things really were for Lizzie and her hapless family as they tried to stay afloat. A difficult balancing-act and a triumph for Nina Stibbe, I think.

Zebra31 · 11/04/2019 07:16

noodle I have just ordered it on Amazon. Looking forward to reading it. I have heard so much about it.

MogTheSleepyCat · 11/04/2019 07:55

@BakewellTarts I don't think I have ever disliked a book as much as my first and only Agatha Raisin. DS chose it as a Mothers' day present for me last year.

I didn't mind the setting - Cotswolds, nosy neighbours in a typical county village etc. I just found Agatha to be so unpleasant and irritating! She just couldn't bare for other women to be better than her at anything and the way she chased after and threw herself at men throughout the book was cringeworthy. I got a clear impression this was the standard formula for all of the books - or did I just get a wrong 'un? ( Agatha Raisin - A Spoonful of Poison )

I was at a second hand book sale recently and saw a huge stack of the books and actually recoiled from them!!

brizzlemint · 11/04/2019 08:23

Nothing to Envy about life in North Korea is on the kindle daily deals at the moment. I read it a few years ago and it's a very interesting book, though I'd recommend reading it and another account of NK life as it's worth reading accounts from different backgrounds as this one is interviews/talks with a Westerner so is mainly people who were happy to talk to the media after they left. Yeonmi Park and Hyeonseo Lee have written interesting books.

CluelessMama · 11/04/2019 09:34

13. The Cut Out Girl by Bart Van Es
Non-fiction, the story of Lien who is a child in a Jewish family living in The Hague during the Second World War. Lien is sent away by her parents to go into hiding and spends part of the war with the Van Es family. Many years later, the author contacts Lien to find out more about her connection to his father's family and the subsequent rift between her and the family.
This was a fascinating story. Parts of the book describe the author's research in the Netherlands and parts look at Dutch history, particularly relating to immigration and the Jewish community. I found it difficult to take in the details, which is more of a reflection on my concentration than the writing. Lien's experiences during the war are extraordinary and are used to convey the wider story of what happened to Jews in the Netherlands during the war. After the war, the themes are of individual identity and how our sense of self is formed, family relationships, communication and misunderstandings.
Thanks again ritz for letting us know when this was on Daily Deal!
14. Juliet's School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam
A short audiobook. Laura Vanderkam writes about how to make the most of your time, and I was looking at her non-fiction titles when I found this recent release. It is a kind of modern fable about Riley Jenkins who is focussed on her work, spreading her time too thinly and heading for burnout when she goes to a weekend retreat at Juliet's School of Possibilities. It's all a bit cheesy but the message about prioritising what to do with your time is a good one. I liked it.
15. All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison
Thank you to Satsuki who mentioned this title. I hadn't heard of it or the author but looked it up after I saw it mentioned on here and was chuffed to find it at the library. The blurb says...
The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember, although the Great War still casts its shadow over the fields and villages around her beloved home, Wych Farm.
Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to document fading rural traditions and beliefs. For Edie, who must soon face the unsettling pressures of adulthood, the glamorous and worldly outsider appears to be a godsend. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye.
As harvest time approaches and pressures mount on the entire community, Edie must find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster.
There are beautiful descriptions of nature in this novel and I loved the agricultural setting - the way that life revolves around work on the farm, the portrayal of the landscape and the 'end of an era' feeling all resonated, as did many of the characters. As a narrator, Edie's perspective is fascinating but creates lots of questions for the reader. For a lot of the novel I was enjoying the journey but had no idea where it was going. "Powerful and subtle" as the description on the back said. I read the ending last night and it blew me away. A real highlight of a read, I can't stop thinking about it.

DecumusScotti · 11/04/2019 09:57

A little late, but bringing my list across... Blush and catching up with the books I've read since the last one I reviewed... which was bloody ages ago.

1.) Winter, by Ali Smith
2.) The City and the City, by China Mieville
3.) Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero
4.) One Corpse Too Many, Ellis Peters
5.) Somebody I Used to Know, Wendy Mitchell
6.) The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun Bythell
7.) Erebus, The Story of a Ship, Michael Palin
8.) How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain, Ruth Goodman
9.) Blood Cruise, Mats Strandberg
10.) Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, M. C. Beaton
11.) The Children's Book, A. S. Byatt
12.) Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
13.) The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, Sam Kean
14.) The Green Man's Heir, Juliet E McKenna
15.) Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett
16.) Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, MC Beaton
17.) Globe: Life in Shakespeare's London, Catharine Arnold
18.) The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures, Aaron Mahnke
19.) Agatha Raison and the Potted Gardener, MC Beaton
20.) The Tyrannosaur Chronicles: The Biology of the Tyrant Dinosaurs, David Hone
21.) Sugar Money, Jane Harris
22.) Lagoon, Nnedi Okorafor
23.) Rotherweird, Andrew Caldecott
24.) Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett
25.) Star of the North, by D B John
26.) Wyntertide, by Andrew Caldecott
27.) The Mystery of the Three Quarters, by Sophie Hannah
28.) Different for Girls, by Louise Wener
29.) Final Girls, by Riley Sager
30.) Nelly Dean, by Alison Case
31.) The King's Justice (Stanton & Barling Book 1), by E. M. Powell
32.) The Bones of Avalon, (The John Dee Papers, Book 1), Phil Rickman
33.) The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barling - Book 2), E. M. Powell
34.) The Coffin Path, by Katherine Clements

And now for the books I've read since...

35.) The ABC Murders, by Agatha Christie -- This is the sort of book I'm thinking of when I complain about the Sophie Hannah Poirot books. An inexplicable series of murders that yet makes perfect sense when you get to the denouement, and which doesn't leave you thinking, 'Wait, what, but... Really?'

36.) House of Glass, by Susan Fletcher -- a gothic novel so forgettable I'd forgotten I'd read it. The main character has brittle bones and was housebound for most of her childhood. Once she reaches adulthood, she begins to venture outside and finds a haven in Kew Gardens, and from there finds a position setting up a glasshouse for a wealthy eccentric man in a house that may or may not be haunted. I found this a slow read at times, sort of tedious and was tempted to give up, but at the same time compelling in that I did want to know what happened.

37.) Monstrous Regiment, Terry Pratchett one of the standalones. Polly Perks disguises herself as a boy and joins the army to find her brother and bring him home. Not one of his more amusing books it's a bit depressing, really, and the setting is fairly grim -- but still worth a read. The character of Jackrum is inspired.

38.) The Binding, Bridget Collins -- Read for a book group. Standalone fantasy novel set in a world where certain magically gifted people called Binders are able to remove people's memories and place them within the pages of books. Supposedly an adult novel, but the author is formerly a YA novelist, and oh my god does it show. Fascinating world building set-up, which is then thrown away and ignored for a relatively low-stakes typical YA romance, which was okay I guess, but I wanted to know more about the world, so MEH. Really disappointing.

39.) In the Days of Rain, by Rebecca Stott -- Fascinating memoir about the lives of the author and her massively flawed but much-loved father in the Christian Brethren cult. Less about the cult than about how something like that can cause ongoing psychological damage, and I found the author's grief at the death of her father (even if I did think he sounded awful at times) heartwrenching. Compelling,

40.) Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty -- Well, this completely wasn't what I was expecting. Confused I posted on here that I'd expected it to be an And Then There Were None style thriller, but, yeah, no, it wasn't that at all, and I completely blame whoever wrote the blurb for that bit of deliberate and irritating misrepresentation (a pet peeve of mine).

That said, I enjoyed this quite a bit, although the tone is weird as hell and the plot is utterly ludicrous. Someone on Amazon described it as farcical; it was a negative review, but I think they were spot-on. It was pretty amusing at times. I still think it would have been better with a murder or two though.

41.) The Man in the Brown Suit, Agatha Christie -- Not one of her better ones. I'm usually not all that keen on her books that revolve around adventure rather than slow and stately deduction. It's all rather silly.

~~

Currently reading (and loving) The Girl With All the Gifts.

Piggywaspushed · 11/04/2019 16:32
  1. Heroes, Stephen Fry - eventually got round to my Christmas present! This is jolly jaunt through various mortal Greek heroes, which reminded me of all the stories I heard and read while young. Fry's style is very jolly. I know some classics purists on this thread have picked holes in it, but anyone who just wants a quick, light refresher on some Greek escapades could do much worse. There are a LOT of names in the book but he does have a glossary at the back. I am in awe of Fry's brain. A third volume is hinted at near the end of the book.

I prefer him to Gaiman, whose style I find much more tortuous and will certainly read a 3rd instalment.

BakewellTarts · 11/04/2019 20:33

@MogTheSleepyCat Agatha is definately like Marmite and yes all the other books are similar. I don't dislike her (obviously or wouldn't have carried on with them! In fact I like that she is not a "typical" female character and at times unpleasant.) but if you do I couldn't recommend you trying another!

Light read though and finished on my way home today. Up next is one from the Hugo YA list #33 The Cruel Prince. Interesting idea. Two human twins are raised in Faerie by their parents murderer. Lots of tension as you would expect and an interesting twist on the typical high school story.

FranKatzenjammer · 11/04/2019 22:13

41. The Music Shop- Rachel Joyce One of my all-time favourite novels is High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, so I approached The Music Shop with slight trepidation. Could it reach those heights? Yes and no. I loved all the references to different composers and bands- from Bach to Blondie, Purcell to the Pixies and Schubert to the Sex Pistols- and the mentions of John Peel, the NME and labels such as 4AD and Rough Trade. There were some delightful sections about how music makes us feel and what it means to us. But ultimately, I just didn’t care enough about the characters and I felt the ending was a bit weak.

42. The Last- Hanna Jameson This was one of the best post-apocalyptic novels I have read. The fact that it is also a whodunnit gives it an edge over some of the others. I liked the way it referenced a couple of other books and films. As with book no. 41 above, I felt the ending was slightly disappointing.

43. Moab Is My Washpot- Stephen Fry This is in the Kindle Monthly Deal at the moment: I’m so glad I gave it a go, even though I wasn’t especially a fan of Stephen Fry. It is beautifully written, as you would expect from such an intelligent chap. The anecdote about stealing sweets at prep school is excellent. I also loved the section in which he laments his lack of musical talent (I'm a professional musician, so this made me appreciate my abilities more). I was also interested to read about Stephen’s ‘deflowering’ (as he puts it), his unrequited love, and the time he spent in a juvenile remand centre. I shall definitely be reading his other two memoirs and possibly some of his fiction.

44. The Black Death- Hourly Histories This was my first Hourly History: thank you to whoever recommended them (I’ve now downloaded about 20 free ones!). This was surprisingly informative and well-written. It was interesting to read about how the Black Death was referred to in contemporary art and literature: I was pleased that this was included in such a short book.

45. Boy- Roald Dahl I read this as a young teenager, but was inspired to re-read it by both Bookworm and Moab Is My Washpot, although it is mentioned in neither. This is a delightful memoir of Dahl’s childhood and schooldays. Some of the anecdotes- such as the mouse in the jar of gobstoppers and Dahl’s many canings- were still very familiar to me, even though it is over 30 years since I last read them.

StitchesInTime · 12/04/2019 00:30

29. Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

7 years ago, a ship set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary about mermaids. It was found drifting and empty, with found footage showing creatures resembling mermaids massacring the crew. Found footage that was dismissed by most people as a hoax.
And now a new ship and crew has been assembled, ready for a scientific voyage off to investigate the area where the original ship was lost....

This is a pretty straightforward horror novel. Lots of people sitting on a ship with faulty safety measures, while man eating mermaids lurk in the deeps and plan their attack.
The suspense builds nicely and made for a compelling read, if a rather gory one once the carnivorous mermaids start hunting the humans on the ship.